Leaving Contracting
Debbie tells us about leaving contracting to invest in the Italian property market successfully.
This is a follow up article to Why I got out of IT Contracting before it killed me.
Buying a Property in Italy
Bob and I had been back to Puglia on holiday in May 2005 and the idea of buying a property there had popped up again.
We talked about letting out our home in the UK and moving to Italy. However, we didn‘t really pursue the idea seriously. As with all good holiday thoughts the idea went to the bottom of the pile when we returned back to the UK and work.
But the seed had been well and truly planted. It was quietly being nurtured in the back of both our minds. On July 24th, 2005, we were walking around the gardens at RHS Wisley and talking to my Mum about Puglia and how we loved it so much.
I suggested to Bob that we bite the bullet, sell up in the UK and move lock, stock and barrel to Puglia. Without hesitation he agreed. It turned out that he had been thinking along the same lines before I even mentioned it.
Mortgage Free
Thanks to the sale of ITAccounting, our house in the South East of England was mortgage free. So, we had the equity in the house to fund the relocation and our new life style.
The very next day our house was on the market and I was searching the web for property in Puglia. I found a bunch of properties on the InterItalia website and arranged an inspection visit.
We were lucky enough to find two properties we liked on that first inspection visit, one to live in and one to use for holiday rentals to provide some income.
Leaving Contracting – Rest is History
The rest you could say is history. We sold our UK house. After a somewhat painful period while we waited to exchange and complete, we set sail, cats and all, for our new life in Italy.
At the time of writing this (February 2006) we have been here now for just over two months.
We are, most importantly, following the flow of the days Italian style and learning again how to relax and enjoy every moment of every day.
Low Property Prices
Was it the right move?
Only time will tell but we certainly think so. Puglia is one of the few places left in Europe where property prices are relatively low compared to the UK.
The cost of living here is also much lower. Taking private pensions early, together with investment income, generates enough income to live comfortably in Puglia on a total income considerably less than we would need in the UK.
It‘s wonderful to be free of work commitments and have time to enjoy life. So here we are at 52 and 45 respectively, sort of retired.
Maintaining Villa Rosa and marketing holidays are more than enough to keep our minds active. Alos, we have become involved in various Italian Life forums, meeting loads of new friends in the process.
Contractors Drop Out of the Rat Race
If you have the opportunity to drop out of the rat-race, we would say ‘Go for it‘.
Life is too short to spend it working all the time.
Needless to say you need to research your ‘˜location, location, location‘ and do your sums.
But if you can and if you want too – what‘s stopping you?
Holiday Rental
Property prices in Puglia, as with most places, are on the way up at the moment as more and more ex-pats find their way here, if you wait too long you may miss your opportunity.
If you would like to see Puglia for yourself and sample our Italian dream, Villa Rossa
will be available for holiday rental from 1st April 2006.
We still have our dedication to customer service. We plan to ensure that our guests have everything available to really enjoy a relaxing holiday!
Introductory Offer
As an introductory offer we are offering ITContractor readers 25% discount off the published web prices on all 2006 villa holidays.
Add this to the 25% discount for bookings made by 31st May 2006 and you could achieve a staggering 44% discount.
You could maybe find your Puglian property dream at the same time. Please quote ITCFeb2006 in your booking request.
ITContractor Comment
We were offered the second 25% discount as commission but we decided to pass it on to our readers.
I am also happy to do Debbie a favour as I knew her when she was with ITAccounting. I found her very straightforward and honest.
IT Contractors are a suspicious bunch (I am too) but we are happy just to put our readers and Debbie in touch (if they want to get in touch). We will not make a penny out of it.
Leaving contracting wasn’t so bad for Debbie and maybe for you too.
