A Home In Issiglio?

In the spring of 2015, I accomplished another dream I had on my bucket list, which by the way, included getting Italian citizenship (accomplished in 2012), getting a FIAT (accomplished in 2015) and then buying a property in Italy (accomplished 2017).  You're probably wondering what this has to do with a home in Issiglio....so, let me explain further.

After having purchased my FIAT in the spring of 2015, I entered a social media contest for FIAT that I saw on Facebook, which ultimately, could be a whole other story.  In the end, I won second place in the contest, and as part of the contest, I was flown to Italy to shoot a video.  You can see the video here: Tom's FIAT Video.  I traveled to the Piedmont region to shoot the video, and specifically, we shot the video in part, in Issiglio, Castelnuovo Nigra, and towns nearby.  While there, I also reconnected with my Martellono relatives and met some of my Saivetto family members too. I also scheduled my first real estate appointment to look at a property in Issiglio.

It was a Friday afternoon and we had finished shooting video footage for the day, and I had a realtor come to Issiglio from Casa Canavese, a local real estate company.  The realtor brought me to see a property that I had been looking at online, for only $15,000 Euro.  Well, let me just say, I don't know that I could have ever rented the property out to people in the condition, or location it was in.  Even if fixed up, the property next door was dilapidated and needed significant repair.  Additionally, Issiglio is about 15 minutes from Ivrea, which has about 28,000 inhabitants.  There are only 280 inhabitants in Issiglio, which means that when I was not there, any interested "renters" would be in a small mountain village with not much there.

My realtor at the time told me that with my last name, I would not need to buy a house in Issiglio, that everyone would open their doors to me.  Although I was flattered, I still wanted to buy a property in Issiglio, and I continued to look online until a quick conversation with my cousin in Ivrea and some other properties caught my eye!

Ivrea...The Best of Both Worlds

The very first time I was in the Piedmont, about 1991, I met my cousin that lived in Ivrea, which is about 15 minutes from Issiglio.  Back then, I stayed in Ivrea, and would take a bus to Issiglio, which seemed like a million miles away.  After looking at some homes in Issiglio for a period of time (online mostly) and a couple during the filming of the FIAT commercial, I ended up having a conversation with my cousin who suggested I consider looking in Ivrea.  The reality for me was, as he pointed out, that Ivrea has shops, restaurants, hospital, train station, and other amenities I would not find in Issiglio.  If I were to ever rent out the home/apartment, there would be few resources available to renters in Issiglio.  The other key point...Issiglio is actually only a 15 minute drive.  I could go there as much as I wanted and then come back to a place in Ivrea!

With this new thinking, I began to look in Ivrea, and in the winter of 2016-2017, things began to turn in my favor. My now husband, Pete, began to warm up to the idea of my looking in the Piedmont region due to the location and proximity (he was not fully sold in Issiglio), I was able to connect with a realtor who was amazing in her response time and her English, and I found several apartments that were awesome looking online and reasonably priced!

In the fall of 2016, I began communicating with a real estate company in Ivrea called IDEA Casa (you can click on the name to be linked to their website.  My experience was in reaching out to other real estate agencies, is that response time sometimes lagged, and it was sometimes difficult due to language. I actually hit the jackpot, so to speak, when I reached out to IDEA Casa, due to the AWESOME Francesca Corvo and her timeliness and English speaking skills.  We began to go back and forth via Email and during those exchanges, I found three apartments online that I was very interested in and wanted to see.

Having found three apartments, I was then finally faced with DO I or DONT I go and look at apartments.  It was nerve wracking and I was nervous about taking the leap.  After much deliberation in my own mind, over the course of the Martin Luther King weekend in January 2017, I ended up getting a couple of days off from work and believe it or not, I finally made the leap, bought a ticket to Italy, and prepared for my first house hunting adventure!  Francesca and I had a time, 8am on a Monday, that we agreed to meet at Cafe Canavesano, on via Palestro in Ivrea.  The apartments I was interested in were all located close to one another and just a short walk from the cafe.  My cousin picked me up at the airport, I stayed in a small AirBnB on via Arduino (#75) and I prepared myself for my first venture out.

Typical Tom Martellone

Now, there's a slight detail I have left out...if you know me, you may not be surprised.  My good friend Kevin, who spoke at me and my husband's wedding recently, noted that I am a "force to be reckoned with".  Of course he meant this in a good way, however, if you know me, you also know that I like what I like.  I also, generally have good "vision", meaning I can see something and picture it either improved, with my touch, etc.

When I got my ticket and arranged with Francesca to see the apartment, I asked to see one particular apartment first.  In my heart of hearts, I knew from the pictures I saw that that particular apartment would be the one I loved the most and would want to buy.  It wasn't different with our primary house...the minute I saw it, I knew it was for us.

On Monday morning, Martin Luther King Day 2017, I met up with Francesca Corvo and another realtor (Sandro Vucci) at Caffe Canavesano on via Palestro.  After a period of time communicating with Francesca, it was great to finally meet her.  She seemed very excited for me, and of course, I was bursting at the seams to go and look at apartments.  After a cappuccino and some conversation, we headed up the street where I prepared to look at four apartments!

In all honesty, the minute we walked into via Arduino #10, I didn't think I would want any other apartment, but I felt committed to looking at the others just in case.  The apartment was AMAZING! Unlike some places you can look at online, this place actually looked like what you saw in the pictures and there were no surprises! It was the perfect size, location, layout, and had such great character! I could hardly contain myself.  I truly knew the minute the door opened that I would want that apartment.  That being said, I did my "due diligence" and looked at the three other apartments, one being across the street, the other being a couple doors away, and then the other one, just a few steps up the street.  All were on via Arduino, in the middle of the historic center of Ivrea. That street is like a picture out of a post card.  Looking at those apartments brought back all of the joy and wonder I had felt the very first time I came to Ivrea!  Red tiled roofs, cobbled streets, stucco, and old world charm.

Needless to say, after looking at all four apartments, even though I did like one other, it did not compare to via Ardiuno #10. It basically was a done deal, to some degree in my mind.  I left on Tuesday, my head spinning, knowing that I wanted the first apartment I looked at, and knowing I would need to figure out a way to put my plan into action!

Curious about what the apartments looked like on my trip?  Three albums below showcase three of the four that I looked at (no pictures of one of them...I didn't look at it online, it was over my budget, but the realtor threw it in for me to see.  I didn't take pictures because I knew I would not buy it!)

Before you go to the next page to hopefully read more, let me just say, nothing great is accomplished without a little work.  I was in for a few surprises on my journey to home ownership in Ivrea, Italy!