How to buy five bathrooms in one morning

We're driving down to Rome today for a few days holiday. We need it and the children deserve it after being incredibly good about sitting in the car watching DVDs for hours on end while we talk to builders etc.

But first we have to buy five bathrooms worth of stuff so I drop Chris off at Stefano's shop at 8:30 while I go down to Comunanza to see Gianluigi to sort out his and the various contractors' bills. Unfortunately I can't actually pay them yet because the money hasn't arrived but we do agree everything and I drop off copies of the invoices for Luca to pay when the money goes through.

I'd previously used Barclays to move money but this time have gone with HiFX (basically because Barclays tried to give me tourist rates for a big transaction and then, their dealers don't even start work till 9AM), who other people have told me are good. Their rates seem OK (or as OK a they can be given that the pound has tanked against the euro and we're barely getting 1.25) and there are no charges for actually making the transfer etc - and also it's supposed to be instantaneous. In reality, it doesn't quite work like that. Having done the deal on the phone, I then had to fill in the details of where the money was to go via their website and apparently (I found out several days later when they phoned me) they couldn't make the transfer because the International Bank Account Number (the IBAN) had some digits missing. I have not found out why they didn't pick this up either when I tried to enter an incorrect number (if it was, in fact my error) or when they originally tried to make the transfer. If it comes to that, they already had the account number (which is the last part of the IBAN so they could have worked it out with half a brain). Anyway it's a bit embarrassing and I think Mariano is a little pissed off, having worked since January and not yet had a penny. (Luca says not to worry - Mariano has got loads of money).

So back to Stefano's where Chris is looking at a luxury shower unit with steam and chromotherapy (no, I didn't know either - some mumbo jumbo about coloured lights improving your mood apparently.) A few days ago we were wanting to cut costs left, right and centre as we started panicking about the total amount we were going to have to spend but now we've relaxed a bit and, having seen Stefano's prices, are becoming a bit more expansive. You can give people the feeling they are getting something really special for not much extra. So we will have 5 en suites for the 5 bedrooms: one with steam shower, two with hydromassage baths (like a Jacuzzi) and two with thermostatic showers. And the total cost of all the fittings comes to about €8,000. At that price, it's worth thinking about getting some back to the UK if we take a van down some time.

Then it's off to Rome and on holiday.

Back on site

After a quiet weekend (Easter Sunday Mass at Monte San Martino and a lot of measuring up and planning layouts at the house) it's a tight schedule today. First we have to see Stefano at 8:30 to look at bathroom fittings then meet Gianluigi and the various contractors (Mariano, Leonello the plumber and Vincenzo the electrician). Then we are supposed to be with Luca to sort out our wills around noon. Looks like something will have to give.

By 9:45 we have just about agreed the first bathroom. We'll have to come again tomorrow morning before setting off for Rome.


UP ON THE SCAFFOLDING - probably the only chance I'll get to see the roof at such close quarters.

As well as the builders, Delio Mancini was supposed to be meeting us at the house at 10:00. I'm not sure why exactly except that he obviously wants to see how things are going and retains a personal interest in the place. Apart from the fact that he is a lovely old man, it is very good because not only is he our neighbour and owner of all the surrounding land as well as the next house, he is also very well know and connected in the area. So keeping in with Delio is a good thing and falling out with him probably not. People tell us we have been very lucky with our vendor and we definitely agree. Unfortunately, as we are on our way to Monte San Martino the phone goes and a deep, sonorous voice says: "Sono Mancini". He won't be able to make it as he has to take his wife to the hospital - nothing serious fortunately. We'll make sure to let him know next time we are here.

The original design had 5 bedrooms with the largest two being en suite. However after much thought and especially advice about the North American market we have decided to make all five en-suite. Of course it's this sort of thing (when you're spending hundreds of thousands, what's another few k?) that sends costs spiralling out of control and we've certainly had some worrying moments about that. The basic contract is fixed price, which is great but, of course, there are variations plus a lot of things (e.g. the bathroom fittings) aren't included in the fixed price*. We've also worked out where we want all the internal walls. We just have to explain it all in Italian!

We manage with the help of my trusty Berlitz pocket dictionary and a fair bit of pointing and miming. We particularly enjoyed squatting side by side to show how close together you can actually fit a loo and a bidet - we weren't going to have bidets because we don't like them ourselves but everybody else seems to think they are a good thing and the Italians are horrified at the idea of not having them. Anyway, they only work out at a couple of hundred euro each. Besides we've saved a bit by not having a downstairs shower - we'll have a solar shower next to the pool instead. By the end of the morning we have decided where every bed will go (for sockets and lighting) as well as all the bathroom fittings and the TV. Vincenzo, the electrician, is especially helpful with lots of good practical ideas (and not just about the electrics either).

Then, after lunch, it's off to the lawyer's. We need to do simple wills to ensure that our property can be inherited according to our wishes (in our English wills) instead of the Italian way that does it automatically according to a formula. What we didn't realise is that, since they aren't being notarised, (at least I think this is the reason) we need to write them out by hand. Two copies each one in English and one Italian. Apart from the sheer wrist ache, it's really hard doing the Italian ones because we have to check the spelling of every word (and worse for Chris as she has less Italian then me.)

We also visit a few more shops:
* Elletrodomestici in Comunanza has a great range of cookers and white goods at what look like good prices. We particularly like a range cooker that feels like it's been hewn from the solid - for less than €1,000.
* Fallimenti in Amandola looks like a really naff garden place from the outside (including a six foot Statue of Liberty) but inside there are interestibng and cheap metal beds - which is what we had been sent there to see - but also a lot of other furniture like wardrobes and chests of drawers all made out of solid wood (no MDF, ply or veneer to be found) in a variety of styles that would suit out ideas for the house. Fallimenti means failures or, more colloquially, cock-ups. I don't know how it got the name - from bankrupt stock perhaps?
* Gibas is the factory shop of an upmarket lamp manufacturer, also in Amandola. Some of the stuff is nice but some (to my eyes) bloody bizarre. We heard that somebody got something like 17 lamps for €200 but at the moment the prices look pretty high. Maybe they have clearouts with low prices some time. Maybe we'll get one or two signature pieces here when we have some spare cash.
* Finally to Rossi in Sarnano - we are looking at kitchens here. Some are very nice but, we suspect, probably too pricey. They will do us a design and estimate and email it to us. [Update 11 April - still waiting. Must find their email address & chase them up. Update 7 May - still nothing. Write them off]

A day off - almost

A bright and early start again. Well early anyway because we have to meet Andrea from the pool company at the house at 9:00.

In terms of dress and general appearance, Italians tend to fall into two camps: the peasant / anorak look (think Dolmio adverts)or the very trendy, perhaps verging on the slightly camp. Builders (and geometras) decidedly fall into the former group but Andrea is the exception. Very stylish (but with somewhat OTT trainers), perfect tan and immaculately cropped grey hair and driving a huge VW Touareg 4x4 (as oppposed to the standard clapped out old van or 4x4). He knows his stuff though and we agree the design, size and location of the pool - all of which we have been wrestling with for ages. It will be a simple rectangular shape, 11mx4m with a shallow area for small children, as well as steps, at one end.

Here's a picture of a similar pool from the same company:The extra length (9 or 10 metres is more usual) gives a decent distance for swimming lengths even with the toddler end. People with pre-school children tend to go away in May / June and September / October which gives us a good opportunity to extend our season if we think about them at the planning stage. We'll also need to think about an enclosed play area at a later stage.

After spending a good hour on site we drive over to Andrea's office at Grottazzolina, near Fermo, to finalise the design and do the paper work. It's easy to spend a lot of money if you know how!

after a visit to the big supermarket on the edge of town, we go into the old city which is lovely but incredibly quiet. It's quite late for lunch now but we find a trattoria tucked away opposite some municipal buildings which does great food. Dominic has rabbit stew which he absolutely loves.

We finally own the house!!!!!!

Finally, after 9 months, we own the house! Which is kind of scary given how much there is to do and how much money is involved. Still, no backing out now! We need to get the job done and get the rentals coming in!

First thing, I didn’t think the car was even going to make it up the drive but by going back and forth on the dry tarmac under the car, I manage to find enough traction to get it going and we just about make it out. Once on the road it’s fine. Everywhere looks beautiful and still covered in snow but the road surface itself is clear. At Luca’s office, Beatrice brings out Easter eggs for Dominic and Kitty and then we set off following Luca in his Kangoo.

It’s so much more personal doing this sort of thing in Italy. At home you need never see the other party, or even your lawyer. Here, we sit around the table with the vendor, Delio Mancini and his geometra, Lorenzo Anselmi while the notaio reads everything out in Italian and then Beatrice reads the English version. There’s a slight hiccup while we assure ourselves that it doesn’t force us to follow Italian inheritance law (and which prompts us to arrange to do Italian wills next week) and then we all sign and Luca hands Mancini a cheque for the balance. Then it’s off to the pub! Or rather the bar. Or rather not because it’s shut. But Delio has asked us all to lunch (bang go our plans for the day!) Originally he says it’s in Pedaso but as our 3-car convoy heads north, we go through Pedaso and on to Ristorante Campanelli in Porto San Giorgio where we are the first customers of the day (it’s not quite noon yet). Soon after Sra Mancini arrives, driven there by their son in his lunch break (which presumably explains why we are eating nearer to the Mancini’s home in Fermo). The food is sensational from fish and shellfish antipasti through two pastas and on to great plates of grilled fish (fantastic monkfish tails) and then an extra bowl of mussels (we’ve now had them cooked 3 different ways) specially for Delio whose favourite they seem to be. The kids are brilliant and spend a lot of the meal watching Ready, Steady, Cook (Italian version of course) on the obligatory telly. I’ve no idea what the price was but we’ll definitely be back.

Early in the sale we were told that Delio was selling because he needed money to complete doing up his house. And now the convoy heads off to Fermo so we can all see it. Seems it’s not a house. In fact it’s a big block of flats that are up for rent, next to another block that he already owns. Obviously a man of some substance! Then it’s off to casa Mancini for coffee before we all say goodbye – and arrange to meet Delio at our (repeat “our”) house on Tuesday morning.

We were supposed to be seeing Lucozzi today about bathrooms but he’s only in Amandola in the mornings so we rearrange for 8:30 on Tuesday before the site visit at 10:00.

Site meeting

ESSENTIAL BUILDERS' SUPPLIES (Italian style - don't let the water bottles fool you; they may not all be water and there's a huge jug of vino cotto behind them)

Today was supposed to be the day we finally take ownership of the house but we have had a message that the notary has to go to a funeral so instead of being in Comunanza this afternoon, it will be at the notary’s main office down on the coast at San Benedetto del Tronto tomorrow morning (Good Friday) and we have to meet outside our lawyer, Luca’s office at 8:15AM (which is 7:15 according to our bodies) so means another early start for the kids. On the bright side, this is the only day we have a translator available as she is going to Rome with her family and it means we can talk to some suppliers more easily.

When we wake up we look out to see everything is covered with snow and, as we set off for the house it starts snowing again and getting heavier till we can hardly see. When we get down to the level of our house in the valley (about 200m compared to 600 at La Conca) it’s still heavy but is not settling. We arrive a bit late (no snow tyres on the car) to find the man from the gas company is waiting to sign us up. They have found a good site for the tank behind an outbuilding and it will be buried so should not be visible although, unfortunately, Italian regulations mean that it still has to have a high fence all around it and, apparently, you aren’t even allowed to grow creepers up it to disguise the thing. (We tend to think of southern Europeans as being very lax on safety and it’s certainly true if you look at the way they drive. However on things like this they are the opposite. My neighbour’s gas tank at home sits completely unprotected by anything except a hedge. Perhaps they are more dangerous because of the heat – I was told the European regs. on LPG tanks in cars are due to the temperatures in Italy.)

The main thing about the house is that we have now confirmed that most of the internal walls are not structural and so we can reorganise the layout which we originally thought was constrained by the location of the original walls (even though most of them need replacing.) So, especially on the top floor, we have almost a blank canvas and need to start again - quickly. Because of this, we can’t decide with the plumber and electrician where everything will go and so will have to meet them again on Tuesday.

We still have quite a few decisions to make. (Like do we want to line up the two French windows at opposite ends of the house exactly, which means losing another window. Or do we live with them not being quite aligned. We opt for the latter.) Then it’s time for the obligatory, and warming, glass of Mariano’s vino cotto. (See the picture at the top of today's blog) We could have had mistrà instead which is, I think, a spirit made from distilling vino cotto and is absolute firewater. Gianluigi tells us that he was hospitalised as a baby when his nonna mistook a bottle of mistrà for water and made up his formula with it!

We then go off to look at windows and agree details like whether and where we will have shutters (we opt for traditional ones inside the windows) and how they will open (some will just tilt, most will tilt and also open normally).

In the evening we have a very enjoyable dinner with friends at the Hotel Paradiso which is at the top of the old town in Amandola. So we don’t get home till gone 11 with that early start tomorrow and the very steep drive from La Conca looking like it will ice up.

To Rome and on to the Marche

Although Ryanair’s cancellation of the Liverpool to Ancona route is a real nuisance more than doubling the driving time after landing in Italy, it does have its compensations. The first of these is the view of Rome as you come into Ciampino – remember to get a window seat on the right hand side and you get to see all the sights (Colliseum, Vatican, Circus Maximus, sinuously winding Tiber and, Dominic is always keen to spot, the Stadio Olimpico). Landing at Rome we were very pleasantly surprised to find it was sunny and 18°.

Apart from the extra distance, the drive isn’t bad either as you pass through the Apennines with spectacular viaducts and long tunnels. The motorway route past L’Aquila all the way to the Adriatic is simply stunning with amazing views and a tunnel that cuts through more than 10 kilometres below the Corno Grande (and has, on the westbound carriageway, an entrance into the National Institue of Nuclear Physics buried deep beneath the mountain) the highest peak in the entire range. This time, however, I decided to take the SS4, the Roman Via Salaria, which skirts Rieti and follows he valley of the Tronto towards Ascoli Piceno. The journey is much shorter, almost toll-free and, even with the odd slow wagon, usually a bit quicker than Mussolini’s Autostrada. It also gives you the chance to stop at a proper restaurant for lunch instead of an Autogrill service area. We kept going till we saw one which, judging from the number of cars outside was OK but not full. It was called La Valle and was at Km128 just before Amatricia so we had, of course, spaghetti amatriciana. It was wonderfully rich with a hint of spice which built up the more you eat, leaving you with as tingling mouth at the end. This was followed by perfectly fine meat alla bracia and accompanied by a half litre of house red which was better than usual – we only had a glass each with being tired and me driving.

We had been told that Mariano,the builder, had some questions and would like us to come to the house. We were already scheduled to meet there with Gianluigi, the geometra, at 10 the next morning and, as it turned out they were little things (like whether to reuse certain old tiles for the window sills) which could easily have waited but it’s no bad thing to be accommodating to your builder. I made the mistake of trying to take the short cut via the ford across the river (which had been passable on my visit earlier in the winter) but the river was now in spate following the recent snows and subsequent thaw and there was no way I was going to drive through that torrent.

It was the first time Chris had seen the place since work started and, after a spectacular rate of work in the first few weeks up to my initial visit, progress seemed to have been disappointingly slow. When we looked closer, it was obvious that a lot had been done but, in contrast to the earlier part of the job, much of it was painstaking (cleaning out the mortar on the walls ready for re-pointing) or not very visible (ducting for utilities).

We had passed La Conca at Ceresola, where we would be staying and now returned. The owner, Mirella gave us the warmest of welcomes, including a wonderful home made apple tart made from their own apples. La Conca is an organic apple farm with some 2000 trees. The apartment in a cantina below the main house with beautiful, vaulted ceilings, was basic but perfectly adequate apart from the heating which was really far too low.

TV Show on buying in Le Marche

I've just found out that there was a programme about buying a house in the Marche on BBC this morning. I've missed it but am downloading from BBC iPlayer and will post a report once I've seen it. Apparently the basic idea of the show is to take daytime TV "experts" and get them to invest their own money in antiques, property, art or whatever they purport to know about. In this case it's a property expert who wants a property hotspot outside the UK with good potential for making gains and he has identified the Marche as the best place to do that. I'll write more when I know more.

Update: I've watched the film. A bit cheesy but says lots of good things about the area (not sure exactly where he has bought but it isn't far from us. I'll try to grab a couple of clips to post.

Meanwhile it's back to preparing for our trip to Italy on Wednesday. Really looking forward to seeing how the house is doing - but a bit nervous as well.

More money stuff

Luca is back from holiday and Domenico has resurfaced full of apologies. Apparently, I have to pay all the building costs by transfer from my Italian bank account (so the bank can tell the tax office). Now I just need to check with Gianluigi exactly how much I need to pay.

Parting with the money

I've just sent the final part of the purchase price of the house over to Luca, my Italian lawyer and next Thursday we shall sign the final contract and take ownership of the house. barring any further hiccups of course!

I should also have sent the money for the interim payment to Gianlugi, the geometra, and Mariano the builder but I am still waiting for Domenico the commercialista (sort of accountant / tax adviser) to tell me how to do it so as to avoid paying more tax than I need to. I've been chasing him and Luca for weeks (but I think Luca is on holiday).

Some good news though: another Barclays call centre guy has phoned to say the mortgage has been approved after all and there's be a letter in the post.

Banks

I got a phone call yesterday that nearly gave me a heart attack. On Monday the surveyor came round to value our house in England as we are using that as security to borrow the money for doing up I Noci. When he left he told me that there would be no problem. [The house is worth several times what we need to borrow.)

Then out of the blue I get a phone call from a guy with a very thick Indian accent. "Mr Grant, you applied for a mortgage with the Woolwich but the surveyor's report says the property does not meet the Woolwich's lending criteria." That's it, no explanation, nothing. WTF????? When I manage to drag my thumping heart out of my boots, I say: "so what does that mean?". "Mr Grant, it means that the property does not meet the Woolwich's lending criteria." FFS! I know that but what does that mean? "So", I say, "does that mean you are not prepared to lend the money?" "That's right." So, big pause, I ask: "So why does it not meet the criteria?" Reply: "I'm sorry Mr Grant but you will have to speak to the surveyor" and gives me the company name and a phone number in Newcastle. Hang on, I've applied for a, not inconsiderable, mortgage with Barclays [who own the Woolwich] with whom I have been a customer for over 40 years. And I get some halfwit in a call centre in Chennai [or wherever] telling me I've been turned down and he can't tell me why or what I should do about it except to pass me on to the surveyor.

So I phone the surveyor and, guess what, the number is unobtainable. So I phone my Relationship Manager at Barclays who, guess what again, is not answering but I leave a message for him to call me urgently. Then I remember the surveyors wrote to me with the appointment details so I dig out the letter and find their number which is completely different and in Manchester. The office gives me the surveyor's mobile and as soon as I speak to him, I realise what the problem is. Their lending criteria include one that they don't lend on properties with more than 10 acres of land and we have got 20 acres of grazing land (worth bugger all of course). They mentioned this in their report but said that, in view of the fact that we already had a mortgage with them on this property there was no reason not to lend and they could go ahead - the valuation itself was fine. How dumb can these people be? Not only do they already lend on the property but they have the deeds which clearly show that actually there are three properties: the house and garden and two fields so as it's the house that is worth the money it isn't even over 10 acres anyway.

How stupid are these people and how bad is their customer service that, when they [incorrectly] turn down a very longstanding customer they do it with a phone call from somebody who knows absolutely nothing except what's in his script?

Then my relationship manager, Tim, calls back and gets a right earful. He apologises profusely and says he'll sort it out. I'd have been off to another bank ages ago except that it's just so hard to change banks and anyway my experience with NatWest (hopeless) and my wife's with the Abbey (forgot to stop the cheques when she reported her cheque book stolen and then bounced her direct debits and charged her for an unauthorised overdraft when they paid out on the cheques) tells me that they are all as bad.

In other news, we have found another pool company who looks pretty good - we are meeting them in a couple of weeks at the house. If you are going for the high end rental market a good pool is a necessity and, based on our experience in Spain, you really need some way of making / keeping it warm if it's to be usable before July (i.e. for clients with no kinds or very young ones.)