How we help people to get things moving

We were recently contacted by a new client asking for assistance with a few issues they had come across since purchasing their new property.

Firstly, their property purchase also included a small garden while not attached to the house but across the street. The property is in a hill village where the streets are very narrow and basically the width of a mule track, once they had completed the purchase they then were informed that the Pergola on the garden wasn’t actually legal. The previous owners Geometra replied that this was the case; that due to the fact the Pergola had been existent for more than 20 years it was legal. Further investigation led to them discovering as the Pergola was constructed from bricks and mortar and covered with a tiled roof it wasn’t actually legal. Very confusing eh?

Secondly, due to their lack of knowledge of Italian, and indeed the advice of their friends who acted as translators they believed that the transfer of utilities to their names was going to be carried out by their Geometra. 

Thirdly, they believed the renovation works on the house were already a done deal this included new plumbing, new electrical wiring, a new bathroom and general decorating

A year on from the purchase of their dream home in Tuscany they were still basically at square one and couldn’t understand why. After contacting us at ExpatSOS we were able to shine some light on the three main issues they had encountered.

How did ExpatSOS help them out of this bind?

Let’s take a look at each of the stumbling blocks they came across.

Firstly, the Pergola. Italian law allows for a Pergola in your garden but it should conform to strict rules. It should not be made out of bricks and mortar otherwise it will be classed as a permanent structure which requires planning permission. On further investigation their Geometra explained that he had gone through this but due to a misunderstanding between them and both the seller of the property (don’t forget the clients don’t speak Italian, nor are their friends fluent and their Geometra by self admission doesn’t speak English to a high standard). Once this misunderstanding was resolved the Pergola was demolished and a new one installed without a fixed roof and compliant to the rules and regulations. The clients now have their garden and a shady place to enjoy the tranquillity and views of the Tuscan hills.

Second stumbling block, the utility bills. Upon contact with their Geometra another misunderstanding came to light. The Geometra had offered to be of assistance with the transfer of utilities and council taxes but hadn’t actually offered to do everything for them.

Once explained they got everything transferred and had light, gas and water.

Third stumbling block. The contractors had quoted for the works needing to be carried out and a verbal agreement had been reached. Due to visa restrictions on the clients time in Italy, and yet another misunderstanding a verbal agreement to accept a quote doesn’t mean a contractor will necessarily carry out the works, particularly when it also comes to choosing the style of tiling, bathroom fittings, and indeed even wood burning stoves which the clients were hoping to use for heating already the winter after closing the purchase. 

We managed to get all the sides talking (at this point with an online meeting), our clients were very surprised that the local builder, plumber and electrician weren’t actually offering to provide a one-stop-shop for their renovations.

There is also another valid point here. In a previous post about a case study I explained some of the ins and outs of purchasing our own property. We moved in a year after purchase, but were here all the time. As with all tradesmen around the world, you need to stay on their backs, particularly sole traders. If you want to be a priority for those guys you need to keep up on them, otherwise the classic situation of the builder waiting for the plumber who is waiting for the electrician who in turn is waiting for the owners to decide which type of light fittings they want as an example will very quickly stop jobs getting done and things grind to a halt. I don’t know about you but I’ve never come across a self-employed person who will sit around twiddling their thumbs whilst waiting for a client to pick the colour and style of their tiling in the kitchen. Being self-employed myself and having worked with many small businesses throughout my working life, people don’t sit around in a waiting room until a decision is made.

How did we help here? Easy, a weekly visit to the client’s property and a phone call/message when needed helped our clients to achieve their dream which had been on hold for almost a year.