The pandemic forced us to push pause and postpone our house hunting trip to Italy two years in a row. But, in July 2022 we would finally get to Italy for our long-awaited vacation which would include a week in Lucca.
During our time in lock down we scoured Italian real estate sites and studied the listings our consultants shared. They would research properties and share details not included in the listings. For instance, they would inform us if a property required climbing 100 steps to reach the front door or if an apartment needed significant work. Having their guidance was extremely helpful as it streamlined the process of sifting through the listings.
Time to Get Serious
As our low-resolution plan came into focus and our trip finally approached, certain properties had already been snatched up, prompting our consultants to help us whittle down our options to a select number of apartments for viewing. Narrowing our choices down to ten, we created a Pinterest board to keep track of the properties we were considering. In a nod to the popular show House Hunters International that we had binged, we assigned each apartment a distinct name like "Marble Stairs," " Red Couch," and "Garden Apartment," to simplify our discussions and keep track more easily.
Our ideal property would hopefully include:
Open floor plan
Outdoor space
Kitchen big enough to cook together
En suite bathroom
A minimum of two bedrooms, but more would be a bonus
Plenty of natural light
Not too many stairs since this would be part of our long-term plan for retirement
Our first visit to Lucca
While we approached Lucca with cautious optimism, we were also mentally prepared for the possibility of not feeling a connection let alone finding our ideal apartment. After all, while we've explored the surrounding area, we had never set foot inside Lucca's walls before! However, when we finally entered the city's walls in July of 2022, after two years of postponements, an undeniable feeling washed over us. It's hard to articulate, but it was a sense of knowing.
The picturesque Tuscan city captivated us with its rich history and undeniable charm. Lucca, known as the "City of 100 Churches," boasts an impressive collection of well-preserved medieval and Renaissance architecture. Its famous intact city walls, dating back to the 16th century, offer a unique opportunity to stroll or bike along the elevated pathway, providing breathtaking views of the city and its surroundings. Lucca's vibrant cultural scene, with its renowned summer music festival and thriving art community, adds to the city's draw. Most importantly, we found everyone we met to be extremely warm and welcoming. Lucca ticked all of our boxes, but we still didn't know if we would find the apartment we were looking for.
After a couple of days in Lucca, we decided that we only wanted to consider properties in the heart of the city inside the walls with everything easily in reach. That cut our list of potential homes down a bit. After settling into the town for a few days we were now scheduled to view eight properties towards the end of our time in Lucca. At each appointment we would meet with a different realtor. Thankfully, they all showed up!
Two properties rose to the top of the heap:
"The Furnished Attic Apartment": Recently renovated and furnished, this one seemed like the obvious choice because it alleviated a lot of the worry about how we would furnish and decorate a home long distance. Never mind that we didn't love the furniture. It had some unique features and a private retrofitted elevator taking you directly into the apartment. Because it was an attic apartment, the windows were somewhat small, but it still had incredible views. The apartment had two bedrooms and was on two floors with the top attic portion being a huge space with plenty of room for additional beds.
"The Garden Apartment": The other property, while at the top of our budget, took our breath away. With windows on two sides, it was bright and airy, had a nice flow to the floor plan and overlooked a beautifully manicured private garden, which is very rare in the city center. It had a private loggia (entrance) and both a cantina (cellar) and an attic, but those spaces weren't really useful for us as we didn't really need storage space and would have preferred a third bedroom instead.
After some deliberation, we were leaning towards the practical choice and told the realtor that we would likely submit an offer soon. We continued on our trip to Lake Garda where we were meeting our dear friends, the Hudsons.
From our very early days as a family visiting Italy in the summer, we've rented villas for a portion of our stay with the Hudson family in various parts of Italy, including Sorrento, Puglia, Liguria, and more. We met the Hudsons years ago when our kids were friends in Northern Virginia before they returned to live in the UK. So many of our Italian adventures have included Joe, Helen, and their four kids.
We Almost Bought the Wrong Home
While we relaxed and sipped Aperol Spritzes with the Hudsons, we spent a lot of time weighing the pros and cons of the two apartments. Joe and Helen know us well and served as a great sounding board. We thought we had made our decision, but the "Garden Apartment" was still on our minds.
On one hand, the furnished apartment was the practical choice. On the other, the garden apartment gave us the feeling we were looking for. With the help of our friends, we poured over the photos we had taken on the tours and discussed the merits of both properties. These conversations led us to the decision to go with our gut - the garden apartment. The one that took our breath away.
Our offer was accepted and in the fall we made a whirlwind trip back to Lucca to sign more paperwork with the opportunity to go through the apartment again. We were relieved that it was even better than we had remembered, confirming our decision! We had made the right choice.
The realtor listing our home, Luca Sighieri of Living in Centro, was incredibly supportive and exceeded our expectations in many ways. Not only did he assist us in connecting with an Italian mortgage broker, but he also went the extra mile (or, kilometers) by helping us with various tasks such as setting up utilities, finding a skilled painter, and arranging a reliable handyman to tackle necessary repairs.
In March of 2023, we sealed the deal on our new home, with the seller opting to rent back until June as they awaited their own relocation. This bought us time to get our heads around furnishing and decorating our place. Of course, the journey wasn't without its twists and turns—like any home buying experience, there were plenty of ups and downs. But after navigating through the hurdles, we joyfully unlocked the door to our new home in July of 2023, marking the culmination of nearly three years since we embarked on our Italian home-buying adventure.
Despite the pandemic's two-year setback, the timing couldn't have been better. Our youngest child was about to head off to college, leaving our nest in Northern Virginia empty. However, this also coincided with Dario's company asking everyone to return to the office, which threw a wrench in our plan to work remotely from Lucca for part of the year. This prompted us to explore the possibility of opening our home to vacation renters.
Thanks for following along! We'll be sharing more about settling in and making our house a home and a vacation rental.
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