Inheritance of an Italian Family Estate

So your grandparents or a very close relative unfortunately passed away but left you a family estate in Italy. There is no home on the land but plenty of trees and farmland. Do I sell it or what do I do with this property?

First, I want to say that I have come across many people who are in this situation and requesting advice. I recently received an email from a women living in America that was left an inheritance of a 40-acre land estate from her deceased grandfather in Italy. She has only been to Italy once as a small child and does not know how much it is worth, whether to sell it, or whatever!

Well, as a real estate broker and land developer in Italy, I experienced the same thing and now have developed my estate where I took a portion of the land and sold model villas off plan to travellers mostly non Italians who wanted to make Italy their new homeland. Other areas of the land that could not be used for the construction of homes, I leased out too families that were in need of farmland for harvesting. We now share the profits from the sale of the harvest on a 50/50 split. The best part of this family estate was all the trees on the land. A lumberjack paid me on average 100 euros for each tree he cut and took away to the lumber mill at his own cost. Interesting was the fact that he did not de-root the trees and a year later they have all grown back. So has the lumberjack come back and continues to pay me for the trees.

I guess one can say that I have was fortunate…but there are many other people especially foreigners who inheritated Italian estates and sold them for peanuts or abandon the estate whereby the township took the land estate over because they failed to pay their land taxes or maintain the land in proper order and standards set by the township.

Are you one of these people who have a family estate in Italy? Are your relatives watching the land in Italy telling you it is worthless while they live and profit from the uses of the land? Hum!
What’s your story and how can I help you with your situation?


Regards
Franco
Real Estate Broker & Land Developer
Calabria, Italy
The South of Italy