Moving to Ofena

[roo]

Originally Posted by maisie21

Hi Rosa
We have been quoted 100.00 Euros for our house which is an 'E' category which we thought was ridiculous but compared to your quote ours is not too bad.
Our Geometra is Alessandro Battistone who is based in L'Aquila, we had to get onto him quite a bit but he had been in touch with the Comune before our arrival a couple of weeks ago and he also had to speak to their engineer so I think that that has spurred him on a bit. Our deadline is February.
Arnaldo is lovely, he acts as our interpreter when we talk to the Geometra and the builder( because although mu Italian is picking up it is not good enough yet to discuss the complexities of repairs) he has also got a key to our house so that he can keep an eye on it for us.
Where is your house?
Judy

Hi Judy, so are you sticking with your geometra? How come your deadline is in February my understanding is that this week is the deadline? What do you mean you had to get on him? My house is located on via dei cappuccini (first on the left when going to St Peters. Thanks for your comments Judy.

[Goingtoitalia]

Hi Barry and Gerda,
It was great to finally meet you! I had such a wonderful time meeting you. Your hospitality was beyond gracious! I hope to share my house with you someday to return the favor. I took Blair to Positano and Sorrento, we saw part of Vesuvius. I had a good time. Hopefully, Blair did too! He did not push me out of the car so it must have been OK Tile is 90% off the walls in the kitchen, it looks so much better and it is not even done yet. I do not know how every house in the area was able to find at least one room of unattractive tile??? I hope to see you again in Italy on my next visit... 2 days till it is time to go home
Ciao,
Bruce

[maisie21]

Originally Posted by roo

Hi Judy, so are you sticking with your geometra? How come your deadline is in February my understanding is that this week is the deadline? What do you mean you had to get on him? My house is located on via dei cappuccini (first on the left when going to St Peters. Thanks for your comments Judy.

Yes, we ares ticking with this Geometra, primarily because he was the one that drew up the originla plans for us and we were also told by Vincenzo(in the Comune) that we would have to use the original Geometra.
I don't know why there is a difference in deadlines it may be because the lesser damaged houses have to be repaired first and by staggering the amount of projects being submitted to the Comune would be less daunting for the administration staff.
We met with our Geometra in May when he told us he would write a report, but he still had not done it when we went a couple of weeks ago. However, the engineer at the Comune told him to get a move on because all of the deadlines are looming.
Our house is on Via delle AIE just off via Aldo Moro also in the St Peters area.
Judy

[maisie21]

Originally Posted by Goingtoitalia

Hi Bonnie,
I just found out that your car will have to be shipped to England or Germany to come into the country, (Italy or anywhere in Europe). Next finding insurance, might be difficult.....The car is insured, not the driver, so rates are??? Might be better to sell car to a local and pay them to insure it for you. As for houses, find a local to befriend, avoid an agency if you can, first they jack the price up, sometimes double, then they charge about 3,600 euros, then 20 % VAT on amounts over 100,000 euros, plus the taxes and "notario". Compare that to a better price and about 2,000 euros for a "Notario", much better deal. There are plenty of houses in Abruzzo for sale! Have an expert look at it first, get a contractor, to take a look and give a price on restoration costs, do not trust an agency to give you an idea, I planned on double their estimate and it was still low. If you like big cities by the sea, Pescara is a deal, about 125,000 euros for an apt. by the sea..... I am in Italy right now checking up on my house, finishing up a TV show, I will be back in the States soon. You can Email me at yobhip@verizon.net if you want.. I will answer in a few days once home.

Hi Bruce
Hope that everything is going to plan with the house?
We are using a local builder to do the repairs on our house, we have used him before and he is also going to design a staircase for inside for us to fit the dimensions of the house. It would have been installed months ago but the quake hit so now we have to wait until the damage has been repaired. His prices and the quality of work are far superior to the builder that was paid to do the renovations initially.
Judy.
Judy
Did you climb Vesuvious? We did when we visited it,wonderful experience.

[Barry]

Originally Posted by roo

Barry, any idea who I could contact my time is running out. I'm so frustrated at all this! Thanks
Rosa

The notice was on our comune bulletin board and just said the deadline was the 26 October. Probably you have to go to the comune.
I think this is for primary residents only. No money has been approved for second homes as yet but it wouldn't hurt to check.

[Barry]

Originally Posted by Goingtoitalia

Hi Barry and Gerda,
It was great to finally meet you! I had such a wonderful time meeting you. Your hospitality was beyond gracious! I hope to share my house with you someday to return the favor. I took Blair to Positano and Sorrento, we saw part of Vesuvius. I had a good time. Hopefully, Blair did too! He did not push me out of the car so it must have been OK Tile is 90% off the walls in the kitchen, it looks so much better and it is not even done yet. I do not know how every house in the area was able to find at least one room of unattractive tile??? I hope to see you again in Italy on my next visit... 2 days till it is time to go home
Ciao,
Bruce

Blair must be running out of food and beer by now! Did your film crew show up?
I see the weather turned after we left and there was only enough heater kerozene for a week or two. It was hard to leave after a month and go back to work and am looking forward to going back already and meeting up again. I think you and Chris wore Gianni out so maybe the village needs a rest after we were all there.
Thanks for taking Blair with you. I don't think he believed me when I told him getting around from Carrufo requires a car. Our road has been reopened and the bus is now going to the square instead of stopping out on the highway so he can get out and travel a bit easier.

[Goingtoitalia]

Originally Posted by Barry

Blair must be running out of food and beer by now! Did your film crew show up?
I see the weather turned after we left and there was only enough heater kerozene for a week or two. It was hard to leave after a month and go back to work and am looking forward to going back already and meeting up again. I think you and Chris wore Gianni out so maybe the village needs a rest after we were all there.
Thanks for taking Blair with you. I don't think he believed me when I told him getting around from Carrufo requires a car. Our road has been reopened and the bus is now going to the square instead of stopping out on the highway so he can get out and travel a bit easier.

Hi Barry,
Blair seems to be OK, last time we talked he was going to move downstairs, kerosene was holding up good, still plenty left. Plus, my builder told me to clear all my stuff out, so Blair got quite a bit of firewood and some good pressed logs. Plus, the sun came out! Looked like it might be warm for a few more days! He got the walls smoothed out and ready for a coat of plaster, (tiles were kept behind the stove and sink). Looked great! We went up to see George doing his filming, the whole town was closed off, I had to call Gianni for a wake up call as he decided to be an extra. we snuck around a bit, they were filming in the small church.... Blair and I did not see George. But, after I dropped Blair off who did I see coming up the mountain, why George Clooney himself! Such excitement! My taping went well, although my house was not as "done" as it should have been, the producers really liked the "first part" sop they could hardly wait to get the rest "in the can." Blair is trying to think of a way to get a scooter, (I know that he wants a motorcycle so bad!) Gianni's scooter might be able to be fixed....He was planning his trip to Rome by using the bus, so I think that he will figure something out. I never saw Gianni so tired from listening to Chris and I talk, he looked so tired....I never knew that the town could be so active....I just got back into LA, I am sure that my days will also be odd for a while, going back to work. I look forward to meeting up again! Ciao!

[flawed]

Originally Posted by Goingtoitalia

Hi Barry,
Blair seems to be OK, last time we talked he was going to move downstairs, kerosene was holding up good, still plenty left. Plus, my builder told me to clear all my stuff out, so Blair got quite a bit of firewood and some good pressed logs. Plus, the sun came out! Looked like it might be warm for a few more days! He got the walls smoothed out and ready for a coat of plaster, (tiles were kept behind the stove and sink). Looked great! We went up to see George doing his filming, the whole town was closed off, I had to call Gianni for a wake up call as he decided to be an extra. we snuck around a bit, they were filming in the small church.... Blair and I did not see George. But, after I dropped Blair off who did I see coming up the mountain, why George Clooney himself! Such excitement! My taping went well, although my house was not as "done" as it should have been, the producers really liked the "first part" sop they could hardly wait to get the rest "in the can." Blair is trying to think of a way to get a scooter, (I know that he wants a motorcycle so bad!) Gianni's scooter might be able to be fixed....He was planning his trip to Rome by using the bus, so I think that he will figure something out. I never saw Gianni so tired from listening to Chris and I talk, he looked so tired....I never knew that the town could be so active....I just got back into LA, I am sure that my days will also be odd for a while, going back to work. I look forward to meeting up again! Ciao!

Hi Bruce,
Glad that your taping went well. I am so looking forward to seeing the shows. I don't know whether it will be on here in Aus, has the first one run yet or will they run it all together?
Are you able to keep it and put it on U Tube for us all?

So you have been wearing poor Gianni out? when we were there he was just trying to find a flight to get Mira home, so I hope she has returned now.
Our roof repair started last week, although I hear there has been rain. On the net it said Oct was the wettest month.

I'm in Aus at the moment but heading to Ofena 8th Nov to check out the roof. I'm sending the stuff from Dubai to Italy which has been a challenge to organize and I will have to pay 20% to 35% tax from what I heard as we don't have our residency yet.

We are hoping to receive the stuff some time after 10th Dec. It will be nice to have furniture. I am not looking forward to the cold and wonder if I will be able to stand camping at the house.........brrrrrrr Rod won't be there until the end of Nov.

Pam was going to be there Nov too. I hope we will catch up.
Looking forward to your show, have you got any more pics of the house?

[Goingtoitalia]

Originally Posted by flawed

Hi Bruce,
Glad that your taping went well. I am so looking forward to seeing the shows. I don't know whether it will be on here in Aus, has the first one run yet or will they run it all together?
Are you able to keep it and put it on U Tube for us all?

So you have been wearing poor Gianni out? when we were there he was just trying to find a flight to get Mira home, so I hope she has returned now.
Our roof repair started last week, although I hear there has been rain. On the net it said Oct was the wettest month.

I'm in Aus at the moment but heading to Ofena 8th Nov to check out the roof. I'm sending the stuff from Dubai to Italy which has been a challenge to organize and I will have to pay 20% to 35% tax from what I heard as we don't have our residency yet.

We are hoping to receive the stuff some time after 10th Dec. It will be nice to have furniture. I am not looking forward to the cold and wonder if I will be able to stand camping at the house.........brrrrrrr Rod won't be there until the end of Nov.

Pam was going to be there Nov too. I hope we will catch up.
Looking forward to your show, have you got any more pics of the house?

Hello,
Let's see Mira is safely back in Carrufo and has started her new job. Gianni will be happy as he can stay there and be less than a 20 second walk to the bar
I saw the builders working on your roof. I took some pics, though posting pics on FaceBook has been challenging as so many times the upload fails
I will be putting up more of my adventures in Italy and Switzerland as well.
The taping went well, or at least I think that it went well. We had a reunion of sorts as House Hunters brought all the locals that helped with the show back for a big reunion dinner in Castel Del Monte.
It was raining off and on in Ofena. Not really that cold yet! I am sure that it will be soon. Carrufo must be 20 degrees F colder than Ofena, as I could sleep with the windows open in Ofena, but if I tried that in Carrufo I would have been frozen like a gelatto.
I saw Barry in Carrufo, Gerda and of course Blair, Barry's brother, I met Ann and Chris from Florida/New York too. I will never learn Italian if it keeps getting this easy.....
The more time that I spend in Ofena the more it feels like home!
My house is coming along, but a little slower than expected. My builder has been taking government contracts, but they have not paid him... Wondering why he just does not finish my place and get paid???? Oh well, Italy has it's own rules.
It will be so nice to spend a great length of time in my house. I can hardly wait till it is done and I only need to worry about the garden.

[denis the menace]

Hello Denis, didn't see you in Marini's again.[/quote]

Hello Barry, Sorry if I keep missing you. Lots to do preparing for the olive harvest so havn't done much shopping lately.

No dsl or land line for nearly two weeks so lost touch with the outside world. Back on now and just trying to catch up.

Hope to see you one of these days soon. I hope all is well with you and yours.

take care,

Denis.