House Hunters International

In true HHI style let's list our main wants;

• Historic significance
• Room with a view
• Walking distance to shops and restaurants
• Ability to make extra income
• Outdoor space
• Two bedrooms, two baths

Today we saw several properties, all very different. The first one we're going to call "The Bar". This property is located on the main square with a view of the cathedral. It's two stories, with two separate entrances within a larger medieval building. Post WWII it was converted into a bar.

The building facade will be refurbished and before anything can be sold or renovated, the mayor of the town needs to give approval to change the usage or 'destinazione' to residential. There was a lot of light in both spaces which is unusual so close to the square. It's not currently livable and would be a total renovation top to bottom. 

The original bar and an old safe were left behind with the original stone walls. With two floors there is definitely potential to earn income either by turning the main floor into a business or renting one unit out. All in with an estimate of renovation would come slightly under budget. 

The second property was completely renovated and owned by an art curator and her husband from Sienna. It was beautiful, but we nicknamed this property "Grandma's place".

This was the office and though the location was off the main the square as well, the views out of all of the windows were "not wow", to use our realtor, Serena's words.

The kitchen was small but well equipped. And the owners had refurbished all the electrical and added A/C. The bathroom was stunning, but very sparkly, pearly white.

The owner was not in a hurry to sell and was very firm on a price that was more than it was worth. As our realtor in Las Vegas would say "Moving on!".

The third property we are calling "The Gallery" this is because it was the apartment of a famous Swiss painter and then was converted to a gallery of his work and is currently owned by an Art Foundation. However, the foundation is in need of funds and is selling the unit. It comes partially furnished with Italian designer furniture and a big dining table.

The unit is located in the building where Saint Bernardino was born, so there's that. The main living area is large and open with the master bedroom and bath in the back and the second bedroom in the front. This is the view out the Juliet balcony in the kitchen.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but it's stunning. Over the tops of the buildings are the rolling Tuscan hills and the sea. You can even see the Island of Elba way in the distance. 

The two bathrooms would need renovation and we would want to change all the floors and possibly add a cooling system. We are also pretty sure there are ancient stone walls behind the white plaster and perhaps could do a partial reveal. This property even with the suggested renovations would come way under budget. It's also just off the main street to the square, so although not on the square, still walking distance to everything.

Property #4 we are calling "The Garden House" This is a stand alone house, still in the old medieval part of town, and comes with many hard to come by features. One of the three entrances to the property is next to the building that was the oldest church in town. It comes with a small one car garage and a separate gate to a larger garage in the lowest floor. There is access to a private garden from all three entrances.

The treed garden has views of the Tuscan hills to the West. A garden in the city, electric gate, private parking spaces and a garage is so rare! Most people who live in the medieval center park their car in lots 5 to 10 minutes away. The main and second floors are usually rented out to regular annual visitors from all over Europe. The rental income potential is high with this property. 

This is the main room off the front door. 

The kitchen and a bathroom.

The three bedrooms and bathroom upstairs were pretty dated. But there was a covered terrace next to the master bedroom which if you added french doors, would make a beautiful suite with spectacular views. "A nice place to have your morning coffee", said everyone on HHI.

What I found more interesting was the lowest floor and the oldest and ancient part of the house.

Fireplace with grill, and a bread oven beyond. They called this the "tavern".

This former garage with the ancient stone walls could be converted into a living / bedroom space. Definitely a lot of work, but then you could live in the bottom and keep the regular renters up top and have access to the garden. The cost of this house is way over budget and then add the renovations on top of that, but the substantial rental income would likely pay for the renovations.

The final place that we saw in the city we called "The Donut" it was two units on the second floor that used to be combined into one. The hole in the floor plan is the building's center staircase. The building is next to the ancient city walls. The floors were stunning.

As were the ceilings.

There was a covered balcony along the whole back side of the building with unobstructed views of the hills and the sea beyond. 

The price of the apartment is slightly more than "the Gallery" but still way under budget. The difference is the amount of the renovation needed.

All the shuttered windows need to be replaced, the walls repaired, not to mention having to furnish the whole place once you were done. Although we could see the potential of the place, the scale of the renovation scared us away. 

The final property we saw today we called "The Farmhouse", this was the unrestored twin property. the restored one we have to wait to see until the owners return from the Caribbean, sheesh. The property is on one hectare of land with several other ancient buildings in various stages of repair as well as a "house for chickens" a vegetable garden and a deep well. 

We saw the famous red pillars in the bottom floor which is currently being used for storage.

It was difficult to take a lot of pictures when the owners joined us for the tour. A lovely husband and wife that used to have a huge dairy farm until they sold the land to olive farmers. All they have left is the house and the one hectare that they have been anxious to sell so they can move full time closer to their grandchildren. The access to the house is on gravel roads far away from the main one, but once you arrive, you are surrounded by olive trees and silence.

There are two apartments on the second floor, one is rented out for the summer and the other, the farmers or "contadini" live in. The bottom floor with the pillars is divided into 6 spaces which currently are used for storage. We could see the potential but "oof" it was a lot of work and the asking price was towards the top of the budget and would leave little left for needed renovations. We knocked this one out of the running before we even got into the car.

So, we are not finished looking by a long shot, but here is our HHI synopsis.

Not really much help, huh? Well, it's only day one of the actual hunt. We promised to make a list of the things we didn't like and other properties we thought we'd like to see and then go out again. Fingers crossed!

Ciao, ciao, ciao!