½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

yES,this is entirely normal.actually i have never heard of house prices going down in this country they may freeze even for several years but never down completely different from uk.As far as properties in rural areas despite (many) attempts by forum members to "accuse" or incriminate estate agents who are just doing their job it is a sellers market.Iknow personally of one old guy who has now only three old houses left he sold the other two but regularly turns down "offers" as he's not short of money,has his own property has others so he waits till he gets his selling price...he doesn't care

It has a lot to do with the perception of property, in the UK it is regarded as a home and an investment, here it seems to be seen as a home and an asset, because many properties here are left in wills to a number of people, it is easier to simply leave them sitting around, use them sparingly in summer etc., then, eventually, maybe sell them. We were talking to the previous owner shortly after we'd moved in (they'd come up to pick the fruit from the trees, another quaint rule here) they howled with laughter when we explained how worried we had been when our house hadn't sold in 6 weeks in the UK, then they explained they'd been thinking about selling this house for a few years before actually putting it on the market, they'd then waited 3 years before selling it to us.
I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. :D

George,
Would you kindly explain this quaint rule you speak of. How could they pick the fruit of your trees?

[QUOTE=GeorgeS]then they explained they'd been thinking about selling this house for a few years before actually putting it on the market, they'd then waited 3 years before selling it to us.
I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. :D[/QUOTE]

Much the same for us, we got ourhome in Italy at a relatively cheap price, because the owner liked us and we were friends of a friend. Before we bought it several neighbours had made offers for the property that were much higher than ours. But he didn't want to sell to them because it would create a problem and anyway we said we would allow the owner to continue farming the land until he felt it was a natural time to give up[1], which he now has. The arrangement was simple and we had a lot of respect for the previous owner and in return he became a good friend because we allowed him to wean himself gently away from his land.

I also love these people.

[1] If anyone else is tempted to do this, consult a lawyer first and get a contract drawn up. If you permit someone to use your land you can create a right for them do so in perpetuity. Not a good idea. We agreed a rent for the land and a fixed ultimate date for him to stop working the land with an option to leave early.

OK, so, the Agent explained to me that when you buy a rural house, with agricultural land, the previous awner has the right to the"Fruit from the Land" until the end of the CURRENT agricultural year, November 12th. being the date quoted to us, we moved in July, the previous owner picked the current crop, although they actively encouraged us to pick anything we wanted, and on 12/11 "our" first agricultural year started.

.... i agree with sebastiano..... prices here rise steadily and slowly with little lulls in between.....

the only problem with this is when a company begins to say to house owners we can get another ten or twenty thousand from a foreigner on top of what they want.... once one person hears this and one of these houses gets sold then you get a sudden local hike in prices....

the other problem is the fact that often foreign buyers then do the houses up in an almost spectacular way.... you might well have noted the italian habit of building houses and then never painting them or sometimes evan rendering the outside walls..... the foreign buyer completes the house to a high standard and then even makes a garden.... this suggests to local owners of older properties there must be a fair bit of money out there....

... and yes they are all prepared to wait...our house had been on the market three or four years.... the owner liked us because we asked permission to take photos... we offered the asking price...because it was fair....and she accepted our offer to buy.... she owns several houses ...is wealthy enough and she would never have sold to any one she didnt like the thought of being in her family home....

... the rights to the crops is a valuable changeover period for new owners.... because of different climatic conditions here things are done at different times ...its a learning process and if a previous owner can help ....i would take the offer....

but i agree...its a sellers market and near enough will always be.... and the owners fix their sights on what they want and stick to it

... often it might well be the agent that tries to get the owner to be realistic.... because a selling price is better than an over price ... and the agents income is from selling.....

Our solicitor managed to obtained a €5000 discount off the "agreed" initial offer, but I don't know on what basis. he thought that we had been overpriced (although the ½ûÂþÌìÌà agent adviced us that the price we negotiated was a good deal and he said he was not acting for the seller but for both parties!) and he simply said that to the seller....maybe because the agent is English (based in Pescara) and the London solicitor is ½ûÂþÌìÌÃ, it simply took him a phone call to negotiate an extra discount...

Eevryone's experience is different in the end, isnt it? I just can't wait to complete this deal (½ûÂþÌìÌà purchasing laws are so long and complicated) and be able to move to our dream home! :-)

L

laura72

funny you should say that

our first attempt to buy here was with a pescara based company.... we agreed the price via them with the owner and when we got back to england started getting phone calls from them that the owner had another buyer and if we wanted to sign the compromesso two weeks later we had to offer another ten thousand euro.....

my wife being italian spoke to the owner who said he had not heard any of this.....

my father in law ...being a geometra.... called the chamber of commerce to find out about this company....not registered in italy... was the answer.....

needless to say we pulled out of this sale.... got abusive phone calls from the agent.... and emails.....

it was a lucky day for us because with flights booked to come and sign the compromesso we came down anyway and found the house we now own.... and bought it with a good agent who worked hard to finish the whole process in 6 weeks at a fair price...he earned every penny of his commission... and yes he was a local agent

i wasnt trying to say that all agents are good .... just a lot are ...and there are a few that try and take advantage of peoples desire for that house... we know from experience...

we also know several other agents here... all italian.... some try to chance their luck and get greedy some dont.... its always best to make an offer.... the agent has to pass this on to the owner or owners.... this should be done in writing.... as early as poss...and the reply from the owner should also be in writing....

i wish you the best of luck with your purchase.... its a sad comment on your agent.... and indeed i know there is a level of price rises in the region surrounding pescara / chieti driven mainly by agents such as the one you mentioned.... sometimes even if you visit the area tied to one agent its a good idea to drop them for at least a day and go and have a look around yourself... at other local agents.... and get a balanced view of prices.... some have a great fear of letting you loose...thats why they like to tie you into hotels and their transport.... this might just be a pointer that you should broaden your choice base a little.... it might even help when bargaining with them that they have seen you are willing or able to look elsewhere..