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Foreign Renovations
Elizabeth Helman Minchilli
01/01/2004
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La Vida Local
Since the question of affording a home in Europe is never an issue with its clients, Aston Pearl focuses first on nonfinancial strategic planning. The firm has developed what Pearl calls a lifestyle review. Working one-on-one with its clients, it explores such issues as the clients’ other real estate holdings. "We try to understand why the clients bought these homes, what they look for, which homes they prefer and why, and so on. We then look at the way they spend their leisure time, how much travel they do, and to what locations.
We also look at the makeup of their family, and the degree to which they do activities together or separately. This adds up to a picture of how and where time is spent today, and where the family wants to make changes or do things differently," she explains.
 Regardless of how directly a homeowner may want to be involved with a project, almost all responsible professionals in the field advise their clients to engage a local representative. "My job is made much easier when clients based in Los Angeles, Kiev or London hire someone local, not only to oversee their banking and bookkeeping, but also to visit the site regularly and report back on the progress of the job," comments Domenico Minchilli, the author’s husband and an architect who is currently supervising a dozen such restoration projects. "Setting up a trusting relationship between client, architect and contractor is essential, and more often than not, time differences, language and cultural differences, and conflicting schedules impede this. Having someone local who works on your behalf, as your representative, is essential to the project’s success."
Natasha Pearl wholeheartedly agrees. "Once a property has been acquired, someone from our staff makes a site visit, establishing contact with a local representative who will help see the project through to completion." Aston Pearl first identifies others who already own property in the region, then debriefs them on their experiences. This interview results in a deep knowledge of the pluses, minuses and pitfalls of the process, as well as a list of the best-in-class real estate brokers, architects, interior designers and attorneys in the region. "Finding an honest and competent owner’s
representative is a key task," says Pearl. "Our deep knowledge of the clients and their preferences enables us to match them with the right resources."
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