John & Jackie Parkinson

Sometime ago we decided we would like a home abroad.

Having realised quite quickly that to organise this on our own would be hugely time consuming and fraught with difficulty, we approached a number of “expert agencies”. The response from most was luke warm to non existent. One or two pushed really hard in the first instance and then gave up when they realised we wanted to buy what we wanted and not what they wanted to sell. However, Steve quickly demonstrated that he understood our requirements and it rapidly became clear that he and Karen were the people we wanted to move ahead with.

From the first meeting when Steve travelled up to see us in the UK we again realised there was no way we’d be able to do this kind of project alone. More importantly he gave us confidence in his ability and knowledge as well as making it crystal clear what the overall process would be, how the costs were built up and the major steps along the way.

Throughout our involvement we like the approach Steve and Karen have taken. They took a lot of time to understand our requirements and were prepared to challenge some of the ideas we had, which with hindsight were clearly wrong. They have also kept us fully informed through all the stages of the purchase and development process.

Nothing seems to be too much trouble and it is the extent of their knowledge and contacts which continues to reinforce the fact that we would inevitably have fallen down one or more of the many pot holes along the way if we had not worked with them.

Our first meeting was in late ’04 and after one full weekend viewing around 6 properties in early ’05 we were able to make our choice, which was definitely helped by the vision of what the house could ultimately become that Steve created..

Subsequent visits sorted out the actual purchase, getting Italian “identities” sorted including setting up Bank Accounts and an agreed development plan with Gaudio, the architect and Fabrizio the gardener.

As well as ensuring the development has been handled in a painless fashion, they have helped with selection of bathrooms, kitchen and furniture which would have turned into extremely difficult additional projects without their help and advice.

Our house in Pietramelina has moved from a sad looking redundant farmhouse to our beautiful second home in Italy with all the exciting opportunities that brings.

We would not have achieved it without Steve and Karen. In fact without their involvement we would probably have shelved the idea and missed out on a fantastic new dimension to our life.

"...Our house in Pietramelina has moved from a sad looking redundant farmhouse to our beautiful second home in Italy "
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Farmhouse waiting to be restored

The restored farmhouse

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