Any buyer wishes to know the\u00a0cost and extent of the<\/strong>\u00a0work before signing the proposal<\/strong>. I am well aware of that.<\/p>\n Before buying a property to renovate, you should know how much the renovation will cost. I could not agree more.<\/p>\n The problem is that, as you may have realized, obtaining that\u00a0magic number<\/strong>\u00a0is a surprisingly difficult task.<\/p>\n In all honesty, getting a number isn’t that difficult. Any real estate agent or professional who works in the construction sector will give you an estimate. The problem is figuring out whether that information is reliable, but we’ll get to that.<\/p>\n If you are in the market for a house to renovate in Italy, it is likely that your adventure will begin with looking up some ads from real estate agencies online.<\/p>\n After finding a property that tickles your fancy, you will call the office of the\u00a0real estate agency<\/strong>\u00a0that posted the ad and schedule your first visit to the building.<\/p>\n Be aware that the average Italian real estate agent\u00a0is not an expert in construction, <\/strong>contrary to popular belief (I talked about it also in this other article<\/a>). In fact, their areas of expertise are the bureaucratic<\/strong>,\u00a0regulatory<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0commercial<\/strong>\u00a0aspects of a sale.<\/p>\n Therefore, they will surely provide you with a lot of useful information, but they will avoid getting involved with estimating the cost or extent of hypothetical renovations.<\/p>\n And if by chance they do, you need to ask yourself a few questions before taking their word:<\/p>\n It is entirely up to you whether or not to trust the information you are given. Regardless, before signing any proposal, it is completely normal to want to hear the opinion of a construction expert, such as a\u00a0craftsman<\/strong>\u00a0or a\u00a0designer<\/strong>\u00a0(architect, engineer, surveyor).<\/p>\n Assuming you know one, you can fix another appointment to visit the property and take a trusted professional with you.<\/p>\n Well, as an\u00a0insider<\/em>, let me tell you something in confidence.<\/p>\n I worked in my family’s construction business for more than ten years, and I know exactly how these things work, so I’ll tell you this without many frills.<\/p>\n Your trusted guy will never tell you, either out of politeness or respect, but they are never happy at the thought of accompanying you to inspect the house you potentially want to buy.<\/p>\n They will probably try to come up with an excuse to dodge your request.<\/p>\n Not out of malice, mind you. It’s a very simple and pragmatic issue.<\/p>\n There is nothing less appealing for a business owner or for a professional (without exception!) than being asked for a detailed cost estimate for the renovation of a property that you do not even know if you will buy.<\/p>\n They hate that<\/strong> kind of request<\/strong> and here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n Drawing up a reliable renovation estimate is not as simple as asking the greengrocer how much a kilo of oranges costs.<\/p>\n Getting that magic number that accurately represents the total cost of the work requires considerable time and energy.<\/p>\n Really. People do not realize how much work goes into budgeting renovation for a building, especially if your aim is to have a precise and reliable quote.<\/p>\n Think, for example, about the renovation of a simple apartment. I can assure you that it is a puzzle made of many small pieces that fit together, each with its own logic and specifications regarding measurements, timing, materials, installation, workers, costs, and so on.<\/p>\n A multitude of different people work on a simple renovation, and to obtain that famous magic number, it would be necessary to consult with all of them.<\/p>\n Going back to our apartment example, you would need at least a mason, a window maker, someone to do the parquet flooring, a tiler, a painter, a plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, a blacksmith, and a technical designer.<\/p>\n That is why\u00a0making an accurate cost estimate requires hours of work and dozens of phone calls<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/strong>It is also why no Italian construction business or designer happily accepts the job of estimating work on a property that you don’t even know if you will buy.<\/p>\n They consider it a waste of time, and if they are good at their job, many people are probably requesting their services. Therefore, they have no time to waste.<\/p>\n Considering all that, even if you find a good soul willing to visit the property with you,\u00a0you won’t get anything more than a word of advice or a rough estimate of renovation costs.<\/strong><\/p>\n They will tell you something like, “You will spend more or less a few thousand euros, then it always depends on what kind of work you want to do.”<\/p>\n That is the typical kind of answer you will receive. It will be very difficult to find someone who really puts effort into it without hedging their bets in case their estimate is wrong (especially if you intend to get an analysis on more than one property).<\/p>\n That will add up to the enormous effort<\/strong> it will take you to organize everything and convince everyone involved to agree on a date and time to carry out the inspection in order to obtain an\u00a0accurate estimate<\/strong>\u00a0within an\u00a0acceptable timeframe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Let me say that again, “within an acceptable timeframe”. Remember that while you wait for a quote, another buyer who is sure about the purchase could snatch the property from you.<\/p>\n It is true. For a long time, that was how it was done, and even today, more often than not, there are no alternatives.<\/p>\n All this happens because the Italian real estate sector has remained stuck in the past when everything was simpler.<\/p>\n During the time of our\u00a0grandparents\u00a0<\/strong>(or even our\u00a0parents<\/strong>), construction was a lot more frequent, and it was common to erect new buildings, feeding what we could call the\u00a0new market.<\/strong>\u00a0In that scenario, you only had a company dealing with the construction and a real estate agency taking care of the sales.<\/p>\n There was also less bureaucracy, and houses were much simpler, so there weren’t many details to pay attention to.<\/p>\n Nowadays, however,<\/strong>\u00a0we deal a lot more with the\u00a0used market<\/strong>, which is full of opportunities but\u00a0less predictable<\/strong>\u00a0and requires\u00a0more complex evaluations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n When applying the traditional purchase setting to today’s market, at best, you find yourself dealing with the real estate agent for the sale and with the construction company or designer for the renovation work.<\/p>\n Putting together a complete and accurate framework of information before signing a purchase offer, as we have seen, is terribly difficult.<\/p>\n Modern needs require modern solutions, and making a big investment using traditional methods, such as involving a typical real estate agency or construction company, may not be enough or lead to unpleasant consequences.<\/p>\n For all these reasons, you need to hire a local experienced professional<\/strong>\u00a0who speaks a second language<\/strong> and who is able to guide you through the entire process, from identifying the perfect property<\/strong> to carrying out the renovation\u00a0work<\/strong>. Someone who stays focused on the goal, constantly keeping an eye on the expenses and the final result.<\/p>\n That is what I did with my company Result. With us, clients who want to buy property in Italy to restore it or customize it, find a real estate consultant\u00a0<\/strong>who is an\u00a0expert in construction\u00a0<\/strong>and accompanies them from the beginning, every step of the way.<\/p>\n Moreover, for non-structural work, we even provide a\u00a0guarantee<\/strong>\u00a0on the quota for the renovation cost we made during the purchase, meaning that you can really trust our estimate.<\/p>\n In this way, buying a property in Italy to renovate or customize it becomes a\u00a0less complicated<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0much more rewarding<\/strong>\u00a0experience.<\/p>\n If you agree with my analysis and want to know more about Result’s Integrated Real Estate and Building Consulting services, click here to see how we work<\/a>, or\u00a0contact us\u00a0for more information<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s do it!<\/p>\n Alessio Piccinato<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n [Technical Manager and Founder of Result \u2013 Integrated Real Estate & Renovation Advisory]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Buying a house to renovate in Italy: quotes wanted If you are considering\u00a0buying a property to renovate or customize here in Italy, you are about to have a\u00a0Mission Impossible\u00a0on your hands. Any buyer wishes to know the\u00a0cost and extent of the\u00a0work before signing the proposal. I am well aware of that. Before buying a property […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9699,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[66,60,68],"class_list":["post-10531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release","tag-buying-house","tag-preventivi-en","tag-quotes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe limitations of Italian real estate agents<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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The limit<\/strong>ations<\/strong> of<\/strong> typical<\/strong> Italian <\/strong>Businessmen<\/strong> and<\/strong> designer<\/strong>s<\/strong><\/h5>\n
“<\/strong>I<\/strong>t’s always been like this!”<\/strong><\/h5>\n
The solution<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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