- 4 months ago
House Hunters International Season 204 Episode 9
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00:00Oh, my God, not like anything you'd see in Phoenix after 25 years in America
00:06Salvatore's mother's dying wish was for him to return to his native Italy. Let's make Rita proud
00:12So he and his partner David are leaving everything in Phoenix to start an agro turismo business in the Italian countryside
00:19We're taking this huge chance
00:21Maybe we can get into the olive oil business, but you don't know anything about olive oil. Don't be so negative
00:27I'm just being realistic. Salvatore and I are both very opinionated, but you may turn heated
00:33You want to spend spend spend spend money. You don't think about the consequences
00:38Any second thoughts
00:49I
00:50Was born in Oklahoma grew up around farmland
00:54I had a very good childhood, but the little country town just didn't fit my personality
00:59So I moved to the big city Phoenix, Arizona, and I just absolutely loved it there
01:03I am the chief of staff for a local mayor. I grew up in Italy in Naples
01:10But I always had this desire to go to America and I moved it to Arizona in the 90s
01:16Salvatore was in banking. We've been together for 25 years now and this is pippin and peanut
01:23We were just gonna get one, but they were so adorable
01:27Peanut
01:28We had a wonderful time in Phoenix. We had a nice garden
01:32But the hustle and bustle was quite wearing then I had to go back to Italy to take care of my mom
01:38Her wish before she passed was to promise her that I will never go back to America
01:44So once my mom was gone I had to convince David to move her to Italy
01:50The hardest part was for him to give up his career
01:54It was a pretty hard decision, but I was happy to make the move to Italy because I love Salvatore
01:59And the fact that we haven't been so long together. He had no other choice to move with me. So he made it happen
02:07This is really cool. Yeah
02:09Salvatore is from Napoli, but we didn't want to move into another big city
02:13We were scrolling the internet and we saw Poggio Bustone. It looked absolutely gorgeous
02:20It's in Lazio right in the center of the country
02:23So we're about an hour and a half from Rome and when we first arrived here
02:27We fall in love with the countryside and the hospitality of the people
02:33Saint Francis founded a monastery here in the 13th century
02:36So there's a religious pilgrimage of people that come through here each year. This is a fresco from 1600. It's beautiful
02:43The main reason we're looking here. There is a lot of opportunity
02:47We're gonna try our hand in the agriturismo business
02:51Agriturismo is having a combined hospitality business which also offers some products that are made
02:57In the land. So it could be olive oil, could be you're making cheese or wine, but it's a big business in Italy
03:03We had a rental portfolio in Phoenix and we sold all of those properties to give us startup capital
03:09I have a green thumb, but we're kind of going into this blind and giving up our careers to move to this unknown village
03:17It's scary, but that adds to the excitement
03:20Portrait Bustoni is a bit undiscovered. You can get a lot more bang for your buck
03:23Oh, he's cute and let's be David bigger houses more land for less money
03:29You're so no, I'm David. Ah, okay
03:32The style of the house is gonna be the major point of contention between the two of us one thing that we do agree on
03:38We want a good view and we want land so we can generate income at least five bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms
03:46That's a lot. Well, we would like to also host bed and breakfast
03:49Yeah, we're looking for something furnished and ready to move in
03:53All right any other particulars since we're moving to Italy
03:57I would like something with historic features like frescoes, okay?
04:01I would like something more rustic perfect. We are in rustic heaven here, so that won't be a problem
04:06There are frescoes here in the sanctuary so you can always visit them
04:09But I understand you're looking for something that has character and you feel that's a little different than the rustic farmhouse type thing, right?
04:14So what is your ideal budget no more than 650 that could be easy here?
04:19They both know what they want a little problem here is that they seem to want things a little separate the first option has a ton of business potential
04:26But with zero experience in the agro industry will they be getting in over their heads has a really nice piece of land
04:33It's ten acres. There's seven bedrooms with six ensuite baths. Oh, wow. That's great
04:38I really think there's enough space here for you guys to maybe use it as a B&B. There's also a lot of olive trees
04:43Oh, wow, you've got almost a thousand. Oh, that's a lot of trees. Yeah, you could start your own business
04:50Wow, wow
04:52This is a beautiful property. You don't look at that big not at all. That's just one level. Yeah
04:58It goes down to other levels on the hillside. I love it a stone very rustic
05:02I mean, it's a pretty house, but it just doesn't have the wow factor, but I love it of you
05:06How much are they asking 650,000? Whoa, that includes ten acres of land
05:11That's a lot of work, but we could produce olive oil, Salvo. We've never done it before so he's never moved Italy before so
05:19Taking care of a thousand of trees
05:22That's a little bit overwhelming. Oh, but it's part of the adventure. Yeah, stay positive Salvo. I'm just being realistic
05:29Wow, I love the front door and arch
05:32Yes, we'll look at the second level later
05:33But here you have a first little living reception room with a antique ornate fireplace
05:38Well, this is pretty hey, you can let the boys run free if you want. No worries. Oh
05:44Hey boys Pippin and peanut do fight quite a bit. Yeah, they got from us. You can tell
05:51This is your dining room. I love those beans beautiful. Yeah, that's exactly what you were looking for and
05:57Let's look at the kitchen. Yeah. Oh wow all custom-made cabinetry
06:02Mellow it's kind of a tiny kitchen though be cramped, but there is space downstairs to make a second kitchen
06:09There's your million-dollar view. Oh wow
06:13A lot of privacy. This is rush hour right now. Wow. Yeah, you could hear a pin drop. It's so peaceful out here
06:19You could David seems to be a little more of a dreamer. I love his optimism
06:23No frescoes, but it does have potential. Let's see these bedrooms. It's sometimes hard to read Sal
06:28He's the stereotypical hot-headed Italian. Whatever. I love David, but financially he doesn't think about the consequences
06:37Here we've got the king's dining room. He already at 650
06:41So we have no money to play with
06:44Salvatore does not make impulse buys. However, I do do things more spontaneously
06:50Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission
06:53Sign here sign here this type of property is exactly what we left phoenix to try to find got some spectacular bedrooms
07:00Makes me feel like i'm already home bathroom on suite. Wow
07:05I loved the amount of land
07:07However, it seems a little small for bed and breakfast. I love it. It's very rustic
07:13And the fact that each room has a bathroom would be perfect, but I wore a little bit too much land
07:19Well, the olive trees are already established. I don't think it's going to be too much work
07:24A thousand trees. It's not a lot of work. I don't have any experience. He doesn't know anything about olives
07:30It would be a challenge. It would be a fun challenge. Whatever it takes. I'll take a certification and be an expert in olive oil
07:37I appreciate Sal's staunch face
07:40The next option is more manageable and way cheaper
07:44450,000 oh wow, but it's still missing david's biggest wish. There's no frescoes. Oh, david you're killing me
07:53A typical date in phoenix is just hustle hustle hustle hustle. We were so exhausted
07:58However in the united states that busy busy busy is idolized really yeah, and you want to change and I want to change
08:06This is exactly what your mother had in mind when she wanted you to stay in italy
08:10Sono andato in america per avventura
08:14M'ho trovato amore e ora l'ho portato di nuovo in italia dove ci sono le mie origine
08:20Aiuto me even though i'm not from italy it feels like the homecoming for me too
08:26I'm a boy from the country moving back to my roots just in a different country
08:30So i'm really looking forward to being back in nature being back around farm animals and the rural lifestyle
08:36However coming from a big city like phoenix to a rural community in italy could be a big culture shock
08:44I'm a little bit nervous
08:46But i'm very grateful to have salvatore as a resource and i mean i have a built-in chef which i'm very thankful for
08:54We're both excited about this opportunity
08:57Yeah, we liquidated all of our assets in the united states to make this agritourism or business
09:02We have some cushion financially, but we have no experience. They've kind of made a decision which has no going back
09:09Also salvatore and i do have differing tastes on architectural styles
09:14They're definitely gonna have to make some compromises on their list
09:16I think the frescoes that david wants is not incarnate in a farmhouse
09:20Not that i want you to give it up, but you know just making a point that's a little bit of a taller order
09:24I think sal's main concern is really the money issue
09:26Correct to put salvatore at ease david's next option is comfortably under budget and may just have enough historical elements for the other david
09:35It's got 10 acres
09:37And it's also a big house because it's eight bedrooms and 12 baths
09:41So it's a little bit but it's an 18th century historic farmhouse and i really think it's worth taking a look at here. Oh, yeah
09:48Beautiful entrance, huh?
09:50Yes, it's an 18th century carriage house. So we had stables on the ground floor. Oh look salvatore there's a pizza oven
09:56That's cool. Did you make pizza?
09:58Please i'm an apolitan. Okay
10:01This house is 450 000. Oh wow. In addition, you've got 400 olive trees and also many cypress trees
10:06They are beautiful trees, but we are really looking for a view. Well, you have one. It's just hidden right behind those
10:12Does it need work? Possibly. Yes, at least it's well below what we're able to spend
10:17Let's take the original key and go have a look
10:20There's a little marker here. Look it says 1711. They were just hunting turkeys in the u.s when this place was born
10:25Right, yeah
10:27Very italian style architecture. Yeah plus the olive trees, which is good for agro turismo
10:34Yeah, good start. This is the main level. You've got an independent guest room apartment on the ground level
10:39Look at the antique ceilings here in the entrance. Oh, wow. Very dark in the entryway, but look at the great room
10:46Oh, this is nice. Oh, look at the channel. Oh, that's beautiful. How old do you think that is ironworks?
10:51It's probably from the italian liberty period so 1880 1900. Oh, okay
10:55And so you have a very big room giant fireplace
10:58So you could be relaxing around the fire and playing a game of scopa scopa is an italian card game
11:04I'm trying to teach david. It's really not that hard. It's similar to blackjack. Yeah, nice house for entertaining
11:10Still shame that there is those trees. Look at this dining room. Oh, wow huge
11:15It is nice size beautiful tapestry. Oh, I love that
11:19I've got your olive groves here in front and in the back. Okay. I love the furniture. All the furniture does stay. Yes. Nice
11:26Oh, look at this old chandelier. It's very golden girls, isn't it a little bit florida nice
11:32Where's the kitchen david right on the other side of the entrance? Okay
11:36It's small, but fully equipped. This is tiny very small. We like to say cozy. Could you cook comfortably?
11:43Uh
11:44Not really we're pretty disappointed in the kitchen really only one person could fit in that kitchen at a time
11:50And we want to entertain and host a bed and breakfast. This is a nice little private sitting room another beautiful tapestry. Yeah, it's lovely
11:58Yeah, yeah
11:59Follow me down the hallway of secrets. There are some historic features, but there's no frescoes in this casale
12:06And it's pretty dark. This one is one of my favorites. Look at the furniture
12:10Beautiful set in the bed down walk got an ensuite bath a nice big ensuite bathroom
12:16I like these the furniture in this bedroom wows me and we still got another one to see here
12:22Nice sized bedroom. It is isn't it here up in the old attic space. It's all been converted into bedrooms
12:28Almost all of them on suite very rustic but dork
12:31Yeah, oh
12:33Okay, oh, this is beautiful minus the two trees in front. Yeah, it's kind of sad to remove those trees
12:40But I think that we could sacrifice four or five to gain a view now that we've seen everything in the house
12:45What's your impression of it, huh? Beautiful property?
12:48It's huge aside from the kitchen in terms of business
12:52It's just bedroom after bedroom after bedroom
12:54So it could be a bed and breakfast. Yeah, and you've got your olives outside as well 400 of them. What do you think?
12:59Salvatore I love it. There's a lot of potential plus the price we give us a lot of room to play with
13:05Yeah, because it's not really turnkey at all. That's a big drawback for us
13:11We don't want to fixer-upper. I understand perfectly. Yeah, obviously there isn't a home depot
13:16But 450 I don't want to say it's nothing but if it wasn't tuscany it would be one and a half million
13:20David i'm still waiting on you to show us some frescoes the rustic farmhouse with frescoes
13:25That's pretty much impossible
13:27To get david his dream home agent david has to farm it out. How are you?
13:33This is like a dream come true, but it's only on half an acre
13:38So the lifestyle in italy is much different than the united states
13:43The culture is surrounded around community family
13:48Conversation and food
13:50Food is very big a part of our life. It's more than eating. It's a ritual for us
14:00Like when jesus brought bread and wine it was to have a fellowship
14:04It's a moment to get together to share our views and our life
14:11Seems like the italians work to live where americans live to work
14:15So for us we're done with the grind culture. We want a relaxed lifestyle
14:21Yeah, they're gonna have to get used to the slower pace
14:23In fact, the philosophy here is charm and efficiency does not mix
14:26So there's no qualms about it, but that'll probably be a learning curve
14:30And we're planning to support ourself with bnb agrotourismo hospitality
14:36And maybe even olive oil production salvatore and david and co. I love that
14:42Oh my god. Oh, I love david. I think he's a cool guy. Thank you. No, no, not you
14:47You
14:49He knows what I want. I'm a little bit frightened
14:52I'm not going to be able to find the right house for david
14:54I haven't seen this property at myself. It was proposed to me through a colleague. I fished it out for them
14:59But it looks fantastic
15:00It's a little bit more house than you might have wanted because it's divided into five apartments
15:04So this represents to me an income stream immediate for bnb doesn't have that much garden though
15:11Look at the entrance here. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. It's a mansion really, huh?
15:16There's an old well and olive press there in the garden. There's our beautiful host
15:20How are you?
15:21Benny, Benny. Look at those puppies. Peppy and peanut. I forget which one is which but you know, sorry
15:28The house has 15 bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Awesome. I will hand you the keys. Okay
15:34And um, I'll leave it up to you. Thank you. Well, the place is a hodgepodge of culture and history
15:39It's got a little rustic. It's got frescoes for you that we'll see later amazing
15:42It looks like the red one that we saw online, but this is prettier. So you've been looking in secret without me, huh?
15:47Oh
15:49Well from here we can see the terrain which is about 2 000 meters
15:52It's not as much land as you wanted, but it is well cured. What's the price? 750 000 don't make that face until you see in the inside
15:58There's almost five houses in that price five kitchens don't be so negative up front. It would generate income right away
16:04That's what you think right now, but you don't realize how much is expensive until you move in right through here
16:10We've got a lovely workroom study beautifully furnished look at the history
16:15You cannot find a house like this in the united states. I've been boston look at the king of italy
16:21Yeah, that was the last king the one who abdicated and you've got a nice view on the grounds from here
16:25This is my favorite house so far salvo. However, it sits on half an acre. So that's really disappointing
16:32Because there's no farming opportunity. Oh wow. Look at these beams. It's lovely wood beams working fireplace
16:39And then your rustic kitchen. Okay
16:43Wow, I like the kitchen plenty of storage space when you counter space you can see it's an excellent condition. Yeah, it's quite spacious
16:50Oh, yeah, I think we finally agree on something. Yeah, it doesn't happen too often. No, it doesn't
16:55Here's what I think would be the special room for david beautiful living room. Look at the ceilings
17:00This is it told you I'd find you some fresco's huh? Yeah, this is perfect. It wasn't easy. We're only gonna see these here
17:07So don't forget this place
17:10Look at the detailing. I love it. Thank you for finding this place for us both happy not with the price
17:18750 really not that bad
17:20Let's go take a look at some of the bedrooms. This property is split up into five separate apartments
17:25They're turnkey so we could generate income immediately, but then you have to think about electric gas
17:31All of these things to maintain these properties. Oh wow
17:35We will need it to hire someone. I don't see a lot of profit
17:39So we've seen a lot of house. What's your impression?
17:41This is a dream home for me as the frescoes as the beautiful marble fireplace mantle
17:46The only thing that I don't like is it only sits on half an acre, but we can work around that
17:50I think it's a little bit too big too expensive. I knew you were gonna say that
17:54I know that we decided on a certain amount
17:57But we do have a cushion to play with and be realistic where there's a will there's a way
18:01We haven't even run the numbers on how much we could rent these for yet. It's not going to work out money wise
18:06You're such a pessimist. I'm not pessimist. I'm just realistic. I'm sorry, David
18:14But it's too much
18:15Things got a little bit uncomfortable on the roof
18:17I must say because it seemed that David was a lot more convinced this out
18:20It's a beautiful historic mansion
18:26It was a wish of your mother's for us to settle here
18:29It's very important to keep that promise and it's important to me too. I loved your mother
18:34But picking the right house is going to be a really hard decision
18:37What I was trying to do for David and Sal from desert to rolling hills was put together three very different properties
18:43Although they all have attributes that they're looking for so I think I've tripped them up quite a bit
18:47If I have my heart set on one property and Salvatore is dead set on another one things may turn rather heated
18:55Let's run through them all
18:57The olive grove house beautiful olive groves. It's more your style house, but with the land could be worth it
19:04But we have no experience
19:06To do that. I don't think it's going to be too much work a thousand trees
19:09The rustic tuscan style farmhouse. I like the pizza oven, but there's not a lot of light
19:16There is no view and I don't like the fact that there is a smaller kitchen. Well to that point
19:22It's the least expensive house that we've looked at. We would have two hundred thousand dollars to play with
19:28Oh my god, the fresco villa had the beautiful facade
19:32It screams Italy. The only dropout is it only sits on half an acre. We already talked about it David
19:40It's out of our budget. I don't know about that one. I know you don't but that's my number one. I'm sorry
19:48Well, it doesn't have any land
19:50Correct. So okay, the fresco house is out
19:53Although I do love the rustic farmhouse as well and we would be saving a ton of money there
20:06It needs a lot of work. It has half the amount of olive trees
20:09And I think that we would be using the savings to put right back into the house
20:14Plus there's not a view all of those mature trees
20:17Block it and I would hate to have to cut down old growth trees. It would be like killing someone
20:24I can see myself in the olive house, too. Okay, well at least we agree on that. Oh finally
20:31Oh Phoenix is nothing more than a fading memory at this point. We do miss our friends and family
20:36But this next chapter has just been exhilarating. Yeah, there is no traffic. It's like to be in paradise
20:44You're done looking good man. Yeah, I told you we put a lot of effort into learning all there is to know about olive oil production
20:54Let's fill up a bottle. We made about a thousand liters. We're working on our brand and finding buyers
21:01It's better than butter. Mm-hmm. We haven't established the B&B yet, but we had some of my family busy to us
21:09We absolutely love the decision that we've made and
21:12Looking at this beautiful view. It's just a vacation every day. Yeah, we're making Frita proud
21:18Yeah, mom was right if was not for their promise that I kept it to her
21:22We probably still be in the United States. I think that I can speak for both of us
21:27We're the happiest that we've been in our entire lives
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