01 January 08

Property

Property

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Using her PR skills she set up a business called Host Italy, offering bespoke luxury event management services to UK and US clients. Soon after Annette’s mother was also drawn to the Italian lifestyle and decided to retire to Italy. She now lives in the house in Comignano, while Annette rents an apartment in Florence. “It was an easy experience, considering what you hear, but the process is simple and quick once you find the house,” says Annette of her Italian buying ordeal.

However, she does advise that, while it may be fine to get by in Milan or other major cities without Italian, when dealing with people day to day, especially in the country, you need to know the language, as not many locals have English. She says Florence is like “living in an open art history book”, and is quite compact. She also observes that it is cosmopolitan, with nearly 4,000 Americans living there. Will she get the itch to travel again soon? Who knows, but then again it does appear to be in the genes!

Le Marche to a better life
MAKING A B&B IN THE COUNTRY

Pam Bates is a woman who knows what she wants. Six years ago she lived in Winchester in southern England with her husband Dave. Working in administration for local schools she freely admits that they hated their jobs. “They were the worst jobs we have ever had and the schools were awful,” she says. So she decided that a change was needed. Dave just didn’t know it yet, and a little persuasion was called fo.

Pam’s brother lived in Le Marche, on the eastern side of central Italy between the Adriatic and the Apennine mountains. The couple decided to remortgage their home and buy a holiday home in the area for about €70,800.

Many of the properties they viewed were very old buildings – some had no roofs and many required them to duck to avoid the bats flying about. Eventually they viewed a small farmhouse nestled on a steep hill, which had been abandoned for over 30 years, and Dave fell in love with the place. They made an offer, and on the way home decided that instead of using it as a holiday home they should move and set up a B&B business.

In March 2002, Dave quit his job and came out to start renovation work on the house, and Pam admits it was a difficult time as their house was still on the market and they now only had one income. However, the house had to be completed because Pam already had 12 guests booked into the B&B for February.

The building needed new roofs, doors, windows, plastering, wiring and plumbing. They also put in a swimming pool and laid down new floors. The hard work paid off, as Pam originally hoped to have 20% occupancy in the first year, but achieved over double that. Pam now spends up to an hour a day marketing the B&B. She admits there were some hard times dealing with the renovation, and in rural Italy things move at a different pace. So what advice does she have for those planning to do the same? “If you’ve no sense of humour and get stressed easily don’t bother,” she says.

When they moved to Italy their daughter, a model, was only 17 and while she had some Italian she became fluent when she got a local boyfriend. It’s amazing the effect and influence a beautiful woman can have on Italian builders observes Pam! However, as she has also shown it is amazing what a determined woman can achieve. www.villasibillini.com