Heart in mouth time - how is the house getting on?

I Noci, clad in scaffolding, seen from the river Tenna - with Monte San Martino in the distance.

We decided not to visit the house on the way down yesterday on the grounds that if there was anything we didn't like, it would be better to see it with Gianluigi and Mariano who would probably be able to explain things and put our minds at rest.

The funny thing with building is that it really does seem to go in fits and starts. So one time you'll arrive and be amazed by how much has happened and another time by how little. This time unfortunately was more of the latter. It was almost two months after all and, apart from the fact that the roof was finally off, progress seemed to have been pretty slow. In fact there was a lot of detail work (e.g. all the door and window frames) and most of the internal walls were in but it all felt a bit disappointing. Having said that it was, in contrast to previous visits, all hands to the pump with half a dozen guys all working away rather than the unusual two. We also had the sparks and plumber on hand and were able to go through all the detailed planing of where every bath, shower, toilet, light and electrical supply would go. The sparks is particularly good with suggestions, not only to do with electrics and sound general advice too.

There's some really thoughtful stuff going on too. For example in the the window sill of the small downstairs sitting room, Mariano has cut in two holes. Mystified, we ask what they are for. Gianluigi explains it is a traditional thing for cooking - you put embers from the fire in the bottom and the pot on the top. Mariano thought we ought to have one. Great!

After a while it gets a bit overwhelming with having to make so many decisions in such a short time and we are reeling by the time we leave to meet our lawyer Luca - he's offered to buy us lunch. As we drove up the lane to leave we stop to enjoy the view. At this time of year there are poppies everywhere and it reminds us of why we chose this wonderful spot:


Lunch at the Hotel Roverino in Comunanza with Luca, his assistant Beatrice and several of Luca's cronies (including Bea's dad). This is where all the business people of this little town go for their long, liquid lunches. On the next table are the entire staff of my bank and not far away is the President of the Province. It's Friday which means fantastic fish. Afterwards Luca takes us all to see a fantastic old palazzo in the old town which he is doing up into holiday apartments - heavily assisted by government grants. Luca is an ultra-modernist so it's all going to be glass floors and hi-tech although he will keep the frescoes with his family's coat of arms (which he also has as a tattoo.) After that, we do the mundane business of taking out insurance. And then off to Elettro Idea to buy kitchen appliances. Turns out they are a client of Luca's so he insists on coming with us to make sure we get the best price and leaving Beat to help interpret while he gos off to a meeting. We get top quality / top name appliances (Smeg range cooker, AEG fridge freezer, Siemens dishwasher - really important for marketing and to differentiate our property from the competition) and the prices are very good - although the extra discount we get from being friends of Luca doesn't amount to much.

Dinner at Contrada Durano again (and we notice they have window sills with those cooking holes). The only other guests are a pair of American veggies so most of the food is veggie (apart from our main) which is very accommodating of them but not very appetising for us. And too much alcohol again - so decide to give it a miss tomorrow. We'll probably be going for a pizza with friends anyway.

Chris had been in touch with Jimmy before we even booked to stay there, via the Italymag forum, and he had recommended a furniture shop in Servigliano which they had used extensively. Nice people (brother and sister Enrico & Forestina Marini), good prices for good quality stuff. And they also do kitchens. Concetta said they would ring Forestina in the morning and let her know we would be coming.

Thursday - Stansted to the Marche

How civilised is Stansted? So spacious and with enough lines for security that there’s no queuing at all and then at the other end Ancona is always a pleasure. We were originally going to hurry down to the house for a meeting with geometra, builder etc. at 4:30. But we found out that there is a very cheap furniture shop in Tolentino which is on the way, about half way between Ancona and Monte San Martino. Unfortunately, all we know is that it is in the industrial estate near an orange supermarket (presumably a big orange shop, not a big shop that sells oranges.)

Having been up since six with only Starbucks for breakfast, we need lunch and, since we don’t need to rush down to the house, we have time to enjoy it. The airport is actually at Falconara so we decide to head down to the coast to Falconara Marittima and see what there is. It has to be said that this is not the most attractive town on the Adriatic coast. In fact the opposite could be true because it’s where all the oil storage etc seems to be. In addition we can’t find a town centre and when we do see somewhere it’s up a one way street and we cannot get to it. So we park up beside a building site on a busy road with the oil terminal on the other side and go into a lttle café, the Trattoria da Enzo. Typcila basic café but the food is just brilliant – simple stuff: pasta fritto misto di mare but lovely fresh ingredients cooked just right. Why can’t we do this back home? (Probably because most of the people who eat here would, in the UK, want pie and chips.)

Then a pleasant drive over the back roads to Tolentino. We pass through the beautiful little town on Cingoli – a quick stroll around the pizza but definitely worth a longer visit some time. Tolentino sits on the superstrada that runs inland from Civitanova Marche and ultimately (like all roads) to Rome. We decide to follow it west out of the town and find an industrial estate but no orange supermarket and no furniture shop. So back through town the other way. We think we’ll probably have to phone Mirella at La Conca who originally told us about this place when we come across another industrial estate. Again no supermarket but there is a sign that says Fallmenti which is the name of the cheap furniture place in Amandola (see 24 March entry) so we follow the road round and, oh my god! It’s huge! There is just so much and really low prices. We have good look round and see some of it is pretty knackered so you have to be careful but we’ll definitely come back.

Then it’s off to our home for the next three nights, an agriturismo called Contrada Durano which is near to Monte San Martino, just on the other side of the Amandola –Fermo road. It’s a little borgo (hamlet / collection of buildings) on the side of a hill with great views back across the valley of the Tenna. The owners are Jimmy (English but with a family who were expat traders in Sicily for many years so is practically Italian) and Concetta, a real Sicilian.

W have about 10 minutes for a quick wash and to change and then it’s down to pre-dinner drinks. Concetta cooks everything using a lots of home grown produce and Jimmy is mine host, getting the evening going with bubbly (Prosecco) followed by a good Umani Ronchi Rosso Conero with the food and then something fruity with pudding and finishing off (and finishing me off!) mistral with the coffee. A convivial evening with other guests and some locals (though I could have done without the patronising old bag from Brighton – “oh I never go to Caffe Belli, it’s full of Brits” like you presumably dear and “do you have Waitrose up north” yes, and some of us have whippets and coal in the bath.) To bed very relaxed and ready for an early start at the house in the morning.

April – May: Operating by remote control

It’s quite hard when the biggest investment you’ve ever made is happening 1000 miles away and you rely on emails to know what’s going on. Even harder when your email isn’t working! Since we returned from Italy there were continuous problems and I spent hours on the phone to BT trying to sort them. One guy insisted that the problem must be in Outlook and so I should get on to whoever supplied the software (told him it was bought from BT). I had to be very assertive to get put through to a supervisor (“I have already spoken to supervisor and he agrees with me it is a Microsoft problem”) but I stand my ground and eventually am put through to the second tier support (i.e. the people who actually know what they are talking about.) They still don’t solve the problem but, by doing it using two different mail clients (Outlook and Outlook Express), under two different operating systems (XP and Vista) on two different machines, I am able to prove that the problem is nothing to do with any software or configuration on my PC. The conclusion is that it must be an ISP problem but as it is an intermittent fault and is not manifesting right now they can’t take it further. I suggest the other explanation is that the problem could be in the router and am told this cannot be the case – I should call back when the problem occurs again (which it does every few hours). Even if it can’t possibly be in the router my experience, going back to programming on Cobol in the seventies, tells me to try the impossible so I power down the router and leave it off overnight. Switch everything on again in the morning and it all works and hasn’t missed a beat since. I phone BT to tell them and they still insist it can’t have been in the router but, if it wasn’t, it’s one hell of a coincidence isn’t it?

The result of all this (apart from a huge amount of wasted time) is that I don’t see an email from Gianluigi with the preventivo (quotation) from Il Mobile, the company who will manufacture the windows and doors. That puts a 2 week delay in the process which could give us problems later.

Apart from that, we’ve arranged to pay the contractors and other suppliers - Luca the lawyer is doing that one our behalf - and exchanged loads of emails with Gianluigi on exact specifications. It’s not easy explaining how you want a room wired so I’ve drawn a diagram which I hope he understands.

We’ve also had to work out how we want the kitchen laid out (so the plumber and electrician can get on). The kitchen people we saw in Sarnano never got back to us despite several reminders. So we still have to sort all that out. We visit our local Ikea, in England, to have a look at what they have to offer. We really don’t want an Ikea kitchen because that’s what everybody does and out house has to have an edge over the competition. But, anyway, we should have a look. To be honest we find it rather disappointing and the quality doesn’t seem as high as we would have expected. We’ve also heard bad things about installation problems. We’ve been very decisive about most things but we really don’t know what we want in the kitchen. Should it be traditional or modern? Fully fitted or freestanding?

We arrange a visit for the middle of May to check on progress and sort out kitchens and, hopefully get some furniture too. Flights to Rome are hideously expensive at the moment so we book Stansted-Ancona and, since Stansted is a good 3 hours from home, arrange to stay in a Travelodge just off the M11.

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.