Buying a cabin in the Italian Alps
So, if you haven't read the first post of this blog entitled "Thinking of a place in the mountains", you might find it helpful so you can put this post into context. I finished off by saying, that in the next post, I would outline where I looked for a small place in the mountains, how I looked, what I found, how long it took me to find A Little Cabin in the Alps and what the process for buying it was.
As I explained earlier, I didn't want to spend days and days driving from the Netherlands. Ideally it would be accessible by public transport and, for those living outside the European continent, near enough an airport. Putting all those things together gave me a choice of the Alps, the French side of the Pyrenees and at a real push, the Picos de Europa in northern Spain.
Spending some time on the Spanish version of Idealista, the property portal, there was very little that looked obvious to me in the Picos. Some stunning sites with "do-it-uppers" - or more often, a complete re-build. Not being a handyman of any description, these were not for me. Even engaging a local contractor would likely mean communication challenges (me not speaking Spanish) and many many trips to and fro. And some stress...!
Putting northern Spain aside, I was left with the French Pyrenees or the Alps. There it became quickly apparent that prices in the French Pyrenees were far and away outside my meagre budget of €40k-€50k. Even complete ruins were above €50k. As a disclaimer, before people correct me on this, I have to say I didn't visit every on-line property portal, but from what I saw on websites like Leggett, there was nothing attractive in that price range.
And so, welcome to the Alps. Anyone, even with a smattering of geography, will know that this is the largest mountain range in Europe, stretching from just north of Nice in France before running out of energy in eastern Austria near Vienna. France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria & Slovenia. Leaving aside Monaco and Liechtenstein, there are 6 countries with very different economies - and prices. Mention a budget of €50k to a Swiss estate agent and you might get a timeshare somewhere. Ok, maybe I exaggerate, but you get the picture. Essentially, it doesn't take too much research to give you the knowledge that for this sort of money, there's really only one country that you stand a chance of buying something - Italy. Slovenia, which I toyed with, is out of range unless you want to consider a renovation project.
Even in Italy, there are wide variations of pricing. Areas near the Dolomites, the valleys near the Brenner pass, and those areas close to prominent 4000m peaks and/or skiing areas, all attract high prices. Those areas northwest and west of Turin however, with the exception of Aosta (again high prices), seemed accessible - both from a price point of view as well as physically getting to there in a reasonable timeframe from The Netherlands.
What websites to look at? For me, I visited two property portals. Immobiliare.it and Idealista.it Yes there is also casa.it but it was Immobiliare and Idealista that I found easiest to navigate around as well as see that the offerings they had were matching what I was imagining. Ultimately, I found myself viewing more and more properties on Idealista than Immobiliare. I had saved 6 or 7 searches on Idealista, based on geography, prices, types of property and condition. Then every few days I refreshed the search to see the latest properties that were being advertised.
After a short while, I began to see a pattern. Essentially most places less than €50k were either / all above 1500m so difficult / impossible access in winter; a long way from the road - often around 30 minutes’ walk or even longer; a renovation project. I was probably also being a bit picky! Location and view were important. The property needed to look pretty - or have the possibility of doing so! I didn't want to see high-voltage electricity pylons (of which there seemed to be many!). I wanted some ground around the place but not a garden that needed 24/7 loving care and attention. So no flowerbeds or a neat lawn!
yes I had shortlisted this very place!
Unbeknownst to me, the Dutch cyclist, filmmaker, and writer, Martijn Doolaard, was on a similar journey but slightly ahead of me. I still remember his first YouTube episode of his current Alpine renovation project, where in the first 30 seconds or so of that clip, he drove past a property that I had short-listed a few weeks prior! Martijn was - and is - on a completely different level to me however in terms of DIY abilities. Additionally he was also prepared to live on-site doing his place up. I, however, had a home in the Netherlands and was looking for a place that I could use - as well as enable others to - on a more casual basis.
After about 6 months of looking at Idealista, where I could sadly recognise properties that were being re-advertised through different agents; those which had a price adjustment; or those with more photos added (it has to be said that many properties you see on Idealista have horrible photos making the job of seeing what the property actually looks like that much more difficult), I was on the verge of giving up. Apart from the place in Val Pellice which I mentioned above in connection with Martijn Doolaard’s video, there was little else attractive to me. Even that was a do-it-upper - I was getting to the stage where I was allowing myself to think that it wouldn't be that bad and I could spend a couple of years getting it sorted!
And then suddenly, there it was! Advertised, with well-taken photos - as I said earlier, not a common feature on Idealista! - and looking lovely. From what I could see, this was a turnkey with virtually no DIY skills needed, except installing a shower. All the boxes ticked. Within 1 long day's drive, or more humanely, a day, a hotel and a few hours the following morning. 1hr30 both from Malpensa or Turin airport. Accessible by train and bus. Near a village but not surrounded by houses. Some ground around it, but not a garden demanding attention. There was only one problem. The owner was just anxious to sell it quickly for personal reasons and had put an asking price of €27k on the advert. I responded immediately (I was the second person to do so) expressing interest, but, unsurprisingly, the seller was inundated with enquiries. So much so that he took the advert down after just 48 hours!
You've heard - or read - about people buying a property without having visited it. Madness. But I was prepared to do that for this cabin. The photos didn’t seem to be hiding anything. I looked at the property on Google satellite views. I did all the research I could do, without physically going there. Because I couldn't just jump into my van and drive there the next day as I happened to be in Liverpool for a week's worth of meetings… So I did what I could to show my genuine interest in this cabin! I WhatsApp'd the seller giving him my ID details and confirming I would match any other offer he received up to €35k as I really felt - and the seller subsequently acknowledged - that €27k was a very undervalued figure .
Now some of you reading this will raise your eyes! Had I been in the Netherlands though, I would have been in Italy for the next morning's cappuccino. But after 6 months searching with absolutely nothing to show for it, I simply couldn't believe that I would miss out because I was in the wrong place. Long story short, the seller decided to wait for a week until I could visit. Phew.
When I did get to visit the cabin, nothing surprised me, as everything that was in the photos showed how it was in real life. There was enough cut wood included to guarantee log fires for years to come! After some negotiation and bargaining as there was also one other party bidding, we agreed on a price. Out of respect to the seller who was very nervous about the Italian revenue authorities, I won’t disclose the final selling price. Only to say that including all the lawyer fees, which in Italy the buyer pays for, as well as a required by law Italian-English translator on the day of sale, the final tally came to a shade under €37k.
We went to lawyers in town that afternoon, where they witnessed me paying a deposit of €1000 and a sales agreement was made and signed. 6 weeks later, the paperwork was finalised and the cabin was mine. The paperwork was remarkably simple. I had to provide an Italian tax code (I applied on-line and received my tax ID within 48 hours), some ID details and that was it really. As I mentioned above, as I don’t speak Italian, the lawyers had to find an independent translator that could verbally translate the contract to me on the day.
I signed the documents, got the keys, and drove up that evening to begin a week of making it mine.
And yours if you would like to stay on a pay as you can basis - which is what it’s all about.
Advice or what did I learn through the process? Well if you’re on a similar budget to mine of +/- €50k then you will find a lot of places in the mountains. At various states of repair. Some in good condition but above the snowline so winter access difficult. Others a long way from your car. Whilst all that sounds romantic, which it is, the realities of carting your litres of Italian Chianti plus everything else of course, will get tiresome once the novelty wears off. If you’re patient and have time, then something will come up. If you’re in a rush, then you’re going to have to enjoy DIY, carrying, and regardless, be up for some adventure!
If you find this helpful, I’m glad. And if you have any queries or comments - just leave them in Comments section below.
Thanks for reading.
See you next time.
