Moving to Italy, buying a fixer upper, renovating it yourself, and building a business from scratch. We discussed all this and more with Sarvie and Jasper Stapleton of Homestead Hospitality, a boutique firm specializing in discovering, purchasing, renovating and marketing historic real estate in northern Italy.

What attracted you to the area?

Narrowing down the location for our Italian home was a good mix of romance and strategy. We wanted to be within an hour from an airport with direct flights to NYC, which is where we are from, so friends and family could easily come visit. We knew we wanted to be in nature and near a body of water. We also wanted a walkable town with services and a train line. Lastly, it was important to us that the town wasn’t completely touristic- we wanted a local, Italian community. These guidelines helped us narrow our search. And of course, once we saw the area and our first home, we fell in love. 

What were the most challenging aspects of your renovation(s)?

The most challenging aspect was finding and vetting professional contractors. Once we did that for our first project, it became much easier to do our subsequent projects. It also gave our clients an advantage because they took on much less risk buying abroad since we had a competent team in place. Adjusting to the timeline of Italian ‘slow life’ was also a challenge early on. Navigating Italian bureaucracy always presents a challenge, and at first, the language barrier and cultural differences did too. But that’s become easier as our Italian has improved.  

How long did each renovation take? Did you hire out or do the work yourselves? 

Generally our projects have taken about 6 months. We definitely pride ourselves in helping to expedite the timeline for our clients. Our first project took the longest and we did most of the work ourselves. As the size and scope of our projects have grown, both for ourselves and our clients, we’ve been able to rely more on our contractors and take on more of a management role…but we still love a good DIY.   

How do you estimate renovation costs?

It really depends on the project, the client and the property but a good starting point is €500-€1000 per square meter.

If you could redo the whole process, what would you do differently? 

We would have bought a bigger house! We are glad we were cautious about jumping into our first home abroad, but ultimately, we wish we had allocated a little bit more of a budget to our initial purchase. 

What is involved in your due diligence process before purchasing? 

The first thing we check is the roof- is it in good condition? Is there moisture in the walls? Italian houses are generally made of stone, unlike the wood homes more common in the states. They’re built to last 1,000 years instead of 100, but moisture in the walls can lead to structural issues. From there, you want to make sure your agent is doing their part to ensure the documentation is order: does the person who says they own the house actually own it? Have renovations been done without permitting? It’s your agent’s responsibility to answer these questions. 

How much Italian did you speak at the start of your journey? Did language present a large barrier?

Sarvie had an elementary level which was definitely helpful. The language barrier did present difficulties at first. We would definitely suggest brushing up on your Italian if you’re interested in buying a house here. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but we’ve found putting in the effort to speak the language goes a long way with the local community.

About Homestead Hospitality

Homestead Hospitality is a multidisciplinary firm specializing in real estate, interior design and hospitality, that creates getaway spaces for those looking to reconnect with nature in inspired environments. In the years since it’s founding, the firm has supported countless clients in making home ownership and property investment abroad a reality.