House rentals and property websites

[sadlybroke]

Hi there, I introduced myself in my previous post here:
www [DOT] expatforum [DOT] com/expats/general-expat-discussions/115938-moving-italy-spain-family.html
(the forum won't let me add links yet)

I've been looking at renting a 4 bed / 2 bathroom house in Italy on various websites. The house does not have to be furnished but I will need the kitchen fitted! By the way, I find it ridiculous that houses are rented out without kitchens, but here we go.

As for the location, I am not really fussy. I'd prefer a quiet suburb of a major city anywhere in Italy really. A location close to the sea would be nice.

One of the problems I've had with my property search is that there don't seem to be many decent houses out there. People say living in Italy (apart of Rome, Milan, etc.) is cheaper than UK but I find houses in Italy (anywhere I looked) way too expensive and not very appealing.... I'd say they are much more expensive than in the UK.

I searched on several property sites including affitto.it, casa.it, casaclick.it, etc.

My questions:

1. Can you recommend a good property site with a decent selection of properties to rent?
2. Are houses for rent really so expensive (dearer than in England) or am I looking at wrong properties?
3. Can you see an issue with renting a house for a year? Is such contract possible, or would we became significantly less attractive tenants for potential landlords? I believe most contracts are for 4/5 years?

Thank you.

[Giacomina]

I think anything over two bedrooms one bath will be expensive in Italy and it does seem that the larger apartments go unfurnished with three to 5 year contracts.

We rented an apartment I found on Casa.it with three bedrooms one bath in Orvieto for 600 euros a month with a 6 month contract but then we stayed for a year with no problem, but that was several years ago and prices seem to have gone up since then.

We rented a three bedroom one bathroom in Monteroni di Lecce, a small town near Lecce ( a city) also with a 6 month contract, but stayed a year again. It was less expensive than the one in Orvieto. That is because Orvieto is a special town with many tourists, a lovely medieval town with great services and fantastic transportation. Towns in Puglia tend to be, well, honestly they are dirty and have a lot of trash around the streets etc. It takes some people a while to get used to that, but eventually you dont' even notice. I liked Puglia because the people were so nice.

Now we rent an even less expensive apartment in Calabria, with one bedroom and a bathroom without a contract month to month. Most things in the house dont' work very well and the landlord is a master at not having the time to get things done as he promises. Its true he is very busy and the apartment repairs are not high on his list of important things to do.

I don't know prices in GB, so no way to compare, but here in italy there aren't any guidlines or laws that help the tenents unlike in GB where you have at least a council or board to go to if things are not right.

I usually spend a lot of time looking and telephoning and asking questions before making a commitment. Hope this is of some help to you.

[sadlybroke]

Thanks Giacomina.

We would definitely want a house with a garden and at least 3 bedrooms (plus a home office or a space for it somewhere within the house). Our budget is 1300€ but can stretch it to about 1500€ for the right house. We'd want it for a year initially though and ideally with kitchen units (or fully furnished). Do you reckon there are properties like this out there?

I assume our money would get us further in the South than in the North? What reputation do cities like Bari and Naples have?

What is the climate like in the South comparing to e.g. Tuscany, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto? What are winters like in the South - do you get any snow at all?

I've been to Italy twice but never got further South than Rome.

I have a lot of questions, currently researching our options and deciding whether we go to Spain, Italy, or we stay put in England.

[Giacomina]

I think you can find an apartment within your budget that includes all you desire.
Try Mioaffito and immobiliare.it.

Its just that Umbria and Tuscany are really the most beautiful and enjoyable places in Italy to live, well, other than the Amalfi coast possibly. I would look in those areas first. The transportation is better, cities are cleaner and the food supply of fresh vegetables and fish etc. is better. Winters are cold for maybe two to three months in those parts, but not any colder than UK I'm sure! Make sure you rent an apartment with what is called termosefonico for heating, that is radiant heat, its really the only way to survive the damp winter months and most places now have that.

The Sud Sud of Italy is the least expensive, talking Calabria and Puglia. Hot hot summers are normal from Rome south and they tend to last into September October, even FLorence has really hot summers.
I hear Naples is a wonderful city but I have not seen the centro so I can't really speak for it. Salerno is a fine city, I would certainly live there if I were attracted to cities.

Winters are very mild in the south, but in mountains there is snow every where in Italy. If you are living at an elevation of say 400 meters or less you probably will experience very little snow if any. Summers in Puglia and most of Calabria are less rainy than other parts of Italy. In CAmpagna and LAzio (where Rome and Naples are) and northward the winters are more rainy.

We rented a furnished flat when we arrived and I think the owner was able to allow a shorter contract because we were not able to view the apartment before we moved in. It gaev them a reason to make a short contract, but we advised the agent that we were interested to stay a year or more if the flat suited us. So you may be able to do the same, but renting an unfurnished place and then setting it all up with furnishings, well, I would not want to depart in as short a time as one year! Maybe its better to store your things in GB, there is virtually no storage here in Italy (if you have a lot of furniture you don't want to part with while trying it out here).

There are unfurnished flats with completed kitchens (excluding dishes, cutlery and cookware). I have seen some unfurnished apartments with a few cabinets and the sink. Furnished apartments (arredato) means with a kitchen complete with dishes, cutlery and cookware.

As long as you are looking in the cities you should have a lot to choose from. I have looked at Spain too, its interesting and the west coast seems to offer alot of possibilities. What an adventure!

[godgie]

I know of someone willing to do long term rental of small apt in calabria.Google search caulonia holidays and select the yolasite extension.
Godgie

[louisecm]

Hi there,

Not sure if you have already found the answer to this, but check out the website airbnb as most of these places are fully furnished. This website generally offers short term stays but hopefully you can also negotiate the price if you want to stay for a year.

I have spent some time in the very south (Reggio Calabria) and loved it, very beautiful small towns and seaside towns to visit, hot summers, right across the water from Sicily, nice beaches and much cheaper. It is a fairly quiet though but this may suit you.

I've also been to Naples but must say I didn't love it, it was very chaotic and I didn't feel very safe, but that was just my experience and I have heard other people say they love it, I just had bad experiences there.

All the best!

[Giacomina]

Wow, sorry to hear about Naples. What happened? we were thinking about seeing Naples and your experience might be very helpful!

[louisecm]

Well firstly the person we had planned to stay with in Naples cancelled on us at the very last minute so we had to find somewhere to stay very quickly, and we had to walk around the train station (quite a dodgy area) trying to find internet. Eventually we found internet and found a great hostel to stay at so we thought ok it will all be fine.
In our hostel, one of the guys working at the bar (who lives in Naples permanently) said he went out the other night and was mugged but he said it is quite normal for someone to mug you but they wouldn't do any further harm.

Anyway the next day we caught the train from Naples to Pompei and on the train back there was a big fight in our train carriage with about 5 young guys punching and kicking this man, it was very scary and they were right in front of us.

All in all as a girl travelling I didn't feel very safe especially after those things happening. But please do keep in mind that's just my experience and I have heard that other people really like Naples.

If you are thinking to go to Naples so you can get to Sorrento, Capri, Amalfi Coast and Pompei I would recommend staying in Sorrento and avoiding Naples (though Sorrento is expensive) as it would be so much more enjoyable and Sorrento is stunning.

[Giacomina]

Thank you Louise,

I appreciate your candid notes on Naples and when we go, other than a visit to an art museum there, we will surely stay in sorrento or else where. What an awful thing those boys did. We often take trains in Italy and have seen some pretty seedy looking charcters, but not ever any violence. Thqt is scary and you are wise to trqvel only with friends and not alone!

Thanks again.

[KimMii]

Funny you should mention a last minute cancellation. I have friends who were travelling from Australia to Italy then onto Paris...their Paris apartment, booked months in advance, was cancelled on them less than 48 hours before they were due to arrive...whilst travelling from Rome to Florence...and they had booked through Airbnb.