- 2 days ago
A Place In The Sun E05
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00:07Music
00:10Music
00:28Carol and Paul's life in Taunton Somerset is work, work, work.
00:33They've run more than 10 successful businesses in the 18 years they've been together.
00:37Now approaching 50, they think they've saved enough cash to splash out on a dream home abroad.
00:57They want to buy a second home here in Italy's Venice, the poet's glorious city in the sea.
01:05It was the first city to bring opera to the paying public and the setting for Casanova's countless love affairs.
01:13Today it's home to 60,000 Venetians who live amongst its amazing architecture.
01:20Now one thing Venice certainly isn't, it's cheap. Property prices here are among some of the most expensive in the
01:26world.
01:27And the biggest shock for me was how little space you actually get for your money.
01:37Carol and Paul can afford to spend up to £410,000 on their second home and our search begins here
01:44in central Venice.
01:46It then moves to a house in the luscious Veneto countryside before returning to Venice's stunning lagoon islands and a
01:54canal side home.
01:58Now this property that you're looking for, how often will you come out and use it?
02:02We're planning on coming out two or three times a year. Obviously as time goes on we'll use it more
02:07often.
02:07So describe to me your ideal home, what's on your wish list?
02:10Ideally it would have three bedrooms and we've got a lot of friends and they've got children and they'll come
02:15out and use it.
02:16A nice eating out area somewhere, say a terrace or something like that would be wonderful.
02:21And what about you Paul, what's on your wish list?
02:23Well I'd love a mooring, as we have a boat in England, but we shall see.
02:27Okay, well I hate to shatter your illusions but you aren't going to find everything on your wish list out
02:31here.
02:31Venice is one of the most expensive cities in the world, so you might have to be prepared to compromise.
02:36Can you do that?
02:36I think we realise that we're not going to get everything on our wish list, but hopefully we'll find something
02:42that suits us.
02:53One reason properties here cost so much is because Venice is made up of over a hundred small islands in
02:59the centre of a lagoon and every inch has been built on.
03:03There are four buyers chasing every property in the region and the average price of a family home is now
03:09£400,000.
03:12Venetian householders have lived with flood water for over a thousand years, but some areas suffer less than others.
03:20Now five or six times a year they have something here that is known as aqua alta, which means high
03:25water.
03:26That's when certain parts of the city flood. My advice to you would always be do not buy anything on
03:31the ground floor, go higher up.
03:32Right.
03:33Now the bit that we're entering at the moment is known as Dos Adora and this part never floods because
03:37it's slightly higher than the rest of the city.
03:40That's interesting.
03:40This is where the first property is as well.
03:42Oh, great.
03:44What do you reckon?
03:45Oh, that is terrific.
03:46It's good, it's lovely.
03:47It's fantastic.
03:49It's pretty breathtaking isn't it?
03:50Isn't it?
03:51Now the property that you're going to be seeing, if you want to turn around, is a top floor apartment.
03:55Can you see where that bridge is?
03:56We can, yeah.
03:57Right next door to that.
03:59Built around 1600, this apartment is the Venetian dream.
04:03It has two bedrooms, an outside terrace and canal views.
04:08I've arranged for local estate agent Teresa to show Carol and Paul around.
04:13Here we are.
04:14This is one of my most favorite house.
04:17This is lovely lights isn't it?
04:18It's very nice.
04:20As you can see this living room is quite wide for a Venetian house.
04:24Is it?
04:25Usually, yes, they're quite darker and smaller.
04:30But this is white and bright.
04:32But my favorite part of the house is the view.
04:37You could sit, well you could lie on your settee and just watch the world go by.
04:42The living room is a nice size isn't it?
04:43It is a nice size actually, yes.
04:44At least you can get a decent three piece suite in here.
04:47Yeah.
04:47And it shouldn't feel too overcrowded.
04:50And this is the bedroom.
04:51That's a nice large room.
04:53I'm not sure about the colour though, but...
04:55It's not that bad, it can be changed.
04:57I think we'd have to change it very quickly actually.
04:59Yeah, but at least it's nice and big again and it's quite bright with two windows.
05:02And another view over the canal?
05:04Yes, yes.
05:05This apartment is decorated in a traditional Venetian style, but has a modern bathroom and kitchen.
05:12The study could be converted into a second bedroom.
05:19Oh, this is nice.
05:21Yeah, what a view.
05:21Yeah, you can imagine sitting out here in the evenings with a glass of wine later on.
05:25Yeah, it's superb.
05:26It's prime property, it's beautiful.
05:28Mm-hm.
05:28Yeah.
05:29It's very nice.
05:31This canal side apartment is on the market for £405,000.
05:37But I think it was quite small, that was our sort of first impression, that it may be
05:42not big enough for what we really need.
05:44So what did you think about the location right on the canal?
05:47That location I don't think you'd find much better.
05:49And you've got all the boats there, which I know is something that you desperately want,
05:52isn't it?
05:52It's really, really unusual to find a property in Venice with its own private mooring.
05:57They're like gold dust.
05:58Yeah.
05:58I was really surprised to find out that only 10% of the Venetian population has a boat
06:02of its own.
06:03The rest of them get around by walking or catching the Vaporettis, which are the water
06:07buses.
06:08Another thing you might be interested to know is that there are no public mooring spaces.
06:12So you can't get in your boat and just go to your local restaurant or go to the supermarket.
06:16It's a bit like having a car back in England without a car park.
06:19Yeah.
06:19Now remind me again, when you're not using your property, you want to rent it out, don't
06:23you?
06:23Yes, definitely.
06:24This apartment definitely has the best rental potential.
06:28You'd be able to get around £800 a week for that.
06:30That's very good.
06:31Yeah.
06:31And several of the agents that I've spoken to said that that area of Venice is one of
06:35the best.
06:35It's your safest bet for renting.
06:37That's a good start then, isn't it?
06:38So that's good news, isn't it?
06:39Definitely.
06:44The central Venice apartment is quite small, so I reckon they might prefer something
06:49in the Veneto countryside.
06:53Well, guys, we're heading north now and you're going to be amazed to find how much more space
06:57you get for your money once you leave the Venetian Lagoon and come onto the mainland.
07:01Would you feel happy living outside of central Venice?
07:04It's actually took us quite a long time to get out here and that's a bit of a negative.
07:09Right.
07:09Well, the good thing about this place, I mean, you do have to use a car, but you've got all
07:13this wonderful countryside to explore.
07:17The property I want Carol and Paul to see is a five-minute drive from Treviso, the hip
07:22city that's home to Italy's designer Benetton Brothers.
07:26It's just a two-hour drive away from the Dolomite Mountain Ski Resort.
07:30Well, here we go, guys.
07:31This large rustic farmhouse is set in almost an acre of land, with the added bonus of a
07:37swimming pool.
07:38The local agent is Alessandra.
07:40We'd love to have a look.
07:41OK.
07:45Oh, quite a high ceiling.
07:48Here you are.
07:49Oh, it's lovely, the ceiling.
07:50It's very rustic.
07:51This is a country farm house.
07:54You can see the fireplace.
07:57It's a working fireplace?
07:58Yes, a working regional fireplace.
08:03This is the kitchen.
08:05It's a modern kitchen in the typical country farm style.
08:09It's quite large.
08:10It is large, yeah.
08:11It's large.
08:12All the windows are decorated by stained glass.
08:16And out of all the windows, you can see the beautiful pardorama of the garden.
08:21That's nice.
08:22It's a really beautiful garden.
08:25And this is the living room.
08:26As you see, it's a big room open.
08:29Yeah, it's actually very big, isn't it?
08:30It makes it a large living area.
08:32Yeah, a nice and open plan, actually.
08:34Yeah, but the dark ceilings make the room look really quite dark.
08:37I like it.
08:39Upstairs, the property has a bathroom and three decent-sized rooms that could all be used as
08:44bedrooms.
08:46This is a lot lighter up here.
08:47Yeah.
08:48In this part, you can see the park outside.
08:52Yeah.
08:53Nice view to the garden.
08:54In that part, you can see all the countries.
08:58You can just see the mountains in the distance.
08:59Yes, the Dolomites.
09:01Yeah.
09:02Yeah.
09:02Now, I've got to be honest, I'm not holding out an awful lot of hope for this one.
09:06On the drive up here, Paul and Carol said that they were adamant that they wanted to be
09:09in central Venice.
09:10But you never know.
09:11The size of this property might make them change their minds.
09:15This is nice.
09:16Yep.
09:17And the swimming pool to go with it.
09:19Look, look, look.
09:19That did my feet.
09:21Ooh.
09:22Stop it.
09:24It's very nice, but I fancy it could be rather labour-intensive.
09:28Yeah, we can get a gardener.
09:30Yeah, but who's going to do it?
09:31You won't do it.
09:32No, we could still get a gardener, but look at it.
09:34It's magnificent.
09:35It is nice.
09:36It's nice, but for what we want, it's too labour-intensive.
09:40This three-bedroom country farmhouse and pool costs £430,000.
09:46So what's the verdict?
09:48It's too dark inside for me.
09:49It's a very pretty house, but no, not enough light inside.
09:53Paul, you're being very quiet over there.
09:54What did you think of it?
09:56I liked it more than Carol, but to be honest, it's too remote.
10:00We want to be near the city.
10:01That's right.
10:01You see, because I thought once you'd had a look at it and you'd seen all the space
10:04inside, it might sway you.
10:06Is it worth me even talking to you about rental potential?
10:09You could give us an indication, but I don't think it will sway it too much.
10:12Yeah, it's probably not going to help when I do tell you, actually.
10:15Well, it's not a holiday area, as you can imagine, so you're looking at the long-term
10:19rental market here.
10:20In fact, most agents won't take on a property unless it's for a minimum period of six months,
10:24but you can earn £1,300 a month for it.
10:26Yeah, so it's not too bad.
10:28Depends on the price, doesn't it?
10:30Yeah.
10:30How much do you think it's worth?
10:31I reckon somewhere just under £200,000 sterling, possibly.
10:35Okay.
10:35What about you, Paul?
10:36Well, I thought more, sort of more like nearer, sort of 250.
10:39Go on, tell us.
10:40It's going from bad to worse, isn't it?
10:42It's £430,000.
10:44How much?
10:44Yes.
10:45Yeah.
10:45God, that's expensive.
10:46That makes our mind up, doesn't it?
10:47Yeah, you just made up your mind.
10:48We have.
10:49Well, what about the garden?
10:51Didn't that sway you?
10:52It is lovely.
10:53It's very pretty, but that was another of the points that put me off.
10:55It's just too big.
10:57Two properties down, and we haven't yet found Carol and Paul's place in the sun.
11:02But later, we head back to the Venetian Lagoon Islands, where we find out if they're tempted
11:07by a chocolate box house.
11:09That's it there.
11:10Oh, there.
11:11Yeah.
11:11What do you think?
11:12That looks gorgeous.
11:13Yeah.
11:14And a four-bedroom apartment just minutes from the beach.
11:32Carol and Paul know property in Venice is expensive, but they have saved enough money
11:37in the 18 years they've been together to splash out and spend up to £410,000 on a second home
11:43here.
11:45The first property they were showing wasn't quite right.
11:49Maybe not big enough for what we really need.
11:52Nor was the second.
11:53It's a very pretty house, but no, not enough light inside.
12:00Our search continues in the Lagoon Island of Borano, a 40-minute boat ride from central Venice.
12:10It's traditional rainbow-coloured houses were originally painted by the fishermen's wives,
12:15to help their husbands find their way home in winter mists.
12:21I think buying a house on this island could be a sound investment.
12:24Like Venice, property prices here have doubled in the last four years, and there's been a steady
12:28increase in international buyers.
12:30The architect Philip Stark owns three houses along this street, and rumour has it Michael
12:35Kane's been house hunting here.
12:37How glamorous.
12:40Properties in Borano are as charming as in Venice, but cheaper.
12:45Here, Paul and Carol's budget of £410,000 will buy them the three bedrooms they're after, and more.
12:53So what do you think of the island?
12:54It's very nice.
12:55It's a lovely, pretty little place.
12:56Well, the house that you're going to be seeing is so pretty that they've turned it into a postcard.
13:00Look.
13:00That's it there.
13:01Over there.
13:02What do you think?
13:03That is gorgeous.
13:04Now, I know that you said you didn't want a house that needed much work doing to it.
13:08This one does need some updating.
13:09It's had a couple that's lived there for the last 50 years, but once it's been done up,
13:13it could be absolutely amazing.
13:16This 18th century island house is very spacious.
13:19It has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, three reception rooms, and an outside courtyard.
13:26Valerie will show them around.
13:29And you notice the special things about this room?
13:31Immediately the ceiling.
13:32Sealing, definitely.
13:33Now, this is a hand-painter that represents the style of the 18th century when the house was built.
13:37This is a room which probably this family doesn't use too often.
13:41It's a formal dining area, so it would be safe for special occasions.
13:44No, they're nice plain walls, actually. They complement each other, sort of sitting on the floor.
13:49So, come on through.
13:50And this is the living area of the house.
13:53Right.
13:54Oh, again, it's quite a nice big room.
13:56Yeah.
13:56So, you might want to modernise just a little bit.
13:58I think we would, actually, yes.
14:00Yeah.
14:00It shows its age a little bit in this room.
14:02It doesn't have the character of the other room, either.
14:05Also in need of modernising is the adjoining kitchen and dining area.
14:10Upstairs are four decent-sized bedrooms and a second bathroom.
14:16Right.
14:16Now, this is one of the two front bedrooms.
14:19So, these are the windows that give onto the canal that way.
14:21Yep.
14:21Nice and light again.
14:23No, I like this.
14:23It's sort of four times the size of the house in Venice.
14:26Yeah.
14:26It's got a lot of potential.
14:26Beautiful position on such a lovely island.
14:28Yeah.
14:29No, it's lovely.
14:31This house definitely has more space.
14:34On the top floor is a huge attic.
14:36And back downstairs, a third reception room that leads onto an outside courtyard.
14:41So, you've got this lovely area out here, which is a bit of privileged privacy.
14:46It's huge, isn't it?
14:47And this door here, right, gives onto the fish market.
14:52Yeah.
14:52Oh, that's nice.
14:53Yeah, that's beautiful.
14:54Definitely.
14:55That's beautiful.
14:56It is, isn't it?
14:56It's nice.
14:57Yeah?
14:57Yeah.
14:57Yeah.
14:59This Burano Island house is for sale at £377,000.
15:05What did you think of it?
15:06It's a lovely big house, very roomy inside, very bright, very spacious.
15:11And you've got that nice outside area at the back as well.
15:13Because that surprises me, because it does need some work doing to it.
15:16And I thought you'd go in and go, oh, but you didn't.
15:19Although it does need renovating, there's still a lot that doesn't.
15:22Well, one thing that I want you to bear in mind if you are thinking of renovating this
15:25house is that it's going to be a lot more expensive and a lot more hassle than if you're
15:29going to renovate one on the mainland.
15:30No.
15:31Yes.
15:31Because everything's got to be shipped in and taken away again by a boat.
15:34We understand that.
15:35You're looking at averaging about 15% on top of what it would cost you if you're going
15:38to renovate one on the mainland.
15:39Right.
15:40But the added value of living out here as opposed to being on the mainland, it's worth
15:45much more than 15%.
15:46Yeah.
15:46I absolutely love it here.
15:47I just think it's gorgeous.
15:48And not only could that provide you with a fantastic holiday home, but it could also
15:52provide you with a very lucrative business opportunity.
15:55Yeah.
15:55Tell us more.
15:56If you'd like to know more.
15:56Oh, yes.
15:57Definitely.
15:57You get up to 1,000 tourists here every day and at the moment there is one guest house
16:01on the entire island.
16:02Yeah.
16:02It's always full and people are always coming here saying, where can I stay?
16:06Where can I stay?
16:06You might want to think about renting it out as a private villa.
16:09And weekly, you could get between 800 and 1,000 pounds.
16:12Yeah.
16:12I had a feeling that we almost suspected that because it is such a spacious property.
16:18I don't doubt that it's probably quite a rare find here.
16:22What did you think of the price?
16:23377,000.
16:25I think, against what else we've seen, I think it's good value.
16:28My last piece of advice for you, if you're thinking of putting in an offer, is that there
16:32are lots of foreigners buying on this island at the moment.
16:35And all the locals here are seeing euros in their eyes.
16:37As soon as a foreigner shows any interest in a house, the price goes up.
16:39It goes up in price.
16:40All right.
16:41Do not be afraid to negotiate.
16:43Go in and bargain really hard.
16:45How would you say a hard bargain is?
16:46I would say, personally, go in at about 330.
16:49Right.
16:49Okay.
16:50That's quite low, actually.
16:50I was thinking more 350.
16:52You've got one more to look at, though.
16:53Can't make your mind up yet.
16:54I know.
16:56We'll have an open mind.
16:57Yeah.
17:06The final property I want Carol and Paul to see is on the Lido.
17:21Most tourists don't even know that Venice has a beach.
17:24But for years, the wealthy Italian holiday set have been spending their summers here.
17:29The first thing you notice is the fact that there are streets and cars.
17:34Ferries transport you and your vehicle from Italy's mainland in just 35 minutes.
17:39And if you want to pop over to Venice, it's only a 15-minute boat ride away.
17:44This is beautiful there you brought us to.
17:46Do you like the beach?
17:47Oh, it's terrific.
17:48Yeah.
17:48It doesn't come cheap, though.
17:49If you want to come down here, because all of these beaches are owned by the hotels,
17:52you have to pay.
17:53It's £15 a day to sunbathe.
17:56Doesn't surprise me.
17:56Yeah.
17:57Now, you could do what a lot of the Italians do and hire out one of these beach huts for
18:01the whole season.
18:02How much do you reckon one of those would go for?
18:04I don't know.
18:05You don't know.
18:05£10,000 for the season.
18:07What?
18:08Bargaining.
18:08Yeah.
18:13Properties on the Lido owe their charm to the island's authentic Art Nouveau architecture.
18:18What's great is the feeling of space.
18:21Properties are lighter, with higher ceilings, and a greater distance between neighbours.
18:27I'm sure you're dying to know about renting a property out on the Lido, aren't you?
18:30Yes, please.
18:31One thing you've got to remember is a completely different rental market here than that of
18:34central Venice.
18:35You've got a definite season here, and it runs from June until the end of September.
18:39And the people that you're most likely to attract are Italians that are coming from
18:42other cities to spend the entire summer here, or Venetians that can't be bothered to
18:46keep getting the ferry backwards and forwards.
18:48Right.
18:48The other big piece of advice, whether you buy here or anywhere else in Venice, is be very
18:53careful if you rent the property out to Venetian residents, because by law, they can stay in
18:58a property for up to four years, and then they have an option to extend for a further four
19:02years.
19:03Interesting.
19:03So unless you want a tenant that you can't get rid of, when you're dooring up the contract,
19:06make sure you get it put in writing that it's for touristic purposes only.
19:09It could complicate matters, wouldn't it?
19:11It could, yes.
19:12It could, yes.
19:13The property I've chosen for Carol and Paul to view is in a prime rental location, four
19:18minutes' walk from the beach.
19:20It's a four-bedroom apartment with an outside terrace on the second floor of this classic
19:25art décor building.
19:27Ellen is going to show Carol and Paul around.
19:29So the first thing you'll notice when you see this house is that it's quite spacious.
19:35It's gorgeous.
19:36It's gorgeous.
19:36It's very big.
19:37Yeah.
19:37And marble floors and chandeliers.
19:39God.
19:39Look how light the living room is.
19:41An all-useful space, actually.
19:42It's superb.
19:44Nice and beautiful.
19:44It's about three times the size of the other apartment.
19:46It is, actually.
19:47It's much bigger than the one in Venice.
19:48Much lighter.
19:49Yeah.
19:50You wouldn't have to do anything to it.
19:51You wouldn't have to do a thing to it.
19:52No.
19:52I'm not telling you the chandeliers, because these are lovely.
19:55They are nice.
19:56Yeah.
19:57This is the master bedroom.
20:00As you can see, it's got a nice, airy feeling with these high ceilings.
20:03Yes, it has.
20:04It's a very light and airy, isn't it?
20:06Yeah.
20:06And there are two windows, one which opens out onto a mini terrace.
20:13It's quite small, but...
20:15Yeah.
20:16I don't think you can get a table out of here.
20:18Yeah, but there's some fresh air into the bedroom.
20:20Well, that's the main thing.
20:20It's quite nice.
20:21Yeah.
20:22It's very nice.
20:23Nice.
20:23Very nice.
20:25This four-bedroom apartment has two bathrooms and a modern Italian kitchen.
20:30What do you think?
20:31Ah.
20:32The balcony.
20:33That's the piece of resistance.
20:34The piece to resistance.
20:35That's what we want.
20:36Outside space.
20:37It's actually a pretty nice-sized balcony.
20:40It's great for cooking out on a hot night.
20:42You can come out here and eat your dinner.
20:44It's nice.
20:44There's a lot of use of space, isn't it?
20:46It sort of rounds off the house, doesn't it?
20:48It does.
20:48It does rather.
20:49Yep.
20:50Gives it virtually everything we've asked for.
20:54It's priced at £411,000.
21:00Hey.
21:01Hi.
21:01Don't keep me in suspense any longer.
21:03What did you think of it?
21:04Bit of a shock, actually.
21:05It was much better than expected.
21:07It was totally different.
21:09And do you mind the fact that it's right on this busy road?
21:11Actually, you don't notice that from up there at all.
21:13No.
21:13It's quite surprising that when you come outside, it's so busy and bustling.
21:17Yeah.
21:17Any questions?
21:19We're also going to have to rent it as well as living it ourselves.
21:23Give us the info.
21:24What are we looking at?
21:25You might be a bit disappointed because I was certainly quite shocked when I found out.
21:29You only get £1,500 a month for it.
21:32But the good thing is, during the Venice Film Festival, you can ask up to £3,500 just for the
21:37fortnight.
21:38That's a good return.
21:39That's better, yeah.
21:40Yes.
21:40So you're not as disappointed as I thought you'd be?
21:43No.
21:43No, I think we've always realised that if we're going to do it, there is a bit of a compromise
21:47because obviously we want to use the property ourselves.
21:52It's decision time.
21:54Carol and Paul have now seen four diverse properties around their budget of £410,000.
22:00The country farmhouse was a definite no.
22:03Too dark, too far from Venice and far too much garden.
22:08Meanwhile, the Canal Side apartment was just a little too small, which leaves the Lido apartment and the Burano house.
22:16Now, the one that I thought you were most excited about when you came out of it was the house
22:20on the island of Burano.
22:22What about that one?
22:23I was, but Carol wasn't.
22:25I think it's a pipe dream, actually.
22:28It's on a postcard.
22:29What more could you ask for?
22:30But I think it would be too dead there at the times of the year that we would like to
22:34use it.
22:34But I still like it.
22:36Oh, so you're still quite keen on that one.
22:37No, I'm still quite keen.
22:38Yeah, but I think it's a pipe dream.
22:40Well, it's on a postcard.
22:43That's what I mean.
22:44It's a fairy tale.
22:45Exactly.
22:45Yeah.
22:46So that just leaves the apartment on the Lido.
22:48It's actually fulfilled, well, I think what we're really looking for.
22:51The whole area is superb.
22:53I mean, you've shown us so much and such diversity in quite a small area.
22:58But the Lido seems to offer us all we want for our needs.
23:01OK, so are you going to go for the apartment?
23:03No.
23:03Oh.
23:05Why not?
23:06It's right on a busy street.
23:08Yes.
23:08It's above a shop.
23:09OK, when you get there, it's terrific.
23:12But we don't want to be quite on a main street.
23:14So what are your plans now?
23:15We're going to go and explore the Lido a little further and take it from there.
23:19Fantastic.
23:19Well, when you find what you're looking for, give me a call and I'll come out and be your
23:22first tenant.
23:23We'd love that.
23:26When Carol and Paul arrived home, they were offered a business deal they couldn't refuse.
23:31So their plans to buy a holiday home have been put on hold till next year.
23:36Buying in Venice will always be a sound investment because space is limited and properties are
23:42constantly in demand.
23:43But it is very expensive, so you'll need a healthy budget and a genuine love for this
23:49most unique of cities.
23:52Take care.
24:08I'll see you next time.
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