Lazio bargains: this is the real Italy
Boltholes abound on the outskirts of Rome, reports Michael Fitzpatrick
HAVING Rome on your doorstep is prize enough, but what makes Lazio, the province that rings the capital, so enticing is its surprising beauty. Volcanic lakes and rolling farmland lie to the north near ancient Etruscan Viterbo; on the other side of the A1 highway to Florence sprawl the blissful Sabine hills. The Sabine melts into wilder stretches of olive-dappled hills towards Tivoli and then down again southwest of Rome, where the Roman plain stretches out towards Frascati, with its outstanding vistas, volcanic ridges and shimmering lakes.
Charming as it is, the area is comparatively undiscovered by foreign buyers and relative bargains proliferate. But certain areas of Lazio have been rising on a par with Rome – up 3.5 per cent in the past year – while places such as Frascati, with its views over Rome, have always been expensive: on average about €3,000 (£2,000) a square metre. But in general prices are still 50 per cent lower than in Tuscany.
If prices have been rising, it has little to do with any surge of foreign interest. As Rome prices have risen, the city’s workers have been moving out to commuterland. The happy coincidence, and what should make UK investors smile, is that what the Romans are after is not exactly top of northern Europeans’ shopping lists. For example, the gentle landscape that takes you west towards the coast and back to Rome is very handy for the city and can be bucolic, but in many parts it is grim: pockmarked with hyperstores, used-car lots and ugly modern buildings. A little farther away, 60 miles to the north of Rome, and less convenient for commuting, is Viterbo: prices here fell 2 per cent last year. However, prices near the lakes to the north of Rome are stable.
“There are so few foreigners living outside Rome in Lazio, which is why most of my clients come here,” says Pietro Giella, of the estate agency Case In Italia. “They want to be in an Italian environment and, unlike in Tuscany or Umbria, which have become a little, shall we say, internationalised, they can get it.” He recommends looking around the string of lakes, Bolsena, Vico and Bracciano, where prices are much lower than sought-after Sabina on the other side of the A1.
Lazio is blessed with many medieval hilltop towns and villages. Even more compelling is that many such hilltop gems are so close to Rome – some only a 30 to 60-minute drive away, such as those in Tivoli’s hills. Others are deeper into the Roman province; some of the best value to be found is around Subiaco, where prices average €1,000 a square metre.
Lazio may have several national parks, but watch out for areas, often just outside ravishing stone-built villages, that are scarred by the butterscotch-tinged, new-build villas favoured by some locals. Past the hilltop settlements, deep into green valleys, stretches a landscape decidedly more rugged than Tuscany and which is studded with attractive homes. The trouble is getting hold of them. “It’s all word of mouth around here,” says Barbara Mutsaers, who has lived near Rome for 35 years. “It’s not like Tuscany, where there are lots of agents used to working with foreigners, so it’s difficult to find what you want, although there is fantastic potential.”
Paul and Louise Shapcott overcame the problems of buying in Lazio thanks to their ability to speak Italian, as well as their luck in finding the right agent. They now live in a restored casale (farmhouse) near Itri, in southern Lazio. It’s an area still largely undiscovered by foreign tourists. The Shapcotts fell in love with the region while on holiday, sold their home in Bristol and moved there two years ago.
“There’s a lot to learn when relocating to Italy, lots of little problems and hurdles to surmount,” says Louise. “We got to know plenty of the local estate agents, but in the end we settled with buying a property with Michele of the La Rocca Agency in Itri.” Their small casale, with its nine acres of land, cost them €138,000, with another €16,000 going to their agent, the notary and in taxes. About €140,000 went on renovating the property and to add an extension for paying guests. “We were thinking of living nearer the coast, but the cost of property around the sea near here is very expensive,” says Louise. Michele, the Shapcotts’ agent, suggests that buyers looking for a bargain should hunt inland, where there are plenty of farmhouses and rural properties to renovate, still at “very interesting” prices. His agency has on its books a casale for complete reconstruction with 4.2 hectares (10 acres) at €170,000. Prices outside the towns are increasing at about 5 per cent a year, he says.
In the medieval centre of Itri, where prices have risen by 10 per cent over the past year, a 75 sq m flat to renovate with terrace and sea view is on offer for €120,000.
“This is still ‘real Italy’, says Louise, “unlike ‘Chiantishire’ (Tuscany and Umbria), which is inundated with British expats. Our neighbours are all Italians, and we have found the locals generally to be very friendly and helpful. We absolutely love it here.”
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Local currency mortgage: Martin Kemp, a mortgage adviser at Hamptons International, says that other countries’ mortgage systems are slower, and that foreign lenders have a more cautious attitude towards debt. He adds: “That’s particularly the case where foreign borrowers are concerned, because if they default the repossession system can take years. You won’t be able to borrow more than 80 per cent of the property value.”
Simon Conn, of the mortgage specialist Conti Financial Services, says: “If your income is in one currency, you shouldn’t generally borrow in another because of exchange-rate fluctuations.” But a mortgage in the local currency may make sense if you will receive rental income in that currency. Conn says: “Perhaps the biggest advantage is that the local lender will check and value the property.”
Remortgage or “drawdown”: UK lenders will not let you take out a new mortgage on a foreign home, but “drawing down” the capital in a UK home is very common. In countries such as Turkey and Bulgaria, it is also the cheapest option.
Part and part mortgages: Conn espouses the benefits of splitting the mortgage between a UK drawdown and a local currency mortgage: “You don’t have to be mortgaged to the hilt in the UK, and the local lender will carry out checks.”
Cash: Many buyers sell their UK home to fund a life abroad, but Conn warns that this type of buyer can get into difficulty: “Because they don’t need a mortgage they don’t take independent advice, so legal problems aren’t spotted, and they pay over the odds because they don’t get the property valued.” FAITH GLASGOW
HIDDENITALY
Property prices have increased by an average of about 50 per cent in Lazio over the past decade.
Four million of Lazio’s population of five million people live in Rome.