Site Unseen

Or Buying an Apartment in Italy I've Never Been To

What is the ultimate test of trust in a relationship?

Well, my first answer is riding a tandem bike with your partner, especially when you're in the back. You have handlebars but they don't control anything, they're for hanging on while you shout, "Where are you going?" because you can't see a damn thing and all you are is part of the engine that's propelling you into god-knows-what.

My second answer is, buying a home site unseen based only on the fact that your husband saw it and liked it. We just did that in Italy.

Let me give you a little back story, my husband is ALWAYS looking at land and apartments and homes, EVERYWHERE in the entire world. To save what sanity I have left, I go look at places with him sometimes, and sometimes I opt out.

I didn't plan to fall in love with Turin and it wasn't love at first site, I was drawn in slowly by the laid back pace, the impressive architecture, the parks and trees and how simple it is to get around by train and tram. It's an easy city to get along with. When Don went house hunting this time I gave him my wish list.

Kiki wants:

1. a view of the city and /or mountains

2. a place not overlooked by huge buildings on narrow streets

3. quick access to parks with plenty of open space

4. top floor

5. high ceilings

6. my own space to write

My husband rolled his eyes, "You're being difficult. I'll never find that, not in our budget."

(We're trying to do the whole thing for less than $100,000)

"You asked what I want. This is it."

Buying property in Italy is different than the US. We're used to finding a real estate agent and then that person helps you locate the properties and sets up appointments. In Italy each property is listed by a different agent so you do all the leg work and every time you want to see a new place you contact the listing agent. Which is super-fun when you don't speak Italian. It's tedious and time consuming but my husband is a determined shopper.

He found the perfect place the last night of our first stay in Turin. We looked at another apartment earlier that day, I didn't like it, and I didn't feel like going all the way across the city to look at the next one so I walked home and he forged on.

When he arrived at our AirBnB that evening he was all smiles.

"I found it!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yep, it's the top floor with a view of the city and the Alps from all four of its balconies, it's two blocks from the biggest public park in Italy, it has two large bedrooms and 10 foot high ceilings."

"Wow! Do you have pictures? Let me see!"

"OK, first you need to know it has renters in it and it needs a makeover, and it's on the fifth floor with no elevator, and it has some mold issues."

"Oh," I'm terribly allergic to mold.

"We can fix that before we move in."

He handed me his phone and together we watched the video he shot of his walk-though. Two bedroom, one bathroom, with a good sized kitchen and a separate TV room. It needs TLC, it's had renters in it for over 15 years but...Wow!

"How much?"

"65,000 euros, but I think we should offer 55 and see what they do. It needs work."

"OK."

"OK, what?"

"Make the offer."

"Don't you want to hop in the car and go drive by it at least?"

"Nope, I trust you. Plus, I've never seen a place in all of the countries we've looked in (France, Spain, Costa Rica, USA, UK, Athens) that had everything on my list, so let's do it."

We did it.

Buying a home in Italy is a slooooow process. I'll fill you in on that later. Thankfully we'd learned how to slow way down in Costa Rica. None of it is simple and the language barrier is real, even when you hire an interpreter with real estate experience. (More on that later too)

It would be over three months before I got to see the apartment we bought. I poured over pictures and videos and mentally prepared myself for it to be an awful mess, and repeated our mantra "What's the key to happiness? Low Expatations."

Here are some shots of our future home in Torino, Italy. We won't be able to get started on it until January of 2025 when then renters move out.

I wasn't quite sure how to end this blog today so I asked the AI attached to my WIX blogging platform to suggest an ending to help me out.

Here's what it wrote:

In the distance, a shooting star streaked across the darkening sky, casting a magical glow over Sarah and Jake. They both closed their eyes, silently making a wish. When they opened their eyes, a sense of peace washed over them, as if the universe had heard their hearts' desires.

With a smile, Sarah turned to Jake and whispered, "No matter where life takes us, as long as we have each other, we can overcome anything." Jake squeezed her hand gently, his eyes reflecting the unwavering love he felt for her.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon, they made a silent vow to always stand by each other, to cherish every moment, and to never lose sight of the love that had brought them together.

And so, hand in hand, they walked into the twilight, ready to face whatever the future held, knowing that their love would be their guiding light through the darkest of times.

I don't know who the hell Sarah and Jake are but I'm happy for them.