½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Because there has been a lot of dicussion on another thread (Where have all the posts gone) I think I'd better explain why I hate this forum format so much that I have decided to leave it. Gala, and Charlotte, have explained the mechanics of what happened to the Inheritance post. I accept that if I asked Charlotte for membership of the relevant group I would be acceped. However, Flip has nailed the 'censorship' issue which is at the root of my concern. My uderstanding of an Internet Forum is that it is principally a public place, where people post questions and get answers. For it to be useful, this must all be searchable on google. (I insist on Google because it is far and away the best search facility on the Web, massively outperforming any local site search option.)  Now, as I undestand it, nothing in the inheritance 'group' will be searchable on Google - thus it does not interest me in the least to join it. It won't be findable even on this site's search facility. I am apalled by the situation on this forum where an existing publicly posted query can be squirelled away by just anyone.  I'd accept deletion of something considered completely offensive by the admin, but that's it, (and as an aside, the comments in the state of Italy thread were not in any way offensive, in my opinion). If I want to make available aything which is only viewable by a limited audience I can use e-mail, or indeed, Facebook. I wouldn't use an internet forum. So, just so that everybody knows, I didn't take against any personalities, or any comments, only this place.

Now, IMO, if the proprietors of these rented out holiday homes are resident in the UK, and are declaring their income from the rentals to the UK tax authorities, they are in the clear ficscally. (This does not mean they are in the clear friom the point of view of the ½ûÂþÌìÌà legislation which governs renting out holiday homes). However, the assertion that there is no access to 'foreign' bank accounts is a bit too reassuring, and, IMO, incorrect. A lot of stuff has changed recently (and I think it is wrong, but it has happened - we are all supposed to believe it is legislation against money laundering and drug runners - and I am certain nobody reading this thread falls into these categories) but the sort of observance and information sharing has got pretty scary for anyone assuming they won't get caught out. That's all. I'm not going to offer tax avoidance advice; just would like to say keep yourself daily updated if you fancy chancing your arm. And be wary of bar-room lawyers on internet forums!

This DAB stuff is (and always was IMO) dead in the water. It was a technology which some long forgotten Brit Gov inflicted on the UK - only the Swiss got taken in by this notion, and they made it semi-work. Even the Swiss have seen the light and killed it. Forget it. It ain't going to happen for you. If you have even a dial up connection in Italy you can stream live radio 4 no problem. Get an internet radio, there are some which do radio alarm stuff if you need to wake up to the Today prog it's no difficulty - but don't even consider DAB. Look at Amazon for internet radios - Roberts are trying to reinvent themselves in this market with some success (battery powered, take it into the garden!) - and if you can't (or don't want to do) wifi, then there are internet radios which accept a LAN connex by cable.

Probably Ram is correct - but do you perhaps have the right, were you to move to the UK, to claim a UK licence. I'd think so. Does your licence look like a UK one already?  If you do fall into the ''extracommunitari'' category then you have the right to drive for a year on a non EU licence, accompanied by an IDP, then you (if resident in Italy) have to take the test and get an ½ûÂþÌìÌà licence. However, if you could slightly fiddle yourself a UK licence then it'd all be hunky dory. It is possible that there is an accord with the EU about Channel Island driving licences - I say this because there was (maybe still is) an agreement between Australia and Eire, and I know an Aussie who has driven about in Italy for decades on an Irish (EU) llicence, and has just recently converted this to an ½ûÂþÌìÌà one (without a test).  

Firstly, it may be fishy, but it may equally be a relatively risk-free way to save you money. You do need a geologist's report and a full structural report if you are going to demolish and rebuild a part of your building - that's clear. But, if you are going to rebuild exactly the same as you have now, who is going to know it is a full rebuild rather than a tart-up? For certain levels of permission you do not require the reports, and if your geometra thinks he can do the work on a cheaper permission he could be giving you money saving advice on the following basis. There are no such animals as building inspectors (in the UK sense, people with your drawings who come and poke their noses in while you are buiilding), and there is little liaison between ASL or the Vigili who might stop by to check on site safety and the technical office of the comune who have seen the drawings. Your major risk lies in a neighbour spotting that you've demolished some of the house, checking with the comune that you have the correct level of permission to do this, finding you haven't and blowing the whistle. (Believe me, this happens very frequently, and not only to 'foreigners') Basically, although the risk is slight, I'd tell the geometra that you'd rather pay up and be totally above board about it all. (Some geometras have the qualification and authority to prepare the reports themselves, but it isn't common). Secondly, I'm really concerned that you think that by having these reports you'll have anything useful as a guarantee that the building will stand up! It probably will, but in the unlikely event of something going wrong you'll find it almost impossible and almost certainly too expensive to get any redress.

Having just done it, the costs of converting a UK licence to an ½ûÂþÌìÌà one are €50 for the medical, (via ACI, you could maybe negotiate less with a different authorised doctor), and €40 to the licensing authority. I chose to let ACI do the running about for me, which cost me an extra €20.   ½ûÂþÌìÌà licences do only run for five years though, (irrespective of age) and have to be renewed - I'm not sure how much that costs. The legislation around a UK licence with an ungenuine UK address is very difficult to establish. You are liable for a fine of up to £1000 for having the wrong address on your UK licence, but (contrary to what I and alanh had suggested earlier) I'm not convinced that it would be considered invalid. Reading around this, you wouldn't get 'points' for having the wrong address, and you'd probably just be advised by a copper if you'd moved house a month or so ago. This changed sometime in the last 20 years - (at that point you could have your bank as an accommodation address for your licence), but once a licence became "a photo id" the insistence on the address being correct came into force. I didn't know you had to have a medical to get the ½ûÂþÌìÌà pink sticker on your UK licence!

If you are a resident in Italy, you should take your UK driving licence to the local authorities (carabinieri, I'm pretty sure) and get it entered on the Motorizazzione computer. They will put a sticker on the licence. Not many people do this, and I've not heard of anybody being unable to blag their way around not having done this! However, it is quite important that the address on your UK licence is 'genuine' - otherwise it's invalid according to the DVLA. It's almost certainly not going to be picked up (even in the event of a contravention which gets back to the UK authorities)  if the address on the licence is occupied by some family member with the same surname, but if it is an old address and you have no idea who lives there now you are breaking the law because you are considered not to have a licence to drive anywhere!

Lizards are not so bad - wait until Sammy brings in live mice, which escape and hide under the fridge, mortally wounded, and the smell gets terrific! What do you mean by northern Umbria - Citta di Castello ish? Umbria is quite big, and for me southern Umbria means Terni or below!

I fear you may find things not as simple as you hope, and it is quite possible that you won't manage to get everything sorted out in one visit. There probably isn't time to get the 'legal stuff' about the successione resolved using a Noatio local to you (ie not in Sicily), but presumably you have already contacted one in order to get a procura drawn up, and you might be able to get some answers to some questions from him. The procura which you have should be enough to put the sale of the land and magazzino in hand, (but that would assume that your co-heirs have accepted their inheritance). It would not be possible, I don't believe, to use a procura for any donation or sale from your siblings to you and your sister - because the holder of the procura (your sister) would be a 'beneficiary'. Good luck with it, I'm sure it will all get sorted out the way you want, but it is quite complicated and won't be quick. It would be as well to make sure you are in the clear in respect of any future claims made on the estate by any children of your siblings, especially if they donate the property to you. A sale might be a more straightforward option.

Gala raises valid considerations - but not really problems! You can always take a cheapo Ryanair midweek flight back to Stanstead so that you aren't out of the UK for too long a period, and as for insuring your car maybe you come into the age range which SAGA cover - I'm told that they do long term insurance on UK cars designed for people like yourselves. House sitting could work, but also many ½ûÂþÌìÌà estate agents look after agriturismos and the like, and (out of season) rent them out at favourable monthly or tri monthly rates. I think it could be great fun: my approach would be to fixate on some areas which you really want to spend some time in, contact some local estate agents, choose some delightful property to stay in, and go for it.