On the Waterfront

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The northern Italian region of Lombardy is dwelling to one sixth of the whole population of the country and its de facto sartorial capital, Milan, household to the designer clothes and shoe factories that form the basis of stylish Italian elegance. However, Lombardy is not just about haute couture, it is also home Italy's lovely northern lakes, and the luxurious villas that overlook them.

The Italian lakes are 1 of the most common holiday and property regions of Italy, up there with the Chiantishire favourites of Tuscany and Umbria, as nicely as the Riviera of Liguria. The most well-known of the lakes is Como, shaped like an upside down Y with villages and towns dotted along the extensive shoreline against the dramatic backdrop of the Alps. The lake's namesake town of Como lies at the southern end of 1 of its forks, and is just 45 minutes north of Milan. From here the selection of lakeside towns spreads along the western and eastern shores of the lake, taking in George Clooney's adoptive village of Laglio, the fairly town of Tremezzo, and Bellagio, which sits at the centre of the lake's southern shore. Lake Como's reputation as a holiday destination dates from the Roman era property costs reflect the history, beauty and fame of the region, as properly as the finite supply of lakeside houses.

Rupert Fawcett of Knight Frank says that across the lakes prices have stabilised right after powerful growth, but that prices "will continue to rise for those incredibly very important and one of a kind properties (especially waterfront and specially on Lake Como), which are for sale in a pretty limited supply, and frequently by means of private 'off-market place sales'." On the industry, though, is a converted period house with two apartments for sale in Faggeto, about 15 minutes from Como. The two-bedroom apartments price ¬525,000 (£415,000) and ¬598,000 (£472,000, through Knight Frank, and are just 5 minutes' walk to the beach, marina and pier. For some thing a little bigger, the corporation has a five-bedroom contemporary villa for sale in Mezzegra, where Benito Mussolini and his lover Claretta Petacci met their end at the hands of the Italian resistance. The villa has views across the Bellagio peninsula and a 3,500-square-metre garden and is on sale for ¬2,200,000 (£1.7 million).

Target Immobiliare, which specialises in property on Lake Como, agrees that prices have stabilised at the lake regardless of the wider industry recording a notable slowdown. "This is for the reason that the nature of the territory doesn't permit extensive development of home building so the excellent demand for houses on the lake cannot be fulfilled. The location primarily consists of restructured or restored houses though the deliver of new constructions is quite limited." The enterprise also says that properties with parking, either a garage or car access, increases the value of a home Target is selling a semi-detached town house in Faggeto Lario, just north of Como, with spacious terraces and views of the lake as properly as the all-necessary garage for ¬610,000 (£482,000).

The second-largest of Italy's northern lakes is Lake Maggiore, which separates the regions of Lombardy and Piedmont and juts into the Swiss Alps at its northern tip. The most well known resorts, like the pretty town of Stresa, are on the western, Piedmont side of the lake, which is served by the primary railway by means of the mountains to Lausanne and Geneva but the eastern side, with its proximity to Milan, is nonetheless sought after.

Frances Petersson from Jackson Stops & Staff International says: "There seems to be a renewed interest on Maggiore, whether or not it is all the current press or just that consumers are realising what a convenient location it is. Unlike Como, it has countless far more beaches and water sports clubs, some rather prestigious golf clubs and in winter is close to several ski resorts as nicely as in commuting distance to Milan." She adds that costs are also much more reasonable than at Lake Como or Lake Garda, with lakeside houses still available for under ¬500,000 (£395,000) with rather small work to do. Jackson Stops & Staff has an apartment on Isola Bella, 1 of the picturesque Borromean Islands in the middle of Lake Maggiore, for sale for ¬320,000 (£253,000). The spacious very first-floor apartment in 1 of the conventional fisherman's houses has two balconies from which to appreciate lakefront views.

On the Lombardy side of the lake, the town of Maccagno is the web-site of the new Golfo Gabella development, produced up of 90 1-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in five buildings with communal swimming pool, gym, restaurant and on-web-site rental facilities. Properties commence from £194,000 via Pure International and there is an choice of a private mooring on the lake.

Pat McCreddie at Unicasa, which also markets properties at the Golf Gabella development, says an owner seeking to rent their property can expect to receive around ¬250 (£197) per person per week. "For that reason, if you have a one-bedroom apartment, which can quickly sleep four, the income would be ¬1,000 [£790] per week. This is an typical figure all through the year and of course some weeks would command greater rents than other people." (Summer rents can command up to ¬300 (£236) per individual per week.)

Lake Garda is the largest of the Italian lakes, situated to the west of the region but still inside an hour's drive from Milan's Bergamo airport or, depending on which side of the lake you are going, Brescia and Verona are also airport solutions. Like its northerly counterparts, Lake Garda also served as a luxury Roman holiday destination, and remains a bustle of lakeside resorts including Sirmione on the southern shores and Riva del Garda in the north. Along the south-western shores of the lake, Casa Travella is selling a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment overlooking the centre of Padenghe sul Garda for ¬330,000 (£260,000).

Even though the northern lakes are close to the Alps and winter skiing, the high rental season is comparatively brief, running from Could to September. But Linda Travella of Casa Travella says investors can realise rental for up to 40 weeks of the year, albeit with lower winter rates. For example, Travella says a 3-bedroom, two-bathroom luxury apartment can go for £900 to £1,500 per week in high season but this drops to around £500 per week in the winter months. If you are seeking for a far more normal income though, property in Milan can earn over five per cent rental returns for smaller properties and around four per cent for bigger a great deal more highly-priced properties according to the Global Property Guide, an over the internet residential property guide. But be aware that the Italian rental laws are rather prescriptive and don't generally function in the greatest interests of the landlord.

The procedure of purchasing is fairly straight forward and consists of a proposal offer you, which, if accepted, is followed with a ten per cent deposit. The preliminary contract of sale ordinarily takes about 4 to six weeks and the completion comes when the notary contract transfers ownership of the property. New-build properties attract VAT of four per cent for first houses while resale properties incur a registration tax of three per cent.