Testimonial
Declan and Mary Macken
Buying a property abroad can be more difficult than buying at home, particularly when you dont speak the language, therefore having the right agent is so important.
We have found Dreamhomes to be very efficient, friendly, helpful and a real pleasure to do business with. They were always easy to contact and guided us through all aspects of the buying process, we cant speak highly enough of them and have no hesitation at all in recommending them.
Nick Jamieson
I am now the proud owner of an apartment in Stresa, Italy due to the support, assistance and incredible professionalism of Dreamhomes. The help I received was excellent and I felt they really bent over backwards for me. Their response time for any of my emails was always prompt and answered fully in ‘Layman’s’ terms. Madeleine was my point of contact throughout the process and I couldn’t have asked for more. She took me on viewing trips , met me at the airport, housed me, wined and dined me and baby sat me through the entire buying process which made the whole experience enjoyable and stress free. I can honestly say that without her aid and support I would have really struggled and felt totally out of my depth.
Steve and Jackie Grant
We had been offering for some time to write a testimonial for Madeleine and the team and were delighted to finally be asked to do so. Buying a place in Sardinia has been an adventure with lots of ups and downs. Dreamhomes have been there at every turn to smooth the process and to explain the vagaries of the Italian system.
Let’s be clear up front: buying in Italy is as unlike buying in the UK as you could imagine. Unless you are already fluent in Italian, you are going to need an agent that can deal with navigating the system. The Italian equivalent of the estate agent is actually highly qualified and is a cross between estate agent and lawyer. In retrospect we wish we had not used a lawyer for our purchase since Madeleine is qualified to enact the whole process. Yes, an agent in Italy costs a lot more than in the UK but I can assure you they earn the commission. Be prepared for a number of little shocks! What you are in for is a very Italian experience from start to finish. I think the real benefit of using a native English person as the key contact is at least they can be sympathetic when you hit something that simply could never happen at home. If you want somewhere that is like Brighton but hotter don’t come to Italy. You will need to immerse yourself in the culture and be prepared to take on a new way of managing your affairs. On the other hand, the locals have welcomed us into their village and many times we have come across people who simply can’t do enough for you. We are learning the language and love every minute!
We found the Dreamhomes team to be a delight to deal with throughout the process. From trying to work out what we actually wanted to buy, to getting the legal stuff done and to finding a furnisher or a cleaner the helpful friendly supportive approach was always there. Even after the purchase, Madeleine has been happy to pick up the phone and talk us through some issue that we have been having. We feel we have made friends with her and the others. If you are clear that you want to buy in Italy then I can’t imagine that you would find anyone better to help you through it. The end result is well worth the effort since we now have a wonderful little apartment.
If you want to know more or discuss the joys of buying in Italy, please feel free to email us on sjgrant@btinternet.com. Good luck!
Steve, Julie and Kate Carter
When Julie and I decided to buy a property in Italy we had no idea where to begin the process of even finding one let alone actually buying it. We knew a guy in our local village called Mike Craissatti, who was working in the overseas property market. He recommended that we get in touch with Madeleine from Dream Homes. We met up at a ‘Life in Italy’ exhibition in London and Mike introduced us. We discussed with Madeleine the type of property and budget we were considering, and also the region of Italy that we were interested in. Madeleine quickly grasped our requirements and we were left with a very positive feeling that she would find something for us.
We met Madeleine in Sarnico which is near Bergamo in the Northern Lakes area of Italy. This was where we hoped to find our dream holiday home. We spent two days with Madeleine and during this time she showed us 12 properties in several locations throughout the lakes area. These properties ranged from the older type pre owned to brand new off plan developments, but always close to our budget and ideas. Finally we were shown the site where we are now buying. Le Residenze sul Porto in Sarnico, on the shores of Lake Iseo.
When we embarked on this search we had a serious ‘tick list’ of things we wanted including being close to an airport (Milan Bergamo 25 mins), on a lake or with Lake views, close enough to a decent sized town to not need a car, and a number of smaller ‘nice to haves’. Madeleine did a fantastic job in interpreting our wishes and finding properties for us to consider.
Since then we have met up with Madeleine on several occasions as we go through the process of completing the sale. She has always been really friendly and immensely helpful as a guide and interpreter to help us through the various legal and financial hoops that are necessary to complete the purchase. She has even helped us to find Kitchen, Bathroom and Bedroom furniture suppliers as well as helping us with the builder to identify things like electrical socket positions and changes to the plans of the apartment.
Madeleine has helped to make the whole process almost painless. She has been and continues to be invaluable acting above and beyond the call of duty. I like to think that we have become firm friends through this process, and I am sure that we will keep in touch long after we have settled in, and I have learnt the language!
Greg Ward
I bought my house in Costa Paradiso, Sardinia because of an advertisement. The ad in itself was nothing unusual, in fact it was a standard ad inviting interested purchasers to come and look at a beautiful development on the island of Sardinia. I had been looking at houses in various places for a while so I decided to follow up this advertisement. After meeting Madeleine Morgan one of the agents from Dreamhomes who was selling property from this development and listening to what she had to say about the property I was immediately interested. Madeleine was very genuine and committed from the outset and went out of her way to make the trip to Sardinia as enjoyable as possible.
Although I knew nothing about the island of Sardinia before arriving there it was impossible not be impressed with its beauty and tranquility, fabulous beaches and of course blue, blue skies. It differs from other holiday destination in its authenticity. It is underdeveloped and very safe. It is free from the building explosion so prevalent in many other Mediterranean countries and any building that is going on is in traditional Sardinian style. The Sardinians I met are open, warm and extremely friendly and helpful. there is an innocence about this part of the world that I really loved and I knew that it would be hard to find anywhere else.
While Sardinia itself made me want to buy the property it was Madeleine who made it very easy for me to purchase. she took me through all of the fiscal issues and through the laws of the country. She gave me an accurate breakdown of all the fees involved including taxes to local authorities and lawyer fees. She made a normally daunting task very easy. More importantly after purchasing the property over a year ago I am still in contact with Madeleine who is always there to answer any queries I may have.
If you want to buy a property or holiday home go to SARDINIA and if you are looking for an AGENCY go to DREAMHOMES. Both will keep their promise.
Faina e Mikhail Kukushkin
Purchasing a home in general is not easy, even more so, if you purchase a home in a foreign country and do not speak the language. It is hard to express your desires, especially when there are so many possibilities, after all, Italy is "bellissima". There are so many fabulous locations and quite frankly I would like to live in each one of them!
We started off by approaching three different real estate agencies, who dealt with the lake areas, Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore and Lake Iseo. The most interesting detail of these agencies were that in two of them there were Russian speaking agents. The third agency was called Dreamhomesitaly, where the agent spoke English and Italian, this agent’s name was Madeleine. I understood very little of what she was saying ( I did not speak Italian ), but I viewed all she had to show us, and then compared service and prices with the other two Russian speaking agents, of course there was no comparison we chose to work with ‘ Dreamhomesitaly’.
Madeleine interpreted exactly what we were looking for, and we did not need to speak knowing that there was a professional agent assisting us all the way. I would like to especially thank Madeleine for her care, attention and patience of a saint at all stages of the purchase. She even took power of attorney for us to act on our behalves on the signing of the deed, assisted us with the bank procedures, tax procedures and a helping hand in the right direction with the interior design. She was always there every step of the way, ready to lend a hand when we needed her.
Thank you Madeleine. Thank you Dreamhomesitaly
Faina e Mikhail Kukushkin - St Petersburg Russia