A geometra’ is an Italian professional comparable to general contractor who often has architectural and engineering skills; as well as significant project restoration/management experience
The Italian-American couple had been looking for their dream castle in the Italian countryside for years.
They wanted a stone home which was not a pile of stones (my husband’s technical term for a rudere or a total ruin), but rather a property that required only minor adjustments; upgrading of electrical, heating and plumbing were fine, but NOT putting on a roof and building walls. The couple had previous experience restoring houses, so they were very clear about what they wanted. Having a fairly large parcel of planted land, with both olive and fruit trees was a requirement and possibly a vineyard. They also wanted to be within 2-3 km of a larger town (walking distance) and set apart from neighbors, but not totally isolated in the middle of nowhere.
The region which interested them was Campania, so they could be near to friends and relatives in Napoli, but not too far from Calabria for summer holidays.
And, we located four or five beautiful properties for the couple that ticked all their boxes, all located in Sant Agata de Goti, which is a province of Benevento with a population of just over 11,000 people and which is about 45 minutes from Napoli (in light traffic).
One house in particular interested the couple which was situated at the entrance to a small hilltop town (called a borgo) just outside Sant Agata and it had a private half moon driveway which circled in front of the home. The home had been restored in the late 80’s and it also had a lower-level summer kitchen; as well as an underground cellar carved out of the local rock called tufo which was once and would be again a wine making and tasting (degustazione) area.
The house measured about 125 sq. m with one bedroom on the main floor and two on the 2nd level. It also had a detached outbuilding of 2 floors, 50 sq. each which the couple planned to restore and use as a suite for visiting friends and family. There was also an outdoor stone oven, a surrounding terraced garden and close to 10,000 sq. m. of olive groves and vineyards (much neglected) and the couple was overjoyed with the property and interested to make an offer.
The list price was 150,000 euro and the listing agent indicated that the heirs who owned it were anxious to offload it, so perhaps they would negotiate within reason.
Enter our geometra!
First, after viewing the property, he went to the town hall to have a look at the registered property documents to compare with the actual state of the property. Frequently, renovations take place which are not recorded, and therefore need to be registered/authorized (i.e. fees paid to ensure the property docs are in conformity) prior to the sale. It has also happened that additional outbuildings which have been built without permission need to be destroyed. The couple were very interested to restore the additional rudere for guests so we wanted to ensure everything was in order at the land registry (catasto urbano).
The soon to be guest quarters (above) across from the main house (below).
Our geometra’ was able to verify that the outbuilding was properly registered, but sadly, he found some information which had not been disclosed by the listing agent. First, note the staircase and crumbling property next door to the main house? The listing agent claimed it was abandoned for some time and he had no idea who owned it. Our clients were interested to purchase it as it was connected to the main house.
On our second visit to the property, our geometra’ climbed over the barricade and surprise: he came face to face with a woman living amidst the ruins! She claimed either to have permission from the owner, or to be the actual owner, but seemed to be living in very rudimentary conditions on site. And, if true, by law her property rights actually included the right to one day complete the staircase crossing in front of the doorway to the clients’ potential new home.
Further, the geometra’ noted on the property documents registered with the town that the half-moon driveway which the listing agent had earlier claimed was a private access road that formed part of the property for sale, was owned by the town. So, in theory, anyone and everyone in the town could park in front of the home, blocking access, or just create a general nuisance for the home owners.
If you are interested to learn more about what a geometra does or the restoration process, please Contact@1LoveItalia.com to schedule a consultation.
The value of the home was significantly reduced to the prospective purchasers upon learning that it came with a squatter next door and the fact that there was no private driveway.
The clients decided to let this one go and to continue their search for their dream property. This is just to illustrate the valuable role of the geometra’ who assists with the valuation, acquisition, and restoration of property.
