Shayne’s Story: How I Bought Two Homes in Italy
For many people, buying a house in Italy begins in much the same way: holidays, daydreaming, hours spent looking at Italian property online and wondering whether you could actually make it happen.
For Shayne, that daydream eventually became reality. In fact, she didn’t just buy one home in Italy, she bought two! But her journey wasn’t simply a matter of finding a beautiful house online, booking a flight and signing on the dotted line.
It began with wanting to understand what living in Italy might actually be like.
From dreaming about Italy to house hunting in Le Marche
Like many international buyers, Shayne had been thinking about Italy before she was ready to buy, then she discovered our Move to Italy Retreat. Rather than immediately starting a property search from abroad, the Retreat gave her the opportunity to spend time here in Le Marche, visit different towns and villages, look at properties and learn more about the realities of buying property in Italy.
And something clicked. The hilltop villages, landscape and pace of life in this part of central Italy were what she had been looking for. From there, the idea of owning a home in Italy started becoming something much more tangible.
What is house hunting in Italy really like?
If you’re considering buying a house in Italy, it can be tempting to begin with the properties. Browsing Italian property websites is considerably more exciting than thinking about planning records, surveys and renovation budgets, but we’ve always encouraged our clients to begin with the bigger picture.
Where do you actually want to live? Would you prefer a house in the countryside or somewhere in the historic centre of a town? Do you want somewhere that needs renovating, or would you rather find a property that’s ready to use? Will it be a vacation home, somewhere you’ll spend several months each year, or part of a longer-term plan for moving to Italy? And, perhaps most importantly, have you spent enough time in the area to know what everyday life there actually feels like?
That’s one of the reasons we created our Move to Italy Retreat. It isn’t simply five days of looking at houses. It gives our guests an opportunity to experience this part of Italy, meet people who have already bought here, visit real renovation projects and start understanding the practical side of buying and renovating an Italian property.
Buying an Italian property is about more than finding the house
The excitement of finding a property you love can make it very easy to rush, but the Italian property-buying process is different from that in many other countries, and there are things that need to be understood before committing to a purchase.
A beautiful old house may have alterations carried out by previous owners that don’t correspond with the official plans. A renovation project that initially appears inexpensive may need considerably more work than expected. And assumptions about what can be altered, extended or restored can become expensive mistakes if they aren’t checked properly.
That’s why we strongly recommend carrying out the appropriate checks and involving independent qualified professionals before buying.
Over the years we’ve worked with international buyers alongside Italian geometri, engineers, estate agents, builders and craftspeople, helping our clients understand not only the property they’re considering but also the potential renovation that comes afterwards.
Watch Shayne’s Story: How I Bought Two Homes in Italy
What started as a dream of owning a home in Italy became something much bigger for Shayne. After joining our Move to Italy Retreat as a solo traveller, she went on to buy not one, but two homes in the beautiful region of Le Marche.
In this video, Shayne shares her personal experience of house hunting in Italy, how she found her properties and what she loves about Italian life.
Watch her story and discover how a dream of buying property in Italy became a reality.
What can you learn from Shayne’s experience?
Perhaps the most important part of Shayne’s story is that she didn’t need to have every answer at the beginning. She came to Italy to explore, visiting places, asking questions, experiencing the area for herself and gradually discovering what she wanted from her life here. And eventually she found her homes.
It’s something we’ve seen with many of the people we’ve helped over the years. The property itself matters enormously, of course, but choosing the right area and understanding the life you want to create around it can be just as important, because buying property in Italy isn’t really about acquiring four walls and a roof. For most of the people we work with, it’s about what those four walls make possible.
Morning coffee in the piazza, shopping at the weekly market, getting to know the people behind the counter at the local alimentari. Discovering the neighbouring villages, learning enough Italian to join a conversation, and gradually reaching the point where somewhere that once felt foreign begins to feel familiar.
That’s the part you won’t find on an Italian property portal.
Thinking about buying a house in Italy?
If Shayne’s story has made you wonder whether you could do something similar, why not come to Italy and explore the possibilities in person, at our Move to Italy Retreat.
Over five days in Le Marche, we introduce you to the realities of buying, renovating and living in Italy. You’ll explore towns and villages, look at properties, visit real renovation projects, meet people who have already made the move and have plenty of opportunities to ask the questions that are difficult to answer from thousands of miles away.
Sign up for more information below.
