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| Best Practices: Property |
La Dolce Villa
Bryant Urstadt
12/01/2004
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Roberto Zecca focused on finding his villa in Italy with the same care that
had seen him through decades as an international banker. First, he and his wife,
Christine, rented an apartment in Milan, even though they were sure they did not
want to live in that city. Zecca, born in Genoa, had worked in Brazil for years
before he retired, and they wanted to find a villa in the old country. They took
day trips, scouring the countryside. “We started in the lakes region,” Zecca
says. “Como was gorgeous, but we were competing with the commuters, and the
traffic was overwhelming. Then we went to the Veneto. In Venice and Verona, the
properties were astounding, but we just couldn’t handle the idea of having to
maintain gold-leaf inlay on the ceiling. Then we hit Tuscany. Almost
immediately, we found our home.”
 |  | | GREG EVANS recently restored Il Granaio near Peccioli, Tuscany. Bottom, the villa
before restoration, and, top, the villa afterward. The muddy creek was
transformed into a pool. |
The Zeccas settled on, or, more accurately,
were swept away by, Villa Ugnana, a property with roots stretching back over a
millennium. Ugnana overlooks the Greve Valley, home of Chianti Classico, and is
only 18 miles outside of Florence. Complete with swimming pool and sublime
views, Ugnana is flanked by olive groves, as well as a vineyard of certified
DOCG vines and the obligatory cypress trees.
“Villa” usually denotes a
country home constructed for a person of wealth. It can include everything from
the Capri villa of Emperor Tiberius to Casa Malaparte, the modernist classic on
the same island. Most true villas were not centers for agriculture, but many of
them are surrounded by farmland.
Many of us with a passion for travel have
entertained the dream of owning one of these Italian classics. Making the vision
a reality, however, calls on our inner banker as much as it does on our inner
romantic. The process requires sharp-penciled attention to the details of this
confusing and chaotic country, and careful effort when choosing an agent,
navigating Italy’s legal system and deciding whether to take on the burden of a
full restoration.
TOP VIEW
For thousands of years, the Italian villa has symbolized a haven for the
civilized pleasures offered by this nation of vineyards and olive groves. But buying a home in Italy is a complex, multifarious process that can trip up the
unprepared. Becoming intimately familiar with the country, hiring agents with
excellent contacts and familiarizing ourselves with the real estate process can
help us maximize our investment in time and money. |
Caveat Emperor
Agents stress the importance of becoming intimately
familiar with Italy before investing in such a home. “Don’t start with the
property,” says Tristan Walker, a founding partner of real estate agency
Stiglitz and Walker, which specializes in Tuscan property. “Find the area that
suits you first.” The disparities among cities, provinces and, ultimately, the
divide between the north and the south are compounded by the fact that, in
Italy, even neighborhoods within the same locale can differ markedly. Sections
of the city of Siena, for instance, have been at each other’s throats for
generations. The Zeccas’ approach, renting a home base and looking from there,
is ideal; Italy has no shortage of fine properties to let.
The agent can make
the difference between a smooth transaction and a molto difficile slog. While
working with an English-speaking agent near home is a great convenience, that
person’s relationship with the Italians will be the true indicator of worth.
Many excellent properties, for example, are not widely marketed. This fact
prompted Walker to partner with Giuliano Stiglitz, an Italian broker based in
Grosseto. In Walker’s search for a home in Tuscany, he says he found very few of
the good properties were being advertised outside the country. Brokers with
little command of English had listed those few.
Italy has nothing like the
Multiple Listing Service used in the United States, so agents rarely know what
their colleagues and competitors are offering. The best substitute we can hope
for is an agent with top-flight Italian connections, and one who is willing to
hustle on our behalf. Most agents ask approximately 6 percent of the transaction
price as their fee, which is split between buyer and seller.
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