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OUR CLIENTS' TESTIMONIALS

UNE MAISON DE RÊVE À VENISE

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Nous avons rencontré Andrea en avril 2019.

Nous cherchions à acheter un appartement à Venise, Andrea nous avait été conseillé par des amis, très satisfaits de ses services. 

Il nous a fait visiter des appartements correspondants à nos souhaits et notre budget.

Et comme il avait bien compris ce que nous voulions,car il a une écoute attentive, en juin 2019 Andrea nous a fait visiter l’appartement qui nous correspondait. 

Non seulement Andrea s’est montré très efficace dans la recherche de cet appartement mais il a aussi assuré tout le suivi de cet achat. 

Accompagné de Max , son ami avocat, ils nous ont beaucoup aidés pour les questions juridiques, notariales qui sont inhérentes à ce type de transaction. 

Puis Andrea s’est révélé un parfait maître d’œuvre avec la réalisation de travaux dans l’appartement, avant notre installation. 

Aujourd’hui encore, Andrea reste notre référent sur Venise et est toujours disponible pour nous. Ce que nous apprécions beaucoup. C’est très rassurant pour nous d’avoir ces contacts sur place. 

Une relation d’amitié et de confiance s’est installée entre Andrea, Max et nous, et nous en sommes très heureux.

 

Patricia et Hervé

SOGNI DEL CANALE

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From the first time I laid eyes on Venice in 2006, I was in love. The food, the wine, the history, the breathtaking views every way you look.For years we returned, staying mostly in apartment rentals with our family of four. We dreamed of owning a property in Italy, but never thought it could actually happen.  After watching House Hunters International way too many times, we began our internet search of properties with NO knowledge of what to do or how to do it.  We’d read that properties were less expensive south of Tuscany.  We traveled to Italy in 2015 and rented a car to see if we could find our “happy ever after”.  As usual, our trip began and ended in Venice. While there are many lovely places south of Venice…we realized it is just not the same. Like a magnet, Venice continued to draw us back.

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The apartment before and during the works:

Another episode of House Hunters International led us to Guardia Sanfromondi. We even planned a trip there! We bought and studied every book about buying property in Italy we could find.  (There are a few but they don’t really replicate the process).  A few weeks before our planned adventure the earthquake happened in central Italy, making our travel to that area near impossible.  What to do? It’s a horrible situation for the people in that area. We have tickets to Italy for our family of four, but realize that “tourism” is the last thing the people there need at this time.  

So, we decide to train it from Rome to Venice (remember it draws us like a magnet). Luckily, I found Andrea’s website and made an inquiry to him about property in Venice. We can “just look”. His response was quick and in very good English. He alerted us to the fact that properties in Venice are very expensive. But remember, we’re “just looking”.  That trip we “looked” but didn’t find what we were looking for. After reading several of the reviews here on www.PropertiesInItaly.net, I knew that some people looked for years.  And, we weren’t in a hurry…but…

After we returned home, I spent time every day on websites looking at properties. Andrea sent me others and even went by to take pictures for me.  In one case, a property that looked perfect online took over 6 months to gain entry to. Despite my “American impatience” with the other agent, Andrea patiently and diligently worked on him until he got us a visit.  Pictures of the inside of properties do NOT tell everything. Although this was in a beautiful location, the inside of the property was a mess.  We were all disappointed, but the search continued.

Our budget and desire to be in a tranquil location near to convenient services led us to Castello.

You think you know how a property purchase should go, given you’re an adult and you’ve bought a few properties. But, in Italy, it’s a whole different story. The negotiation comes with nice flowery words, and doesn’t move quickly. Unlike purchases in the United States, the personal relationships are extremely important. Fortunately for us, Andrea introduced us to an Italian lawyer who speaks great English. Max was the negotiator and legal voice for us during the process.  Thank goodness, because my straightforward and impatient American demeanor would have had us kicked out of the country!

The first property we made an offer on was to include many renovations. This would have been a property that I would never have looked at. However, Andrea’s keen eye knew the property would be a good one.  After seeing it, we could envision what it would be like. However the cost of renovation was an unknown.  Andrea spent hours – even providing an architect – to help us get reasonable cost estimates for the renovations. After finally settling on the property, even standing outside the windows for hours to see what the setting was like, we made an offer.  However, the negotiation process came to a screeching halt when the seller wanted us to make the down payment, and allow them to stay in the property for 6 months longer! 

Exasperated, we moved on to another property.

In hindsight, we felt relief because the alternate property was a better layout for our family.  It appeared, the “all-in” costs including refurbish and furnishings would be far less and we could actually be up and running quicker!

Max, the ultimate lawyer and negotiator, took our offer to the seller. Within a few days we had a deal and were handed over to the Italian mortgage broker.

Compared to the US everything takes time. Lots of it.  Did I mention that already?

Thanks to digital file transfers, we were able to get cleared several weeks later to finalize the purchase of our Italian property. But that’s not where the story ends…

It felt like an eternity, but four months after that “just looking” trip, I went back to close on our Venice property.  You must have an Italian tax code and bank account for any of this to happen.  Plus, my husband was unable to come, so I would need a Power of Attorney. Max organized all of this for us.

I set out with a trusted friend for a two-week trip to Italy.  We would close on the property, put new furniture in and enjoy!  (Silly ladies…we even booked some tours for sightseeing). Upon arrival, we discovered other items in the property that needed attention. Andrea quickly arranged for the painter to get the walls back in shape. As preordered furniture and appliances started to arrive, we were excited that we might get this apartment turned around in 2 weeks!  As usual, the timing was not exactly perfect, but we could do it! 

Unfortunately, we had to get the old couch out before we could get the new couch in. In the US, you can donate the couch and get it hauled off pretty quickly. Not the case in Venice. You must store the couch until you schedule a pick up from the trash company. The storage room door is only 2 feet wide. The couch is 3 feet wide.  We considered throwing it in the canal. But, getting arrested in Venice might not be a good idea. After much thought, my friend convinced the painter to bring a chainsaw, and the handyman to cut the couch into pieces so that we could store it to wait for the pickup 2 weeks later. Whew! We thought we were so close to getting the apartment ready!

But then, we discovered the underside of the kitchen counter tops were rotten.  There is no Home Depot in Venice. I have only 7 days left in Italy.  My husband is not here to help me. Every call indicated the only way to fix it was to redo the entire kitchen.  Panic set in.Andrea to the rescue again!  He convinced me to calm down and wait for the carpenter. He tells me the carpenter can make new butcher-block countertops in a couple of weeks time.  Who likes Formica anyway? It won’t be done by the time I leave, so I will have to rely on Andrea’s help to get this accomplished.  Where else can you get a realtor who helps you after the sale?

 

The apartment after the works:

Before we left, I was able to spend three glorious nights in the property. Peacefully sleeping in my little quiet haven was a dream come true. The Via Garibaldi, with everything you could possible need (except counter tops), has become my favorite street. The street includes the best sandwich shop, restaurants, butcher, coffee shops, gift shops, and even a wine shop where you can get a liter bottle of wine for 4 Euros!  Plus, we are only a 10-minute walk to Saint Mark’s Square.

Talk about dreams of Venice…This is it.  Better than I ever expected. And certainly something I could have never done with just a book. You need people who can help you navigate the nuances of Italy that you will just never understand.

A few months later we fully remodeled the bathrooms. Again, with Andrea’s help and keen eye to detail, the bathrooms are beautiful and modern.

Our little dream is available for you to share. Sogni del Canale is available for rent at www.SognidelCanale.com.  If you’re looking for a quiet haven to enjoy the peace and tranquility Venice has to offer, but yet be close to the major sights, this is it.

This dream would not have been possible without Andrea's help.  If you’ve got a dream, get started! You never know until you “just look”…

 

Patti - March 2019

AND THE FINAL DECISION WAS...AN APARTMENT WITH CANAL VIEW BY SAN PANTALON

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I highly recommend Andrea Zaglia as a real estate agent/broker. Andrea was referred to me by a friend who was also going through a process of buying an apartment in Venice. In December of 2017 we viewed 16 apartments and I chose the one which was in the process of total remodeling. Just bare unpainted walls. With Andrea’s help I established a reasonable rapport with the seller and I specified quite a few of my preferences such as colors, tile, parquet, location of electrical outlets. Later on Andrea got me in touch with Simone Squarcina, who has an excellent cabinetmaker business. From my home in California I could specify and agree on  the kitchen design and I am very happy with the results.

The purchase of an apartment in Italy involves dealing with many entities: a lawyer who writes the proposal, a notary, a mortgage broker, and later on all the utilities, i.e. electricity, water, internet, telephone. Italy is choked with bureaucracy, the Italians are not keen on promptly returning the phone calls and any task can take 4 times the time and effort as compared to US.

Andrea received his MBA from the University of Clemson in South Carolina, he speaks perfect English and is always prompt. He made sure all of my requirements for the remodeling were listed in the contract and were fulfilled. He was invaluable in communicating with all the entities listed above, extracting the necessary responses. Andrea put me in touch with his other American client which helped me to comprehend various issues from the buyer point of view.

I concluded my purchase in June of 2018, I am happy with the result. I see Andrea every time when I am in Venice. He still helps me to deal with other issues such as taxes and resolving utility problems. Home ownership is a process and it is very important to have a local advice and help the need for which does not cease.

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Zachary Deretsky - January 2019
San Pantalon Canal view

THE ALTANA, THE STORY CONTINUES...

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The jewels of any properties in Venice. The whole reason of moving from our beautiful flat in Misericordia to Miracoli was our search for private exterior space. Thanks to Andrea and his team, he made our dream come true. The space is simply fabulous and large enough for a dining area, exterior kitchen with running hot water, and relaxing area with two large rotating pods.
Andrea, personally selected and planted all the flowers , wisteria, jasmine, rosemary and mint. He has done a fabulous composition and organised for the daily , on timer irrigation. Andrew and I are so pleased with the final result and it is now becoming very hard to leave the apartment. So comfortable with plenty of space inside out, fabulous views of Miracoli and the roof lines of Venice . We are now enjoying Venice in our own privacy and do no longer need to got to expensive restaurant to enjoy outside eating experience. What a beautiful way to live in Venice. Andrea you are a Star!

Pascale Reymond and Andrew Langton – May 2018

VENETIAN EXPERIENCE REVISITED

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Following our very happy and successful experience of purchasing and refurbishing our apartment opposite Misericordia a few years ago, Andrew and I were ready for a new challenge.

We simply love our little apartment and spent more time than expected there. Beautiful refurbished by Andrea and his team. The only thing missing was exterior space. With the help of Andrea and Max our Italian lawyer we managed to find this incredible apartment opposite the beautiful church of Miracoli with a huge Altana ! The only problem this flat was that it had been empty over 9 years . The interior needed extreme updating and restoration and the building needed a new roof. Scary ?

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The apartment before the works:

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With Andrea, Max and their architects, builders and interior builders on board, we were ready to do it again in full confidence of success . Max helped us with getting the best price for the apartment and also managed to convince all the owners of the building to contribute to a superb new roof. Andrea has been brilliant getting the quotations and the working team together and did an absolute fantastic project management.

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The apartment after the works:

A year later, our beautiful Miracoli apartment came to life and the pictures speak for themselves . Thank you so much Andrea and your team

Pascale Reymond and Andrew Langton – November 2017

A VENETIAN LOVE AFFAIR

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We have been in love with Venice for years.  It was only in the last four years that we started staying in apartments when visiting Venice.  We always stayed somewhere that had a canal view and enough room for friends to visit.  So putting two and two together, we naturally came to the view that we should own an apartment there and rent it out when not in use.  So began the process of finding an apartment to buy.  We knew nothing.  We met with various agents and were fortunate to find Andrea through his website.  He dedicated a substantial amount of time to our search and showed us many properties over the three years that we’ve been searching. 


Dealing with Venetian real estate agents is fraught!  Andrea negotiated the tricky waters for us in a way that we could never have done.  Being Aussies we are very straight forward but we soon learnt that isn’t the way things are done in Venice! We made various offers which were unsuccessful due to the Venetian way of doing things… but we stuck with it and we finally struck gold just before Christmas 2015. To tell you how much we trust Andrea…. We took his word that it was what we had been looking for and made an offer without seeing it!  The offer was accepted with final settlement at the beginning of February 2016.  The paperwork involved is complex and Massimiliano held our hands through that process with banks and legalities, going out of his way to help wherever he could.
 We arrived in Venice on 10 February 2016 and Andrea and Massimiliano gave us all the contacts we needed to have the place fully renovated by the time we left on 29 February.  Fortunately, there was no structural work but it was a substantial makeover.   Andrea and Massimiliano gave up their own spare time, their employees time too to take us around looking for furniture, light fittings, even linen for the apartment. They made us feel that the success of this venture mattered to them as much as it did to us!  So then we had a beautiful apartment and began the process of advertising on the internet.

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The apartment during the works:

In the first six weeks after going live we had 90 days of bookings over the next six months.  This is a testament to the quality of the finish in the apartment, the apartment amenities and its superb location.  Despite all the best laid plans, things do sometimes go awry and when they have Andrea has been totally available to pull strings, contact his tradesmen or apply gentle persuasion when it has been needed. Massimiliano too. 

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The apartment after the works:

We could simply not have done any of this without the fantastic support of Andrea and Massimiliano.  As we go forward we know they will both be there in the background if needed and this gives such reassurance.  We cannot recommend them highly enough for anyone wishing to make the journey to owning a property in Venice.  The apartment is named Ca’Fortuna and we feel blessed to have met these lovely gentlemen and to finally achieve a dream. 

 

Web: https://airbnb.com/rooms/11825264

MEINE VENEDIG LEIDENSCHAFT - MY VENICE PASSION

Meine Venedig Leidenschaft begann bereits als Kind.  Die kunstbegeisterten Eltern reisten mit uns zu jeder Biennale. Danach kam ich mehrmals im Jahr und mietete immer Apartments in verschiedenen Sestiere.
Als zufällig einer dieser Vermieter den Verkauf seiner Wohnung ankündigte war ich überrascht über den, im Vergleich zu München, reellen Preis. So entstand die Idee sich einfach mal weiter umzuschauen…
Ich mailte unzählige Makler an, bekam unprofessionelles oder meist gar kein Feedback. Bis ich zufällig auf die Website von „Properties in Italy“ stieß. Noch am gleichen Tag erhielt ich eine sinnvolle erste Abfrage meiner Präferenzen.
Ein wichtiger, praktischer Unterschied zu Deutschland: ich konnte Andrea Redivo alle Objekte von anderen Portalen und Maklern mailen. Er stimmte sich mit den Kollegen ab bzw. mailte mir zusätzlich unzählige passende Vorschläge. Nach ein paar Wochen hatten wir einen prall gefüllten ersten Besichtigungstag in Venedig.
 Mein erster Eindruck bestätigt sich bis heute: So viel ehrliche Seriosität, unermessliche Fachkenntnis und unkompliziertes Engagement habe ich noch nie erlebt! 
Als nach einiger Zeit mein Traum-Objekt gefunden war, kam der Anwalt Massimiliano de Benetti mit ins Team. Er führte die Preisverhandlungen souverän, überließ rechtlich kein noch so kleines Detail dem Zufall. Meine „Akte“ wurde immer dicker, trotzdem blieb es beim vorab fest vereinbarten Honorar. Ohne diese „Doppelspitze“ scheint es mir nach meinen Erfahrungen unmöglich (oder zumindest höchst riskant) in Italien eine Immobilie zu erwerben.
Der Umbau verlief trotz der Entfernung in höchst professioneller Abstimmung ganz nach meinen Wünschen. Ich habe im Baubereich keinerlei Fachkenntnisse, da war Andreas Seriosität bei der Firmenauswahl ein Segen für mich. Alle beteiligten Firmen waren äußerst zuverlässige Voll-Profis …. und blieben auf den Cent genau bei Ihren Kostenvoranschlägen!
Ich fühlte mich so exklusiv betreut, als sei ich der Einzige und Wichtigste Kunde, Tausend Dank an Andrea!!!

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The apartment before the works:

My Venice passion began as a child. My art-loving parents traveled with us to every Biennale. Then I came several times a year and always rented apartments in different 'sestieri'.
When happened that one of these landlords told me about the sale of his apartment I was surprised about the, compared to Munich, real price. So the idea 'just to look around' arose...
I emailed countless agents, got unprofessional or mostly no feedback at all, until I accidentally came across the website of "Properties in Italy". On the same day I received a sensible first reply to my preferences.
An important, practical difference to Germany: I could mail Andrea all properties from other websites and brokers. He agreed the viewings with the colleagues or emailed me in addition countless suitable suggestions. After a few weeks we had a packed first day of  property viewings in Venice.
My first impression was confirmed on that day: I have never experienced so much honest seriousness, immeasurable professional knowledge and uncomplicated commitment!
When after a while my dream project was found, the lawyer Massimiliano de Benetti joined the team. He led the price negotiation sovereignly, leaving to chance not even a minor detail, legallywise . My "file" was getting thicker, but it still remained with the pre-agreed  budget. Without this "double point" it seemed to me impossible (or at least highly risky) to buy a property in Italy.

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The apartment after the works:

Despite the distance, the project was carried out in a highly professional manner, according to my wishes. I have no specialist knowledge in the field of construction, as Andrea's seriousness was a blessing for the selection of the  constructors. All involved companies were extremely reliable and full professional .... and stayed on the penny exactly within the cost estimates!
I felt so exclusive, as if I were the only and most important customer.

Thousand thanks to Andrea !!!

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Dagmar Eder, München/Munich – Dezember/December 2016

Für mehr Info und Reservierungen/For more info and bookings :

web: https://www.airbnb.de/rooms/15294191

VENICE WITH ORIENTAL CHARM

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We had already purchased a property in Italy before we contacted Properties in Italy to help in our search for a dream holiday home in Venice. Having seen first hand how difficult it can be to buy a property in Italy without proper representation we can honestly say that we found Andrea's advice, support and professionalism to be absolutely invaluable.

Prior to our initial visit to Venice to view properties Andrea ensured he understood the type of property we were looking for, the features we hoped it would contain and our budget. Based upon this knowledge he suggested a number of properties which we were able to view on the Internet before travelling to Italy to ensure he was pitching the right kind of property for our needs.

It was clear on the initial viewing visit that Andrea had done a lot of research on the available properties, had liaised with the local estate agents and set up a logical itinerary so that we were able to visit at least 10 properties per day.

Although we did not see our dream home on our first visit, Andrea was more than happy to arrange a second viewing trip during which we saw the property we have now bought.

Andrea and his network of associates made the purchase and signing processes as simple as possible. He also offers post-purchase services including connecting utilities and phone lines, which again make the process much simpler.

Andrea also suggested a local builder to complete work we wanted to carry out and a property management company to assist with our new rental business - all of these contacts have provided excellent service too.

We are both extremely happy with our new apartment and the successful rental business that we are now running. Without Andrea's assistance we honestly do not believe we would be in this position and would wholeheartedly recommend his services to others.

Michael and Natalie

web: http://venice-apartment.simdif.com/index.html

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