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00:01Today's house hunters Tony and Barbara Cornette are as passionate about Italy as the Italians are passionate.
00:07So much so that they want to buy a retirement home here.
00:11They've looked at property in the north before but today they're hoping I'll be able to find them something here
00:16in the south in Calabria.
00:45Married military couple Tony and Barbara Cornette are raring to retire to the kinder climate of Italy.
00:52Already sporting a love of the country plus experience of house hunting there,
00:57will what I've got lined up have them marching happily to their new home abroad?
01:02That's lovely that is, that really is nice.
01:04Or will they be left de-mob unhappy by what's available for their budget?
01:09Lack of space and a small garden.
01:14Tony and Barbara Cornette met in the military and have been married for an impressive 25 years.
01:20With four children and three grandchildren between them plus Hector the dog,
01:24they now want a large Italian place to accommodate their large British family.
01:30With Tony being in the RAF they are certainly no strangers to travel and living abroad.
01:35They've lived in Italy once already and now feel it's time to dust off their Italian and fly back out
01:41there for good.
01:43And whereabouts are they planning to land?
01:46Here in Italy's most southern region, Calabria.
01:51At the tip of the boot kicking Sicily into the Mediterranean Sea,
01:56Calabria is an epic peninsula spanning 9,000 square miles.
02:01Hills and mountains mixed with planes and coastline, giving the region a dramatic appearance.
02:06A hybrid of old and new, the region boasts classic architecture and modern development.
02:13The coastline attracts most of the tourism here and is a popular holiday destination.
02:18Property and prices vary greatly throughout the region and as well as being found through agents,
02:25the local town hall and mayor are also good places to look for houses.
02:29On certain parts of the coast here, prices have quadrupled over the last five years and this boom looks set
02:36to spread.
02:37Tony and Barbara have a budget of £136,000 to secure them their ideal Casa Italiana.
02:45But luckily for them in this part of the world, hard bargaining is to be expected on most house prices.
02:52So, you've both been married for, what, 25 years now?
02:56Yes, yes.
02:56That is quite some achievement.
02:58So, it seems like you've had so many amazing experiences living all over the world.
03:03Are you sure you're now ready to settle here?
03:06You're not going to get itchy feet again and want to go off the ground?
03:09Well, I don't think so because you've got the sunshine here.
03:11We want a place somewhere where it's nice and warm.
03:13And as Barbara's fluent in the language and I can get by in the language, Italy's the obvious choice for
03:18us.
03:19So, in terms of property itself and location, I mean, Calabria, you've got a bit of everything here.
03:25You've got coasts, mountains, villages, towns. What's your preference? Where would you ideally like to be set?
03:31We'd like to be by the sea, but we realise that our budget might not permit that because it's always
03:36more expensive at the sea.
03:38Of course it is.
03:39But we're very flexible. We don't really mind.
03:42And tell me about the house itself. What are your specifics? What do you want there?
03:46Well, ideally we want a house with three bedrooms, a small amount of land so we can grow vegetables, keep
03:51chickens, a large outbuilding that I can use either as a garage or workshops.
03:57Well, I have to say that even though Calabria is one of the cheapest regions to buy in Italy, to
04:02find you three bedrooms with a garden and outbuilding in close to the sea is quite a tall order.
04:08But it's not impossible. So, if you're prepared to be slightly open-minded on this search, I think I've got
04:15some fantastic properties to show you.
04:17It's good.
04:18All right, shall we get started?
04:19Yes.
04:20Come on then.
04:21With a good knowledge of the country and its property market, expectations are running high.
04:26But with a relatively low budget, will they find that they've got their heads in the clouds?
04:32To begin with, I thought I'd take Tony and Barbara to one of Calabria's most popular destinations and the seaside
04:39town of Tropea.
04:41Set on the Tyrrhenian coast, Tropea displays one of the region's most intact historical centres.
04:48With a 6,500 population swelling to 100,000 in the summer, the town is well equipped with bars, restaurants,
04:56piazzas and plenty of places to buy your ice cream.
05:02So, having never been to Calabria before, is this the kind of thing you're expecting?
05:07I think it's more than what we were expecting. I was expecting this far south of it to be very
05:11dry and arid and very brown.
05:13It's green, isn't it?
05:13It is. It's very green.
05:14Yeah.
05:16Property around here tends to be modern or under construction.
05:20I thought I'd start with something in this area to show Tony and Barbara what they can get to their
05:25budget in their ideal location.
05:29First house. Here we are.
05:32Lovely.
05:33So, I know ideally you'd really love to be close to the sea, wouldn't you?
05:38We would, yes.
05:39Well, how about this? There's a seat.
05:41Beautiful.
05:42It's about a mile away from us.
05:43That's lovely that is. That really is nice.
05:45And behind you is the first house.
05:47Oh, yes.
05:48Oh, that looks lovely.
05:50This house has two bedrooms, two terraces, a small garden and is on the market at £122,000.
05:58That is beautiful.
06:00So this is all brand spanking new, obviously.
06:02Yeah.
06:02What do you think of how they've done it?
06:05It's lovely. The floor is absolutely gorgeous.
06:07Yeah.
06:07Yeah, the tiles are really nice.
06:08It really is nice, yeah.
06:09Do you like the modern style?
06:11I do, yes. It's a modern house. So you want a modern kitchen, you want a modern living room.
06:15You know, the older houses, you want the older kitchen. It's nice in there. You'd look silly with this new
06:20kitchen in an old house.
06:22One thing you don't have with this house is agency costs, because you're buying straight off the developer.
06:28Right.
06:28And the agency fees can spend anywhere between 3 and 8%, so that's a bit of a bonus.
06:32That's not that funny.
06:33One of the bedrooms is back here.
06:36So it's a pretty good size, I think. What do you...
06:39Yes, it's quite a big room.
06:40It is, yes.
06:41Yeah, and is that a built-in wardrobe?
06:43You've got a huge built-in wardrobe.
06:46Enough for all of your clothes and more, I'd imagine.
06:49And if you just back up here, Sonny, this is your bathroom.
06:52Which is nicely done, but you don't have a bath.
06:55We've only just recently got a bath in our house at home.
06:58Perfect. So you've got a downstairs bathroom as well, so you've got two toilets, which is useful.
07:02So you've got all your guests.
07:04So through here, this is what I would imagine you would use as your room, the master bedroom.
07:10Yes.
07:11I think we might.
07:11Well, but it's gotten onto the view, so...
07:14Yeah, the view's lovely.
07:16Can you imagine waking up here, it would be gorgeous going straight out there, wouldn't it?
07:19It's really, really nice.
07:21And the through breeze is lovely.
07:22Lovely.
07:22And your terrace spreads all the way around here.
07:25It goes even further around here, doesn't it?
07:26Oh, you can see...
07:27That's lovely.
07:28Oh, yes.
07:28So you walk back down to land down the bottom.
07:31It's a position here, isn't it?
07:32Yeah, that's what you're paying for.
07:33Yeah.
07:35Well, shall I just let you have a bit of a think about it up here?
07:38Because there's been quite a lot to take in.
07:39See if you can make this house work for you.
07:41Mm-hm.
07:42And I'll wait for you out the front.
07:43Okay.
07:43See you.
08:25I don't know what you think.
08:26No, it's still in the running.
08:27I certainly wouldn't rule it out.
08:29But let's just see if we can better it.
08:31Find something bigger without losing that gorgeous view.
08:35You're on.
08:35Quite a challenge.
08:36Let's go.
08:37Well, it's not a bad start and it's good to see the compromises that Tony and Barbara are
08:43prepared to consider.
08:45Perhaps the next house will have them flying a little higher.
08:50away from the busy beaches of Tropea are the rolling hills of Vivo Valencia.
08:55Set just two miles back from the coast, Vivo Valencia is home to Zambroni.
09:01Zambroni is planted amidst acres of vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees and vegetable patches,
09:07turning the area into a visual and culinary feast.
09:11The stretch of coast near here is named Coast of the Gods in contrast with Tropea in boasting
09:17quiet stretches of sand, deserted coves and rocky outcrop.
09:22The village has everything that Tony and Barbara could need to keep them comfortably
09:26in their new local life.
09:30So, I know ideally you want detached with more space inside and out, don't you?
09:36Yes.
09:36I'm hoping that this is going to be a little bit more up your street, albeit a bit of a
09:41bumpy one.
09:42So, here we are.
09:44What do you think?
09:45Very nice.
09:47It certainly looks a lot better than the other house.
09:49Yeah.
09:49Excellent.
09:50There seems to be more of it.
09:51This house has two bedrooms, a large garden, space to create a third bedroom and a price
09:56of £146,000.
09:59This is, of course, negotiable.
10:03All right.
10:03So, the first room that we come to is the kitchen, which in this house is separate from
10:07your living room, which I know you prefer.
10:10Lovely as well.
10:11Nice and big.
10:11Plenty of cupboard space.
10:13Nice gas fog.
10:14Absolutely gorgeous.
10:15Good size kitchen, isn't it?
10:16Yes, it is.
10:16It's a nice kitchen.
10:17Very different feel, though, to the first house, isn't it?
10:19Very different.
10:21It is.
10:22It's more of a family home where the other one was, they say, more of a holiday home.
10:25Yeah.
10:25This is very, very nice.
10:27So, next, from your kitchen, leads out onto a good size living room, I think.
10:33Yes.
10:33Again, you've got doors out onto the balcony.
10:35Big window.
10:37Yeah.
10:37Nice light room, isn't it?
10:39This is a lovely room.
10:40Nice space.
10:40Yeah, this is a nice room.
10:42So, so far, so good on this house.
10:44Yes.
10:45Definitely, yes.
10:45Excellent.
10:46Let's go and have a look at this balcony, which is great because it spreads along the entire
10:50length of the house.
10:51Oh, yes.
10:52Yeah.
10:53That's really beautiful.
10:54That's good to have.
10:55Now, in the first house, I know what you loved was the proximity to the sea.
10:59Now, even though it's clouded over a little bit, I can assure you, you've still got your
11:03sea view.
11:04That's great.
11:05Yep.
11:05Lovely.
11:06Through here is your master bedroom with pretty grand furniture.
11:12Is that enough space for your clothes, Barbara?
11:14Just about, yes.
11:15Just about.
11:16If we just come over to the window, I will point out the land.
11:20So, your land stretches all the way around there.
11:24In fact, you've got half an acre of garden.
11:26So, is that more what you were hoping for?
11:29It is.
11:30It's great.
11:30It's not too much either.
11:31If you get much more than half an acre, then it sort of gets a bit unmanageable.
11:34And it's quite a treat in this garden.
11:35If you can make out, over there, you can just make out a chicken coop, complete with chicken.
11:41Even better.
11:43Yes.
11:43Fresh eggs.
11:44Yeah.
11:45Fresh boiled eggs for breakfast every day.
11:46Maybe you could try and get those negotiated in the asking price.
11:49Well, you never know.
11:52The entire lower level of the house is currently used as a garage.
11:56To convert the space into more bedroom space would cost around £10,000.
12:02It really is a nice house, you know.
12:04It surprised me.
12:05Lovely lounge.
12:06Nice big kitchen.
12:07I really like this house.
12:08And I don't honestly think two bedrooms is going to cause much of a problem.
12:14Okay, so you obviously really like the first house as well.
12:17How does this one compare?
12:18I prefer this house.
12:20Yeah.
12:21I think it's more of a family home.
12:23It's a bit bigger.
12:24The garden is great here.
12:26And, yeah, I just prefer this one.
12:28In agreement?
12:29Most definitely.
12:29The only problem is we can't discount the first house just in case we can't get this
12:35down to within the budget.
12:36Keeping all the options out there.
12:37Yeah.
12:37All right, well, two houses down, two more to go and look at.
12:41Right.
12:41We better crack on.
12:42Right.
12:43Let's go.
12:45So it looks like what's available near the coast for their budget is along the right track.
12:50With this Top Gun twosome so far quite impressed, will what I've got lined up next keep the property
12:57wind beneath their wings?
12:58That would be lovely, that one.
13:00That would be great.
13:00That would be great.
13:01Or will what's available for their budget elsewhere take their breath away?
13:05Oh, dear.
13:06That's really going to put us off this place.
13:15With retirement imminent, today's house hunters, Tony and Barbara Cornett, want to swap a view
13:21of leafy Oxfordshire for a vista of sea and sunshine.
13:25So they've set their sights on one of southern Italy's most stunning and unspoilt regions,
13:31Calabria.
13:33Military couple Tony and Barbara have seen two properties on their search so far and both
13:38have put them at ease.
13:39Will what I've got lined up next have them saluting yet more houses?
13:44Great.
13:45Yeah.
13:45Terrific, yeah.
13:46It was a real surprise.
13:52To continue to search, I thought I'd take Tony and Barbara to La Mezzia Terme, named after
13:58the thermal bath that used to exist here.
14:01Spanning a large area, La Mezzia Terme consists of three communities and stretches from sea to
14:08mountain within a 15 minute drive.
14:10Home to one of Calabria's two airports, accessibility to the area is good, although there are plenty
14:16of quiet towns and villages cut away, such as Platania.
14:22The property I've got to show Tony and Barbara is different again from what they've seen so
14:26far.
14:26It would give them the opportunity completely to make it their own, as most things still
14:31need finishing off.
14:36So I know that you really like the last house, but I wanted to show you something that was
14:40well within your budget and gave you all the bedrooms that you're after.
14:44So this is the next house.
14:46What do you think?
14:47First impressions, very good.
14:49This house has an incredible five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a terrace, a garden and a
14:54workshop.
14:55Because of the work still needed, it's well within their budget at £95,000.
15:01The question is, will Tony and Barbara think there's just too much work?
15:06Head to the room on the right, first of all.
15:09Well, a lot of work to be done.
15:10See what I mean?
15:11There's one or two jobs needed to be done here.
15:13So, are you daunted?
15:15Or not?
15:16What are your first thoughts?
15:17At the moment, no.
15:18The majority of the stuff is in the pipes.
15:20I could probably do the central heat for myself.
15:22Obviously, you know, for the electrics, you've got to get somebody in to do the electrics.
15:25That's too dangerous to try and pretend yourself.
15:27But I mean, the rest of it, I can do the majority of it.
15:31This, I think, is a really good sized living room.
15:34Yeah.
15:34And this is actually where you put your kitchen, you know, along there.
15:38Yeah.
15:38Nice place for a big fireplace.
15:40Yeah.
15:41So this steps out onto a large terrace.
15:46Oh, this is lovely.
15:47This is really great.
15:48Beautiful.
15:49Oh, lovely size.
15:50Look at the view.
15:51Isn't the view fantastic?
15:53Yeah.
15:53Well, it's so big out here.
15:54What would you do with it?
15:55Well, we'd practically live out here.
15:57Yeah.
15:57I think, possibly, we'd cover it.
16:00We'd have it covered.
16:01Mm.
16:02You know, with bamboo.
16:03You know, the way they cover it with a bamboo sheeting?
16:05Yeah.
16:05Yeah, we'd practically live out here, I think, out here.
16:08Well, let's go back in now, and I'll walk you through the downstairs of the house and point
16:11out all the rooms.
16:12So it's basically such a blank canvas.
16:14Mm.
16:14I mean, you tell me what you would do with it.
16:16Okay.
16:16Right, okay.
16:17Lead the way.
16:20So as we come back out from where the kitchen dining room would be, you've got a room here,
16:25which would be good for a lounge.
16:27This is a big room.
16:29It is.
16:29I thought that that other room was the lounge dine-around kitchen together.
16:33Oh, no.
16:34Absolutely superb.
16:35It's very, very big as well, isn't it?
16:36So two bathrooms there, and here, well, probably would be a bedroom, but at the moment,
16:42it's got the Whirlpool bath in it, which is to go in the bathroom.
16:45Wow.
16:45That would be lovely, that was.
16:46That would be great.
16:47That would be great.
16:47Yeah.
16:48That's this level.
16:49Yeah.
16:49Well, there's a whole other level to look at.
16:51But I think I'm going to leave you two to explore that level on your own.
16:56All right.
16:56Go back into the lounge up the stairs, have a good look around.
16:59Okay.
17:00And I'll wait for you outside.
17:01All right.
17:01Right, right.
17:05We'll look at the bedroom.
17:06Oh, yeah.
17:06You've got one, two, three, four bedrooms here.
17:12Four bedrooms?
17:13Toilet at the end, storage room at the end.
17:16All the boys' bedroom.
17:18Keep the dog in there.
17:21To finish the house completely, including putting in a new kitchen with all the appliances,
17:27would cost around £20,000.
17:31At £95,000, I think this house offers fantastic value for money.
17:36And there are quite a lot of jobs inside that need to be finished off, but I'm very encouraged
17:41because I don't think it put Tony and Barbara off.
17:44It's absolutely enormous inside.
17:45I didn't expect so much room in there.
17:47But is it right on the view?
17:49I mean...
17:49The view's lovely.
17:50The house, there's so many bedrooms.
17:52We expected three.
17:53And look at many.
17:54Yeah.
17:55The space is incredible.
17:56Enough room for everybody.
17:57Yeah.
18:00So I told you I was going to show you somewhere, which gave you the bedrooms that you're after.
18:04You can't really deny that with this house, can you?
18:07No, there's plenty of bedrooms.
18:08There certainly is.
18:09What do you think of the upstairs?
18:10Yes.
18:10Great.
18:11Terrific.
18:12Yeah, it was a real surprise.
18:13So how does it compare now to the kind of property that you can get closer to the
18:17coast, like the first one that we saw?
18:19Well, I think the first one now we can sort of count out completely.
18:22We've still got two contenders then.
18:25Yes, I think so.
18:25Check the thing we have, yes.
18:26All right.
18:26And we've got one more house to look at.
18:28Right.
18:29The final house to see.
18:31Let's go.
18:31Okay, then.
18:45So far proving to be the spice of Italian property life.
18:49I thought I'd take them right up to the mountains and the area of Decolatura.
18:56Decolatura is not actually mentioned on the map, although it is well signposted.
19:01A collection of five mountain villages, Decolatura ranges from tiny medieval village to bustling
19:07San Bernardo.
19:10Being relatively far up in the mountains, there aren't many estate agents who deal with property
19:15here.
19:16This is a good example of where speaking to the locals and the mayor may be the best
19:21way of finding out what's available.
19:25So, here we are.
19:28Last house.
19:29All right.
19:29All right.
19:31Now, all the houses that we've looked at so far, they've all needed a bit of work doing
19:36to them, haven't they, to give you all the bedrooms that you want?
19:38Yes, yes.
19:39So, I wanted to show you something that doesn't need work doing to it, and it's in absolute
19:44moving condition.
19:45Great.
19:46For the paper, I think this one fills your criteria the best.
19:49Right.
19:50This house has three bedrooms, land is ready to move into, and costs a flexible £136,000.
19:58Do you want to have a look at the garden?
20:00Because you've got two sections, one there complete with Tony's workshop.
20:04Yes.
20:05What do you think of that?
20:07We're going to have at least a day's work sorting that out, aren't we?
20:09Well, my friend, my new friend, the mayor, has told me that there is planning commission
20:13in place.
20:14Right.
20:15In future, you wanted to build a two-storey house you could do there.
20:18Oh, lovely.
20:19So that's a part of the garden there.
20:21Yeah.
20:21Although, as I say, you don't need to touch this bit at all.
20:23It's perfectly manicured garden round here.
20:29No, that is nice.
20:37Okay.
20:38If you come straight into the living room.
20:42Hmm.
20:43This is nice.
20:44It's nice and cold, isn't it?
20:45Yeah.
20:45Black fire.
20:46It's got so much more traditional features this house than you'd imagine from the outside.
20:50Yeah.
20:51And you've already spotted the corner fireplace.
20:53Yes.
20:53That's going to add a lot of heat in the winter months when you are going to need it,
20:57because it's the only source of heat in the house.
20:59Oh, yeah.
21:00Well, we've been in Italy before, even further south than this though.
21:03And when that was the only form of heating, it really wasn't enough.
21:07Really?
21:07It was very cold.
21:09No.
21:09I mean, December and January are going to get Italy cold here.
21:13You're talking, you're going to get snow around the year as well.
21:16Oh, no.
21:17Oh, dear.
21:17That's really going to put us off no matter how nice the place is, you know.
21:21And the house is very nice.
21:23I mean, if you could pick it up and put it down nearer the shore, nearer the beach,
21:27it would be wonderful.
21:28Oh.
21:29Well, although this house has the bedroom space Tony and Barbara wanted,
21:33plus most of the other features they asked for,
21:36the winters here for them are just too daunting.
21:40So, no to that house.
21:42Definitely not.
21:43But that still leaves two properties in the running.
21:45The hillside house and the detached family home.
21:48Yes.
21:49So what do you want to do now?
21:50What are your thoughts?
21:50Well, I haven't really been able to try and think about them now.
21:53Yeah?
21:53All right.
21:54Well, I will give you time to do just that.
21:56Let's head back down to the coast now and weigh up the pros and cons of both those houses.
22:00Okay.
22:00Okay.
22:02Well, I did want Tony and Barbara to see the full range of property on offer in the region
22:07for their budget and with two out of four still hitting the mark, they've had plenty to think about.
22:16So we've come back down to the coast.
22:18Let's talk through the two properties that appear to still be in the running.
22:22Yeah.
22:22What are your final thoughts?
22:23Fill me in.
22:24Yeah, the family home, we've discounted that really.
22:27It was getting very close to the top of the budget.
22:30Okay.
22:30So that one's knocked on the head.
22:32That's right.
22:33I think so, yeah.
22:34All right.
22:34What about the hillside villa?
22:36The hillside villa we're not discounting at all.
22:38That really is a nice house.
22:40There's an awful lot of potential on it.
22:43What we're going to do, we're going to take details of the agent and keep in touch and
22:48we will seriously think about that house.
22:50We'll go back to England, work some finances out, see exactly what we can and can't do.
22:54Do you feel quite excited about it though?
22:56Oh, absolutely.
22:56We do.
22:57That terrace, I mean, that's my ideal, that terrace.
22:59I have to say, I know it does need a little bit of finishing off, but once you've
23:03done that, you're going to have such an amazing house there.
23:06I think so.
23:06That's right, yes.
23:07And the views are beautiful.
23:08They really are, yes.
23:09Yeah, they really are.
23:10Fantastic.
23:11Well, I wish you both the best of luck with it and please let me know what happens.
23:14And thanks for all your help.
23:16After weighing up the pros and costs of the hillside villa, Tony and Barbara decided the
23:21house wasn't for them, but they are determined to find their Italian retirement home soon.
23:28Well, Calabria isn't the easiest place to house hunt.
23:31It's not that there's limited property available, but knowing how and where to find it is the tricky
23:37part.
23:37But from sea to mountain, I do think this area has something for everyone.
23:42Well, I'm off to my next location now, so I'll see you then.
23:45All right.
23:47All right.
24:05Take care.
24:11Bye.
24:13All right.
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