Friday, April 24, 2009

Amantea - One of the Prettiest Towns in Calabria


Amantea has such appeal, situated on the Tyrrhenian coast within the area of Cosenza this should surely be regarded at one of the premier Calabrian seaside towns.

Amantea also has real natural beauty, its aesthetic charm and its beautiful architecture make sure that its one of the most visited areas within Calabria. There are many interesting sights to see including the Jesuit college, and the cathedral of S.Biagio.

Amantea is regarded as one of Calabrias' best towns for fishing and is famous for its anchovies and sardines.

Check out the Oasi Blu dell'Ischia, this is a stretch of the red sea bed that rises to become two 800 metre columns.

Stunning.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Calabria Property - What Happens When You Complete and Go to Deed?

It is important to clarify that the preliminary sale agreement is not to transfer the property (which actually does not exist yet ) , but only to create a reciprocal obligation between buyer and developer / vendor . The property will be transferred at the signing of the deed of sale.

The deed of sale ( “ rogi to” ) is the agreement through which the property , once completed, is transferred to the buyer . It must be drafted by a Notary , a public officer acting on behalf of the state and in the interest of both the parties.

Once signed, the deed of sale will be handed over to both the parties and registered at the “Conservatoria dei Registri Immobiliari ” ( the competent Registry ) , while a further copy will be stored in the Notary’s archive. The deed of sale will prove the ownership of the property.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

San Sostene - Extension to Wind Farm

The wind farm currently operational in San Sostene, Catanzaro is having a further 15 turbines added.

Nordex, the company responsible for the extension to the site has already started work and envisages completion by July 2009. When completed the site will provide "clean" energy for 20,000 local homes annually.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Goodbye Joyriders in Calabria!

This Lambourghini Gallardo is the latest policecar patroling the Salerno-Reggio di Calabria highway. This car is capable of 192Mph!

I wonder if these cars were used in England, would joyriders still try and get involved in chases.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Silvo Berlusconi - Further Gaffes

Mr. Berlusconi seems to have a penchant for insensitive comments. As we know the recent earthquake and subsequent aftershock have left thousands of people without their homes. He commented that the homeless people, now living in makeshift tents, should regard this as a "camping trip".

There seems to be little interlocutor between his brain and his mouth, at a time when people are having to deal with both physical and emotional loss.

Restaurant Piazza Mazzini - Filippino Lipari

Further on from my previous post on the Aeolian Island of Lipari I thought I would give you details of an exceptional restaurant for you to enjoy whilst you are there.

Please don´t pay any attention to the look of the poor signage or 80´s decor,as you will be truly amazed by the delicious food on offer.

Word on the street has it that this is a favourite of none other than Sting!

Please note this restaurant is closed from middle November to late December.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Blurred Perception of Who Does What

I did a post a couple of months ago entitled who does what, that gave you some insight into how the sale of international property generally works.

There still seems to be a misunderstanding of what a developer is and what roles a master agent/promoter are responsible for.

Another Clarification of Roles

A developer sources and purchases the plot, ensures it has the correct zoning for the type of structure they intend to build. Employment of an architect, a project manager and then all the relevant sub-contractors that get the building up.

The developer very rarely sells a project directly to the public, as their skill set isn´t generally that of a marketer. Promoters and Master agents have a clear understanding of what literature and marketing materials buyers need in order to make a qualified decision about purchasing. A master agent will then recruit real estate agents to sell the development directly to the general public.

I know I have posted on this subject before, but the process seems to be confused and I think purchasers have the right to know specifically where the responsibilty falls on each stage of the overseas purchase process.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Barack Obama Quoting Monk From Calabria

Mr Obama had quoted a medieval monk named Gioacchinoda Fiore, from Cosenza, who was the founder of the monastic order of San Giovanni in Fiore three times during his Presidential campaign.

Barack Obama cited the monk as "a moral authority and visionary".

Italian reports said officials have invited Mr Obama to the abbey of San Giovanni in Fiore, where Gioacchinoda Fiore is buried, the offer also extended to making President an honorary citizen of the local town.

"We are ready to welcome Obama," Antonio Nicoletti, the mayor of San Giovanni in Fiore, said.

Source: The Times

Give Your Rental Property a Unique Selling Point

Everyone should know the cheapest and best from of advertising is word of mouth. If somebody rents your apartment and has a fabulous time they may tell two people - guess where those two people will stay if they fancy a holiday in Calabria.

Conversely they will tell a lot more people if they have a bad exèrience, just because thats how human nature works. As Warren Buffet says "it takes years to build a reputation and seconds to destroy it."

Think of ways that will make your apartment stand head and shoulders above the competition.

The first step is how they pick up the keys, think back to previous holidays you have had where you you have worried about how easy everything is going to be when you arrive at your destination. Ensure this part of your tenants experience is seamless and unambiguous.

Leave some local wine/produce and a welcome basket for your guests upon their arrival, include easily understandable local information such as good restaurants, bars etc. Start a guest book, encouraging people to leave information good and bad about local services.

Make sure you are contactable for your renters!

Have a look at this website that is geared wholly towards property rental.

www.landlordzone.co.uk

Friday, April 3, 2009

Over 40000 Jobs to be Created in Reggio Di Calabria

Public Works Minister, Altero Matteoli claims that through the construction of the Messina Straits bridge and additional road works 40,000 jobs will be created.

The government's economic committee (CIPE) met and approved €17.8 Billion in funds to assist in infrastructure and development, including much needed road links from northern Italy and a long-delayed highway extension between Salerno and Reggio Calabria.

Regardless of all the current economic woes, given the significant funding for infrastructure and the planned landmark buildings between 2010-2016, massive improvments will be taking place within the Reggio region. When completed there will be hugely increased worldwide visibiliy for the area, that will greatly benefit homeowners in Calabria. Unfortunately there will continue to be growing pains along the way, but over the long term Calabria will start to gain some parity with the north.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Banks Starting to Lend Slowly but Surely

Sometimes, as you know I like to deviate from the Calabria property market occasionally and because of some mildly cheerful economic news I thought I would today.

For the first time in 16 months there has been a slight house price rise in the UK!

Ok, before we all start jumping around with excitement Nationwide released figures, documenting average house prices have risen a whopping 0.9% in March from February.

This I feel can be directly attributed to the slow easing of banks lending again and this will slowly but surely be an upward trend as they start to relax further.

The G20 summit should have further positive impact on overall economic confidence, but until the decisions arrived at have been documented just how much benefit remains to be seen.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Visit Lipari the Biggest of the Aeolian Islands




Lipari is the "capital"of the Aeolian Islands and gets the most attention from tourists during the summer months and therefore as a result can get pretty crowded. This charming place is dominated by Mount Chirica. A pretty small island by anyones standards being only 10 km long and about 5 km wide!
The town has a reconstructed Norman church and archaeological museum nearby. Definitely worth a journey for a true snapshot of how things were in simpler times.

There is a hydrofoil that will take you to there and I have included the link below that will give the the departure times from Reggio.

Please note during the winter timetable (up until 1st June) the return boat isn´t until the following day. The service is pretty regular during the summer, to facilitate the number of visitors.

Bank Guarantees

Some facts about the much talked about bank guarantee

• The guarantee is mandatory and included in the purchase price : a preliminary sale agreement which does not come with this bond is viod, the developer cannot charge you in addition for this.

• The guarantee must be issued by a bank / insurance company licensed for this purpose by theThe payment of the deposit and the guarantee

• The guarantee should registered at a specific Registry held by the Bançk of Italy

• The guarantee must cover all the sums paid by the buyer to the developer until the signing of the deed of sale

• The guarantee covers the event of developer’ s bankruptcy or financial crisis

• The guarantee must contain a clause stating that , should the developer go bankrupt , the insuring company shall pay the due sums within 30 days directly to the buyer , without any prior need of legal action against the developer for the recovering of the sums.

All the above criteria need to be fullfilled and if they are not the preliminary contract is void.