Special features
What makes renting a property so attractive?
The most important argument for it is that you can save quite a lot of money compared to staying in a hotel or «residence»; besides, you can go Dutch with someone you know.
Your friends and family can visit you without any extra charges or prior notice they would ask for in a hotel.
It is very convenient when food is concerned, especially if we talk about a big family or young children who are used to certain food. You can’t really find your country’s local specialties in restaurants here.
If you are absolutely happy with the house, flat or villa, you can book it in advance for the high season next year on beneficial terms.
An experienced real estate broker can always bargain with the owner, especially if we’re talking about long-term rent.
Negative aspects:
You have to book almost 6-8 months in advance and many people are not used to that. A lot of things can change in such a long period of time, but no one will give you back the deposit if you change your mind.
Very often, when you rent a house or a villa you won’t be provided with bed linen and towels so you will have to bring them with you (and that’s extra weight).
Please pay special attention to:
- Timing is the most important thing if we speak about seasonal rent. The best time for booking is February or March. The Italians themselves follow this rule closely, so, as you understand, the best and most reasonably priced houses go first. It would be very difficult to satisfy your request in April for a property to rent in June even though it’s not the high season.
2) In Italy seasonal rent has different price ranges. It is divided into the high, middle and low season. High season is in July and August. It these months the prices are the highest and you have to look for a house in advance, as all offices close and the whole country goes on holiday. May and September fall into the low season category, June is in the middle. Please pay attention to the fact that the difference in prices between the high and low season is simply enormous (on average prices are 2-3 times higher). For example, if a house cost €6.000.00 in August, in September you can get it for €3.000.00.
3) According to Italians laws, non-residents are allowed to rent property for up to 90 days only. This is connected with visa regulations as 90 days is the maximum amount of time you can spend in Italy with a half-a-year visa.
4) Agency rates are calculated, as everywhere, as a percentage from the total amount. The logic is as follows: the higher is the Italian property value, the bigger is the amount. It can vary from 10-25% +VAT 20% (Value Added Tax).
5) Please keep in mind the fact that placing a deposit is absolutely mandatory in Italy. The amount and payment terms depend on the object’s location and value. It is usually a third of the total sum.
6) If we talk about prices for rent, they can vary a lot, depending on tastes and preferences, location and season. You can find something to fit every budget.
7) As a rule, charges for gas, electricity and water are not included in the rent price. At the end of our stay you pay for these services separately. Most likely the owner will ask you for a deposit – a symbolic sum for these expenses; in the end of our stay you’ll pay the difference.
REMEMBER:
The better formulated your request is,
the quicker and easier the choice of
an appropriate option will be!!!
Minimal information we need
to start looking for property to rent:
A. The most important thing is to choose the place where you want to spend your holiday (choose the region or, even better – the city). If you want mountains – say which ones, the sea – say which one, an island – say which one.
B. Type of property: a flat, house, villa, castle.
C. How many beds and bedrooms you need (For example a living room is not considered a room in Italy, but there can be a convertible sofa. So you need to understand very clearly, whether anyone agrees to sleep there).
D. Budget and time-frame.
E. Whether you need a booking confirmation, for example, to get an Italian Schengen visa.
After that we’ll need to discuss your specific preferences, if you have any. They can include (but not limit to):
- A playground nearby;
- The distance to the sea (such as, no more than 20 kilometers);
- A food shop nearby;
- A terrace, balcony, garden, swimming pool;
- A garage (for 1-2 cars);
- The distance to the airport (such as, no more than 100 kilometers)
- An iron, a teapot, a children’s crib, a barbecue;
- Whether it is important to have a bathtub and so on.
If past experience is anything to go by, we can say that it’s very difficult to find a villa, house or flat totally matching all parameters. That’s why we are so often called in aid, even though most of our clients are knowledgeable people. Many of them know both English and Italian and are fully capable of finding adverts and calling the owners themselves. They face a particular problem – they have to go on location and control the process themselves. In this case photographs won’t give you any understanding of the villa’s condition, its location or any particular features. So you have to actually go there and personally check everything more than just once. For example, no photo can show you:
- Noisy neighbors or dog-owners who live there permanently
- A motorway nearby
- A pizzeria, restaurant, nightclub etc. opposite the house (and you have little children with you).
- It’s written in the advert – «100 meters from the sea». Then you find out that it is 100m if you walk straight, but there’s no road there; if you do a detour, you’ll have to walk about 1km. Or the sea is within 100m indeed, but there’s no beach and no facilities (no bar, no beach umbrellas, no shower – not everyone will be happy with this situation).
Please notice that the houses rented out at our website are safe variants we’ve been working with for many years. If you don’t like any of the lots – don’t despair. There’s always a way out! To find one you need to call us at the phone numbers given below or use our «request for information» form.