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hi brenda
once you get to the stage of needing legal assistance i can thoroughly recommend a lawyer based in Bari hi name is Nick Metta and you can contact him via e mail [email]nicola.m.metta@studiolegalemetta.it[/email] he and his staff are very efficient and friendly they speak excellent english and guided us through every stage of buying our trullo in puglia, if you need any more info then please dont hesitate to contact me good luck marco

[QUOTE=Brenda]I am currently looking via the Internet for a permanent residence in Le Marche through to Puglia (Ostuni area) and have been reading up on the subject but find you lose sight of the ins and outs of it all. I need a clear definitive idea of what actual costs are involved and the steps and procedures I need to take before I commit to anything. This is in order for me to ascertain that I can actually afford to buy a property there. I would also need to find a property lawyer who is both fluent in English and ½ûÂþÌìÌà laws and rules. Furthermore can anyone advise me as to what electrical items work on the ½ûÂþÌìÌà system; i.e. stereo, vacuum cleaner, video etc.
If anyone can assist I would be very grateful.

Brenda[/QUOTE]
Dear Brenda the potential areas you mention encompass over 1000 kms legth wise of territory including wild impervious mountain areas,crowded seaside resorts,regional capitals,places which appear like northern scotland thru places resembling the fen lands,thru to pure mediterranean environments,to large industrial urban connurbations.Probably your best bet and before talking to lawyers would be to take some holidays in the different parts to get the feel of the places and those you actually might like to stay/live in.Then when and if in the future having found such a place contact a lawyer in the area..it's just a thought.Domestic appliances also come after the lawyer.

Dear Brenda…

I totally agree with Sebastiano. I would suggest you do some initial research to establish which region you wish to relocate to. Once you have chosen your preferred location then prepare a list of questions you want answered and then get yourself some good advisors. The cost of having professional advice at the start of the process is very small compared to the cost of the investment you are about to make and therefore should be one of your least concerns.

As far as the process is concerned, I would be more than happy to provide you with a comprehensive summary of what to expect from a contractual and legal point of view. In the meantime, if you search through this Forum you will find that some previous threads already cover this subject in some detail. I think you will find these very useful.

[QUOTE=Brenda]I am currently looking via the Internet for a permanent residence in Le Marche through to Puglia (Ostuni area) ... I would also need to find a property lawyer who is both fluent in English and ½ûÂþÌìÌà laws and rules. Furthermore can anyone advise me as to what electrical items work on the ½ûÂþÌìÌà system; i.e. stereo, vacuum cleaner, video etc.[/QUOTE]

That's a large area and covers a diverse range of terrain and property. There are simple decisions to make - do you want property by the sea, in the mountains or in the foothills with views of the mountains or the sea or if you are very lucky both? Is an apartment what you are after? Modern or historic buildings? In the country or in a city/town and if the latter do you want one with parking outside the walls or can you accept a place with no parking of your own within the walls? Or do you want to buy somewhee with farm land and if so are you aware of the work that will need for upkeep?

It's only by siting down and eliminating the choices that you would never consider that you will start to reduce the list of "possibles" down to "probables". In truth you will also have to restrict the geographic area where you will look, usually this involves going to the area, hiring a car and finding somewhere that you feel you could fit in.

A couple of weeks ago we took a tour around the edges of some of the National Parksin Abruzzo. We already have our house in Abruzzo so this was just a bit of touring around the area looking at places we haven't been. One thing that struck us was that characters can change drastically over a distance of a few kilometers. In some villages all strangers are openly welcome and the atmosphere in the piazzas buzzes. We visited one cafe in the mid afternoon for a sit down, coffee and an ice cream while we cooled off a little and watched the word go by and we had a pleasant time chatting to some of the locals and deciding that we could live in that area, and may even look at buying an apartment to let out there. Literally 10km down the road we had a terrible experience with openly hostile people in the street and drinks thrown rather than served with an attempt to rip off the tourists. We decided we wouldn't lke to live there, ever.

In our own village we're well known and have a support network of ½ûÂþÌìÌà friends and a social lfe that consists of priocessions from house to house to share food, wine and gossip. We like it, and we're glad we spent time getting to know the area before jumping in to buy.

The lawyer who helped us to buy a house is happy to undertake work for other British people wo want to buy. He speaks excellent English and is a very pleasant person. He has offices in Pescara and also Rome and Milan, he also works in Bologna from time to time. If you are interested you can click on the link in my signature to andreamonti.net and you will find the English web pages for his law practice. He's become a close personal friend over the years and I've met few people in the UK or Italy that I would trust to the same extent.

I have estimated (very roughly) around about £20,000 will be needed to relocate permanently, but this obviously depends on the type of house and if any problems are assoicated with it which will push up legal and survey fees etc etc.

As part of our plan to relocate to the Marche area in approx 18 months we will be visiting for a month next summer in an attempt to narrow down our prefered areas and then to go from there.

You never know after a month, we might realise a permanent relocation is not for us, but I can't see that happening.

There are a number of books concerning living and buying property in Italy which will outline the costs you will be facing as well as all the other processes involved

As for electrical items and as others have said don't worry about these until you have to. By the time you get to this stage, what will or won't work in Italy will be a pleasant worry to have!! :rolleyes:

Best of luck

Jan