1.  I have been working in the real estate world for over than 15 years and in 2007 I have created “Home and Boat Italy” company.

During this year I have collected an important portfolio in terms of number of properties for rentals and especially for “short rental periods”: de-luxe apartments in Rome, exclusive apartments and villas on the Amalfi Coast, farmhouses in Tuscany, apartments in Venice, Florence, Paris and in Turkey, too.

“Home and Boat Italy”, with its 100 properties, is suitable to satisfy several exigencies, from business customers to those with a budget, to the most demanding ones which look for exclusive and de-luxe experiences.

Beside the specialization in short rentals, during the past years, we are also taking care about long-term rentals and sales in order to joint two different competences.
We are happy to give our advices to the owners which are often shocked by the economic crises, by the heavy decrease of the rentals and often damaged by many years of customers which have been insolvent.

Those owners doesn’t anymore know what customer wants and how they can get a position of their properties back on the market; if it’s better to rent them in the traditional way or rent them as a guest house; if it’s the right moment to sell them out or it’s better not to sell them but to buy new properties; what are the best attractive areas where to invest; what is to be expected for the next years.

2.  The real estate market, during the last years, had to face the crises – 8 years long – which has partially slowed down the construction of new buildings on one hand, and has stopped the buying and selling activities already started on the other.
The long recession in the real estate field still afflicts a sector which unlikely will reach the levels it had before the crises. According to an accurate analysis made by Bankitalia, the main reason of the crises is the demography’s decrease and the problems that young and foreigner people have in getting access to the financing world, which represent the target of people with have more exigencies of purchasing properties.

In fact, if during the 90s the request of houses increased – according to the same analysis – this was due to the growth of resident population and especially to the increase of the number of families which brought to a boom of purchases of 75%. Since 2007, the purchases have started to decrease and in 2013 they were less than the half.

Even if they think that an upswing of this sector will hardly be back to the previous levels, 2014 has marked a “turn-over” year with an increase of purchases and supplies of mortgages.
2015 also has reconfirmed the turn-over and the purchases have grown of 8,4% on the national territory and an increase of mortgages and loans of 29,2% compared to the same period of 2014.
Still now, the taxes on properties and the decrease of the economic resources of the families, are influential on the real estate field; but the fiscal adjustments which are now going to be approved and the increase of the mortgages licenses, will definitely re-launch the market within the next years.

3.  Our mentality if changing, too. If our fathers would have never taken a mortgage out – shocked by the idea of a long debit to be paid during many years – today we all should consider the idea that the indebtedness ( with very low costs ) is the best way to start to buy properties again.

Today, to those asking me a suggestion on what to do with their property, I would answer immediately to sell it only if forced to, having see how the conditions of the market are. Alternatively, if you want to sell a property to buy another one, I would then suggest to buy it with the help of a mortgage ( for another year the interest rate will be very low ) and to postpone the sale of 2 years, in order to take advantages of the upswing which is expected, as the analysts say.

I would also like to underline another reason which has modified the residential real estate field during the last two or three years both in all Italian cities and little villages and tourist resorts, which is the possibility of creating a guest house for short stays and so linked to a touristic us and anyway a transitory use. This can be a solution, not difficult to be made, which can determine a growth of income which can help in managing the tax system and all the obligations connected to the maintenance and the property running. That’s why the position of the Property Manager has born and is nowadays always more professional and appreciated; we are proud that “Home and Boat Italy” has begun this job 15 years ago, where very few were available, foreseeing in advance the growth of this field.

ùWe are here at your disposal in case you like to become a “Guest house” owner or if you have exigencies for rentals and sales.