Past & present threads….
Unexpected though very exciting developments at House hunting blues. New and favourable circumstances are blowing the German couple in their quest to buy a home in Italy. They have made an offer on il Cedro and are actively involved in the ongoing negotiations. The usual. First offer rejected. Owner made a mark on the ground and said, he would NEVER cross it, and then he did. Was nudged by the real-estate agent. Good. THE LATER Earning his keep. The wife of the couple heartily agreed with him… said it seemed silly not to come to an agreement over the difference of a few Euro’s. May I say?…
this particular real-estate agent, a young man, is and has always been a congenial, available, honest!!! person and I am quite grateful for his help and participation. People like him are not often found in the real-estate business… here in Italy. What I remember from my experiences with real-estate agents in America were they were either bored housewives needing to make regular leasing payments on their late model Jaguars or, Gay men with too much personality and doctored smiles. Honesty or, much less, integrity were not on their maps. To be fair, I can tell you stories about said creatures on both sides of the Atlantic. Would raise the hair on your back or, make your hair curl. Whichever happens first. Might even make a book. But, back to the winds of blowing…
Price has been agreed upon and, apparently, a contract written and sent to the two parties for their signatures.
These kids are sharp. I say kids because, now that I am actively brushing 70 years of age, most of the World is younger. They have been remarkably thorough with their conditions, requests, solicitations, participation. Good deal. They are purchasing a house they have not seen with their own eyes. Other have sussed the place out. It passed muster. These kids took the reins and are riding well and onto a happy conclusion. They have my respect and admiration.
But, not so quickly for others. I have comments…
I have followed clients over the years, apparently successful and wealthy individuals, couples, who have bought properties at home where they live full-time, and yet, in doing the same in Italy, chuck Good Sense or, simply and completely ignored the procedures, details and the questions to ask in buying or, selling property here or, they have blindly deferred to others, as if on another planet, raising their heads only when it came time to write out a check. Real-estate is no different in Italy than anywhere else in the World. One simply needs to ask the obvious questions, take the time to read the documents, which can easily be translated, reply in kind, actively participate. It’s part of the fun. Some get it. Others not.
And, it’s important…
years ago, in our own search for a home in the Lunigiana, a real-estate agent sent me an email with a listing of a hay barn. Its caption was… Potrebbe essere un gancino per Voi nella Lunigiana…. or, hook, for You & Me in the Lunigiana. T’was truly time to get things rolling after a four year off & on house hunt. Some disappointments along the road. Never did manage to see the gancino place but, a week after that email, You & I were on our way to acquiring il Poggiolo. Our circumstances, our attitude had changed, allowing us to find just the place to our liking and budget. When it happens, it can happen fast. Wake up. Be attentive. You & I did. Same story for the German couple.
Now, I wonder if they are planning some kind of celebration? Understand they had three wedding parties. Our German friends sure know how to party. They drink. An indication for a good party in my book. They’re young.
No special reason but, I thought I would mention it anyway…
the first bit of colour, say around mid-February, harkening the arrival of Spring, is the yellow of Forsythia or, January Jasmine, if you come from The Deep South. You HATES yellow flowers. Forsythia is one vigorously prohibited, as is any other yellow flower, for that matter, in our garden at il Poggiolo. Right now though, at the end of September and with the 21st behind us, the garden of il Poggiolo is overrun by yellow. Cistus plants and its yellow blooms. An oversight on my part. The tag showed white-ish flowers. I bought several. And, I am probably and deplorably not good at obeying Rules & Regulations. From anyone. Duplicating the previous mistake and, oblivious to the pre-declared edict/s, I extracted from an abandoned house’s garden these stalky, flowery things with huge, bright yellow flowers. I thought they look charming, festive things. They were weeds. WEEDS!!! Now, You & I are indentured to pulling up these abhorrent flore at every whisper of their germination. And, as the culprit, I must endure You’s grumblings on why I cannot follow The Rules & Regulations. His Rules & Regulations. Not mine. Yet, a Lesson learned and not repeated to date. Only to defend myself. Though, in hindsight, I wonder why, after twenty-one years of sharing real-estate, canines, stuff, You hasn’t gotten the Math about me? Oh, well. Got news for the man despite whatall. The last flowers of Summer are these daisy looking flowers… in Small, Medium & Large dimensions… and in the same darn yellow colour You hates so much. Must mar his views of the Lunigiana landscape driving in his beat-up AUDI from Aulla to Codiponte. Oh, well.
And, for the moment…
as for A light at the end of the tunnel, You & I are happily inside enjoying the warmth of our two newly fitted out fireboxes and, weary from our collective and individual toils with our latest adventure in Home Improvements. YIPPEE!!! The Dog’s keen too though he dislikes the noise I make loading logs onto a raging fire. Ahime’… But, Good Riddance to those toils. Not the attitude to take, yet really, folks, too much time and stress and over my dead body to suit a sensitive soul as mine. I earned my 68 years old. Cannot speak for You. Un carroarmato.
I want everyone to know, however, You single-handedly re-hung and placed everything you see in the above photos. As many insiders are aware of, I do not drive nails into walls. Gives me the creeps. And, I hate to see freshly painted stucco walls marred by a misplaced slam of the hammer, creating unsightly defects… ugly shots of white, so evident with our Signature Blue.
Yes, ladies & gentlemen, You diligently worked for two days during our last weekend to return what all to their previous-places/former-homes/roosting-positions. Dusting & cleaning were also involved. Required several referrals to my iPhone photos stocks and a great amount of patience…. ON EVERYONE’S PART, THE DOG INCLUDED!!! Oh, and my wisely arranged absence from the premises. I worked in the garden, making amends for the lack of a three month avoidance, due to the extreme heat & humidity in these parts we citizens of Codiponte and elsewhere must now currently endure. After a stint of staying inside in relative cool, but with n’er a window or, shutter even cracked a tiny bit, I might now gladly huddle on an iceberg in a down parka holding a placard calling for more efforts to stem Global Warming. Sadly, I can’t get a flight out of Pisa Airport to go anywhere.
I now have to pay off everyone involved in the initiative.
House hunting blues...
I had a late evening plate of pasta and white wine with my Dear German Friend. Husband had abandoned her on her hill top abode… a historic former tower turned farm-mansion by a pope’s confessor in the 13th Century… having taken their only car back to Germany for urgent work. Lately and for obvious reasons… must I spell it out? C-O-V-I-D-1-9… automobile travel is the ONLY way to travel these days. Few flights going to the wrong places and any good ones are already booked up. Ditto for trains. Bad enough to be cooped up for two+ hours in an Airbus full of masks, can you imagine what an eight hour train journey would look & be like? As always, the excuse for dinner was the entree for a gab session. House hunting the initial topic. I led the kick-off.
I had concluded a long day in said pursuit with a young German couple spending their free-of-lockdown holiday near Camaiore. He, charming, handsome, full of personality & energy, and is the brother of the wife of my German clients. She, quiet, pretty and I learned early on that when she speaks, better to listen, ie “You should’ve turned left back there”. Oh, well, God gave us navigators to extract us from our mistakes, I suppose. The wife of my German clients had warmly asked if I might escort her brother & girl-friend to see two candidates for a vacation home in Italy. Silly question. Of course. So, early to rise, early to drive down to Camaiore, a vacation enclave turned nearly into a city with the gift of being close to the beaches yet, nestled in the hills far enough away from the madness to be quite a popular place. Arrived at the La Cappella in time to meet and get to know my travelling companions for the day.
We drove to meet the real-estate agent at the first house situated at the end of a borgo way up above Camaiore, enclosed by a rustic stone wall & gate for a compound of grassy terraces and a lovely pink stucco house. All one would have to do with the 3,700 sq. ft. on three floors would be to buy it, take the keys and move right in with your suitcases. All done, four years before, top to bottom, complete with furnishings. Done with simple taste, nothing obnoxious for a re-do. Very hard to find. The house clicks all the boxes of the German clients but two… no direct car access… borgo means village and cars often cannot get through what was lo’ those many years ago a cart path… and no pool. The first can be dealt with. We do at il Poggiolo. You learn logistics fast. The pool could be added but, unfortunately, it would consume a goodly portion of the small exterior space of one of the two grassy terraces.
The second I had scouted and rejected months ago, when I first began to research for houses for sale. Thought the garden, though planted with a lovely Mediterranean variety of plants and trees… lots of olive trees… actually suffocated the terraces and stone house. And, inside the rooms seemed large but, that was because every photo was taken outside the room itself. Gave the impression of space. The pics did not show the many steps… even in the middle of the Salotto!!!… numerous and treacherous staircases hither & yon and the sense of dimensions of the few rooms. All too small in siaze and quantity for my German cleints wishes & needs. All this was the reward of a long and torturous dirt road from civilisation to this hideout on the side of a Tuscan hill. The girl-friend immediately asked about the road when the downpours hit. Good question. I found out from the Mr Renter of the property that the road is a disaster in the rain and must be re-graded every Spring. Oh, well, and I had thought perhaps this house was going to be a winner. We all were glad to leave. For lunch at one of my favourite spots in the whole World to eat outdoors in the Summer… La Baracchetta.
Got a refresher course in Lessons lLearned from House Hunting… stick with your first impressions, however they come and no matter the means. But, the Law of House Hunting came to me as the consequence of the telephone call the brother and I made to the clients in the US, stranded in a COVID-19 limbo. Their circumstances are… the husband has a Green Card, which also covers his family of wife and two small children. He has full rights, they do not. They all may leave the US, go to their home in Germany, even travel to Italy. The problem comes… he may re-enter the US. The wife and kids not. They are in the US until. Most of the conversation was with the wife. A fantastic person, full of intuition, insight AND Good Sense. Fun & charming too. It has been the family’s dream to have a house in Italy, for her ageing father to get him out of far away Spain and as Summer HQ for one and all. We have had the discussion many times of getting no where with house hunting by remote. The fantasy persists. Any prospects of a dream house in Italy were dashed. Not so much by which way we were pointing our thumbs but, by her circumstances. And so, I said this…. There is a house waiting for you here in Italy. It’s looking for you and you will find it when your circumstance allow you to do so. I thought that was one of the wisest statements I have ever uttered from my likes-to-give-lectures mouth. It’s true. Was for You & Me with il Poggiolo. It was true for my Dear German Friend. And will be for my German clients. Now, let’s get rid of this menace of COVID-19, please.