Where to Buy a Tiny Slice of Paradise in Italy?

Some random thoughts...

• You don't want to stay in southern Italy if you think you could need a national healthcare system that's both cheap and effective. Maybe Puglia and Abruzzo could be the exception that proves the rule, but you'd literally bet your health on that.

• I am not a real estate expert, but imho you are not describing a $ 60,000 property. Start Googling the villages inland from Pescara and head north from there. To get an idea of the market starting your search from an nice area not far from the sea and with low prices.

• Do not underestimate the earthquakes, the only "safe" region left seems to be Piedmont. Unfortunately Piedmont's Unesco wine country is extremely expensive these days and the Lakes are not that cheaper.

• If I were you, I'd find a village I like and rent an house for the winter months. Only if I still liked the place after my first winter there, I'd start looking for an house to buy.

You tube has multiple real estate agents in Italy that produce videos about properties for sale in various towns and cities. Simply put “ Homes for Sale Italy” in the YouTube search box. You will find multiple videos you can use to get a sense of various areas and what is available in your price range. I think this would be a good “educational “ step to help you define your search further.

Depending on how long your stays are, it might be worthwhile to rent, rather than buy.

I’m selling one for €30,000 in the mountains of Tuscany, that needs some work, but the closest beach is almost 2 hour drive given the mountainous curvy roads, and the only people who speak English are my wife and I when we go.

Also consider that a place in a village where 55 m2 cost only $60,000 (i.e. €1,000/m2) will certainly be in locations (rural villages) where having a car full time is a must. That adds about $1,000 a month to your cost. As a frame of reference the average cost of an apartment in Florence is about €5,000 per m2, more in the historical center.

It’s hard to suggest a place for you since there are literally tens of thousands of villages that could fit your requirements. I can only suggest Italy’s top real estate websites:
www.immobiliare.it
www.idealista.it
(you can select the English page if you prefer)

If your husband was born in Italy he may be an Italian citizen, unless he renounced his citizenship or unless he became naturalized US citizen before 1992 (before that date Italy did not permit dual citizenship so he might have lost his Italian citizenship). Those who are not citizens can stay in Italy (Schengen area) only 90 days every 180 days. For longer stays one has to apply for the Elective Residency visa at your local Italian consulate with jurisdiction for your State (Probably the Italian consulate in NYC).

Lunigiana is quite affordable. It's the Magra River valley inland from La Spezia. Realtors in the cities of Pontremoli or Aulla will have listings for some of the many villages in the valley. This video is about the area: https://www.facebook.com/wanderingitaly/videos/310307061564447

Hello Kerry,

I have been noodling on this topic for a couple of years and recently had a friend buy a place in Verona so I have seen some of the process from close up.

I can second Roberto's mention of the Italian real estate sites and he analysis of the market. Also keep in mind that if you are not moving to Italy (eg getting visas and becoming tax residents) you should expect to pay 10% in fees and taxes as a foreigner so be sure you have this included in the overall budget. If you plan on becoming locals I think you have 18 months after your purchase to retroactively claim that and get the extra ~5% back.

There are sometimes special breaks and schemes to get people to invest in smaller southern towns so you should look for those if that's already the kind of place you are looking for. These come and go and some more press "1 euro homes!" but if you can get in on one it may benefit you financially and also help smooth some of the bureaucratic hurdles that come with buying property in Italy.

You need an official Italian address to get an Italian bank account so unless you're going to rent a place first you'll need to conduct all the banking from the US. This is certainly do-able but adds a step and don't forget about the euro conversion from dollars.

Good luck, hope you find what you're looking for,
=Tod

Italian bank accounts are available for foreigners. Not all banks will open one for US residents due to the stricter reporting requirements, but many do.
https://www.studiolegalemetta.com/en/italian-bank-account-opening-steps-and-requirements/

If you intend to move there there are income tax breaks for those foreigners moving to municipalities of less than 20,000 residents in the southern regions (Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, Sardinia). The income tax would be a flat tax of 7% for 10 years.

However I think you intend to stay only for extended vacations, therefore the limit is 90 days over 180 day rolling period. In that case, having a house that you can enjoy only 3 months a year may not be worthwhile. You both qualify to acquire Italian citizenship even without moving there. If your husband lost his citizenship there is a procedure for reacquisition, and it is rather simple. Once he becomes a citizen, you as a spouse of an Italian citizen for at least 3 years, can immediately apply for citizenship as well (without moving there). The bureaucratic process takes almost two years and since 2020 it requires a basic knowledge of the Italian language. My wife went through it, but at the time there was no need to know any Italian. If you both become citizens, you can stay longer than 90 days. Just consider however that if you stay over 183 days in a calendar year you become a tax subject and you’d be liable to pay taxes there. But of course if you stay a little longer than 183 days they won’t find out that easily because when you enter Schengen with an Italian passport they don’t keep track of your wherabouts.

There is a property tax on second homes (property tax does not apply on the first residence home), which is not high compared to NJ, but should be considered. There is also a local tax called TARI which covers street lighting and garbage, which amounts to under €150 a year for a house of that size. In addition to that you need to pay utilities, which on second homes are higher than on first residence homes. Just because you are not there it doesn’t mean that bills stop. Gas, electricity, water, have fixed amounts that are billed every two months (billing cycles in Italy are generally bimonthly) even if your consumption is zero.

You can open a bank account as a foreign resident, but not all banks allow this. Many don’t like to open accounts to US citizens because of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) of 2010. Banca Intesa, my bank, allowed me to open one even after FATCA, although I’m an American with foreign residence. There are however restrictions on the investments you can make, due to the interbank treaty between the US and other countries related to FATCA. Of course you could buy a house in Italy using your US account, but once you have the house you need an Italian account to pay the various bills and taxes (also automatically) otherwise you spend a fortune in internstional bank transfer commissions to your bank every month.

Thank you all SO much for the wealth of information!

I do have to decide if my DREAM of owning a place in Italy is worth pursuing based on the complexity/costs you have all described. Perhaps we would be better continuing to rent apartments, as we have been doing, but for longer periods once my husband retires.

My husband did look into getting us, and our two adult children, dual US/Italian citizenship. He contacted the Italian Consulate in NYC and was told that his citizenship was, in fact, denounced and to get it back we would need to live full time in Italy for 2 or 3 years We can't live in Italy full time, so we dropped that idea.

I've been watching a number of YouTubers (Italian and non-Italian) buying properties in Italy and renovating them. It makes me want to do it too! But, they are all much younger!

Hi, it sounds easy and delightful. I live in Italy. Buying and renovating a house can be a nightmare. I've done that too. Bureaucracy, difficulty in finding in contractors, worry, stress, things going wrong, escalating costs, problems you have to try to solve from the other side of the world, things not done as you instructed, unforeseen issues. Then cost: utilities, Italian house tax, someone to keep an eye on the property, insurance.
Rent!
When you arrive in a carefully researched holiday rental you're on holiday from the day you open the door

To the OP:

If you decide to do this, please keep a day-by-day diary.

Join International Living and attend their seminars about moving overseas. My hubby just finished the 3 day in Denver and came home with a LOT of information that you don't realize you need to purchase a home in another country. There is a lot more involved than just buying a home. You have to consider taxes and what happens to your social security, of course health care. you'll need to open a bank account in Italy to buy a property, you can't use your US bank.

We looked into buying, but decided we'd rather use that money to travel more of Europe and the world, rather than be tied down to one location like a time share. This was OUR decision after doing some homework.

Does your husband have Italian citizenship? That would make most of the move easier.

Do you also speak enough Italian to get around in a small town where their might not be a lot of English spoken, you say your husband does, but what about you out on your own?

Do you realize you aren't allowed to own a car in Italy for one year? You have to start the residency process to do this, so will you be able to get around for supplies you need, or to enjoy the surrounding area, like getting to the beach.

Just a few thoughts to consider before buying property in Italy...there are many more.

Hello again Kerry,

Some very good advice in this thread so far. You've probably thought along these lines already but once you have narrowed down the list of potential places I would then tour those places and plan long term stays anywhere you think potentially makes the list. If you are planning on spending months a year someplace and treating it like a second home I would want to make sure that daily and monthly life there feels like it you want it to.

Also as you get to know people in the local community it could ease your purchasing since it will probably involve a banker, a lawyer, a notary and possibly an assessor. The experiences of my friend buying a place showed that it can still matter "who you know" when trying to get things done.

Also real estate in Italy is not like it is in the US. There is no MLS style universal listing and even the websites that have collective listings are a relatively new thing. Getting to know people locally could easily give you access to places that are, or could be, for sale as more of a local than a complete outsider.

Thanks to others for the correction on the bank accounts I always heard you couldn't do it without an address but it just sounds difficult.

Good luck, please keep us posted,
=Tod

Read the US-Italy tax treaty carefully.
Read the Italian inheritance laws and how they are applied to residents, non-resident property owners.
Think about how you will protect your US and Italian properties from burglars and squatters when you are away. We've had experience with that in our French building.

On the other hand, it's nice to arrive and open the door to be in your own home. We are duals and did the 6month split for a while, but finally decided to live in France full time. We chose a city with local transport , as well as train and air connections, but that requires a higher level of investment.

The procedure for reacquisition of the Italian citizenship for those who became naturalized citizens of another country before 1992 are explained below. The procedure is not complicated, but it does require moving to Italy for 1 year.

https://conssanfrancisco.esteri.it/consolato_sanfrancisco/en/i_servizi/per_i_cittadini/cittadinanza/riacquisto-di-cittadinanza.html

If moving for that long is not your intention, you can stay 90 days at the time (every 180 days). I think for that length of stay it is cheaper to rent a furnished apartment for the time you stay. Renting a furnished apartment is more expensive, and also you might have to buy clothes while there, which then you might decide to ship home or throw away, but it still cheaper than owning a place and using it only for a few months a year. Maintaining an empty place is a pain, besides being expensive. You need acquaintances and/or relatives who watch the place in your absence, and also who let some fresh air inside once in a while, otherwise it won't be long before the place gets moldy, especially during the winter months, and in need of painting.

Thank you all again for all your replies! I am reading thru them one by one and doing more research based on your advice.

We bought in 2019 and moved here during the pandemic. Have just hit our 3-year anniversary of living in a small town in Abruzzo and we have no regrets and no desire to move back. I also met a couple from Seattle this year who had requirements similar to yours with a 50K Euro budget cap. They found a great place with awesome views that needed no renovations, just cosmetic refreshes.

My two cents is be sure you truly understand the process and requirements. There are oodles of websites, Facebook groups and YouTube videos for people who want to or have already moved here. I knew what I was getting in to, including having to get an Italian driver's license within a year from scratch - you have to pass theory and practical driving exams in Italian and on a manual transmission, no exceptions. You have to pay for the public health care for the first five years, etc. None of it is insurmountable and I didn't waste any mental energy getting upset about the bureaucracy. Just move through it all a step at a time.

My very personal opinion is that it's easier to make the leap to full-time residence, fully settle in, and move back if/when you need to. Other people are happy to go back and forth, but that's expensive (travel plus keeping another residence) and hard on you. I had enough trouble with a second home an hour from my first one, keeping it clean and maintained.

Happy to answer specific questions. It was the right decision for us, but everyone finds their own path.

Right Brain: "what a cool adventure and think of the rental money we'd be saving!"

Left Brain: "We can get some ridiculous long term rental deals, plus we don't have to choose a place right away"

My Left Brain wins.

but once you have the house you need an Italian account to pay the various bills and taxes

I have been paying all my utility bills and taxes by credit card for years, maybe Kerry could do the same with an US pin&chip card.

I'd check before start worrying about an Italian bank account. Especially if they are going to rent for some months to get an idea of the situation "boots on the ground".