I can't even express, strongly enough, the importance of a thorough home inspection in Italy before you sign on that dotted line.

What is considered “normale” and acceptable in Italy, would not pass an inspection in the United States. There are no Disclosure documents where the seller must divulge any issues with the house or surrounding property. In Italy, it's not "What you see is what you get". It's "What you see, and don't see, is what you get." Providing an example is always so helpful, but painful to the one who had to learn the lesson. I, in fact, was the one who chose to learn the lesson. 

My home is right smack-dab next to the remains of a very ancient Roman Theatre (older than the city of Rome). It's a choice location. The grass-covered property and old marble is an untouched landmark, so it can provide a safe home for all sorts of critters. Critters that have absolutely no respect for my property deed. They were here first and are great-great-great-grandfathered in.

Dolce Living strongly suggested that I put out the extra money for a thorough inspection. I opted for just a superficial inspection. After all, the sellers were nice people with professional jobs and are well-known in the community. I didn't want to offend them by insisting that I have someone go over their place with a fine-toothed comb. But, whether they knew about the issues from when they lived here or the problems developed while the house was vacant for four months, isn't the point. The point is that there are plumbing and ant issues that I'm now having to deal with instead of practicing my 'Dolce Far Niente' (the Sweetness of Doing Nothing). The ants may not have been apparent and the plumbing may not have acted up while the inspector examined the house, BUT I should have taken his sage advice and had the full inspection.

Almost every home in Italy is a few decades or even a few centuries old. That's enough time for some serious issues to develop. However, many times, there's a mentality of "If it's stood this many centuries, it's not going to fall apart in my lifetime." Yeah, well everything is fine, until it's not. You want to get a full home inspection in Italy in order to get things fixed and in good working order before you move in if at all possible. Being new to a town and not speaking fluent Italian places you at a disadvantage in finding the right people and getting things repaired in a timely manner. The term "Due Diligence" comes to mind, as does the term "Lesson Learned."

Lee Ryan