Property for sale in Tuscany, Italy

This property for sale in Tuscany, Italy, sits on the hilltop that divides Tuscany from Umbria. It lies just 15 minutes from Cortona, an international centre for art, study, music and of course the setting for Under the Tuscan Sun, the novel and film by Frances Mayes. Other visitors to this area have included Germaine Greer, Joss Ackland, Elizabeth and John Romer, Tony Blair, Silvio Berlusconi and Angus Deayton. This was the location for 'A Summer’s Lease' and 'My House in Umbria'.

The house was originally built 300 years ago and restored, reconstructed and enlarged 15 years ago. Bearing that in mind, and in view of the rather lax building controls that were applied in those days, many items need attention, and this work has been included in the above finished price. There is an adjacent garage/guesthouse in need of reworking, or tearing down. This building could be enlarged to over twice its size, after local planning permission has been obtained, and perhaps moved to another site.

There are ten hectares of adjacent woodland included in the price, and the views from the house are quite stunning. The main road to within 500 metres of the house is tarmac’d.

These agents have been buying, rebuilding and selling houses in the area for the last 22 years so it is possible for them to provide a complete, comprehensive, written, specification with guarantees regarding workmanship, costs, quality, materials and so on, something that you will probably not be able to obtain from anyone else in the region. Check out the agents' existing properties as a benchmark of the quality of their work.

In total, currently, there are 375 square metres of available space, large grounds and extensive views. The makeover that will be undertaken, and the costs, will obviously apply to the current and existing structure. Additions, enlargements, extra facilities, internal re-arrangements of spaces, walls, stairways etc would be charged for accordingly. There is a booklet of estimated costs available from the agents.

The possible enlargement of the guest house, or the main house, by 100 metres, or perhaps even moving the existing, enlarged, guest house to a new site altogether, with the required permissions, is another possibility. This enlargement/add-on has been built into the total cost, as has the necessary landscaping, ground clearance, road making, swimming pool ... in fact all necessary works to transform this sleeping beauty.

The proposed works will take some 12 months to complete, the enlargement will take in the region of 24 months, because of the permissions. A deposit of 25 per cent will secure the property and stage payments over 12/24 months can be arranged as well as a mortgage if required, subject to conditions.

Early viewing is suggested as properties in this region of Tuscany are now fetching up to €5000 per square metre, and this property would therefore represent a value of 475 x €5000, or €2,375,000, when fully restored, landscaped and with a swimming pool. This property at a fully restored (including grounds, pool etc) price of only €1,900,000 is very compeditively priced.

So, a considerable saving on the cost, and of course by the time the work has been finished, at a nominal increase in value of ten per cent a year, another 20 per cent should have been added to the value.

A deposit of €450,000, is required as a down payment with 24-monthly payments as the work progresses. Or a mortgage can be made available on the greater part of the purchase and the rebuilding costs.

Alternatively the whole property can be purchased outright for €475,000, which includes full consultation with regard to repairs/alterations/additions etc. Further works can be arranged when additional funds become available.

The agents can offer a fixed-price contract for the restoration of this property with payments to be made over a twelve-month period. With their experience, they are able to provide a money-back guarantee on the purchase price and full restoration costs. Full details are available on application.

For more on this house for sale in Tuscany, click the 'Contact this Property' link.