After you have bought your new home in Italy we can help you to create your dream home. Our team guides you through the entire process needed to successfully restore or build a property here in Italy. Whether it’s a new bathroom or a new build we are here to help you manage your project and make sure you understand the regulations of local planning laws.
By this stage you will have already built up a close relationship with our company and hopefully we will have made it very clear that we are here to do the best possible for our clients. We live and work in the areas we sell houses and have helped clients complete many restoration projects at all levels. Every one of our testimonials come from real satisfied clients who often let us use their houses as examples for you to see in person.
We recommend the best tradesmen in the area offering the highest standards of workmanship. Our recommended geometra (with 30 years experience in restoring properties in Italy), architect and other professionals, navigate local planning laws and submit projects with ease whilst Vignaverde translate the information to make sure you understand what is happening.
We offer you our honesty and professionalism at all stages and look forward to help you create a home you will be proud of.
Introduction to restoring in Italy
INTRODUCTION
There is a very good chance that you will need to do some sort of restoration to your new property in Italy and if you want this to be a good experience we strongly suggest that you follow the regulations.
We are often asked if Italian planning laws are a nightmare to deal with. Our answer is always the same, if you try to cut corners, deal with unregistered builders or ignore the laws, then yes it will be a nightmare, but this is true of most countries in the world.
The system here is quite a simple one and it is worthwhile sticking to the rules. Obviously if you are doing basic DIY planning rules may not apply but it’s always worth asking your local council or geometra just to make sure.
POTENTIAL FINES
Without wishing to scare anyone it is worth noting that penalties here are very high for anyone found doing illegal work and huge fines are handed out not just to the builder but to the owner of the house as well. You are responsible for your property and you are responsible to make sure that anyone working at your property is doing so with the correct documents. Fines can easily be thousands of euros and are given out by a section of the carabinieri in charge of building control.
At Vignaverde we understand that not everyone wants to give their property a complete overhaul but it is important you understand the potential risks involved in restoring so you can make the right judgement as to whether you use services such as ours.
WHY USE A GEOMETRA?
Unless you have a very basic job to complete most registered builders will not even dream about even offering a quote unless you have instructed a Geometra (like a surveyor) or similar to assess what needs to be done to be within the building regulations. Geometra’s take responsibility for your work and make sure that all the documentation is correct and that all the people working on your restoration are registered to do so. The builders provide the Geometra with their credentials and when everything is in place he will give the go ahead for works to start. He/she will check the works as they progress and will ultimately sign off the project and hand all documents in to the local council.
A Geometra will take care of all of your paperwork and make sure you are sticking to the right regulations.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO PAY TO DO THINGS RIGHT?
At Vignaverde we recommend a geometra who controls all the projects we do alongside your personal assistant. Geometra’s and similar professionals
generally charge a percentage of the cost of works to cover their fees and often includes fees due to the council for planning, this percentage is usually between 10-15%. The good news is when you do things correctly in Italy and use people such as Geometra’s to control works you get a reduction in your VAT on many costs related to the build from 22% down to 10%, this gives you big savings during the process and goes a long way towards paying for your professional fees.
WHAT MAKES VIGNAVERDE DIFFERENT?
As we have already stated one of our partners is a registered Geometra with his own practice so all restoration works are looked after by a professional with over 30 years experience. We have told you how Geometra’s and similar professionals control the works as they move along, they do not however project manage in the way you may think. It is not their job to take you around choosing tiles, kitchens, bathroom suites etc Nor is it their job to constantly update you with photographs and progress as the works move along. It is their job to control the site, the people and make sure the work is being done as per the submitted plans. When it comes to all the other help you will need, this is where our unique service comes into play.
We DO take you around for you to choose tiles, bathroom, kitchens, windows, doors etc etc and have many suppliers who give our clients preferential prices. We do thoroughly help you ” project manage” your restorations. Your personally assigned assistant will help you look after the financial side of the build, update you regularly with photos and written updates from the Geometra and tradesmen and be your help here in Italy for the duration of the project.
DO I HAVE TO PAY EXTRA FOR VIGNAVERDE’S UNIQUE SERVICE?
As we mentioned before professionals such as Geometra’s charge a percentage of the cost of works done (typically 10-15%), this can change depending on the size of the project. The extra services that we offer is INCLUDED in this percentage. So this means you will receive the full services of a Geometra who has 30 years experience in this field PLUS a personal assistant from Vignaverde INCLUDED in the price!
This is why we are different and this is why we successfully help our foreign clients manage a large number of projects every year. Testimonials given to us are our success and we are happy to introduce these people to you.
Vignaverde is the right choice to work with to help you create your Italian home and we look forward to working with you.
Pino, Angela, Claudio and Raffaella
Together we make a very unique team.
