The 4 Common Pitfalls with Access Roads

What a superb post!

Great information for anyone intending to buy a property!

Excellent.  Thank you ourtoscana.

Since having bought our property in 2006:
1) We discovered there was a 'strada communale' which ran just outside our front door!    It took us a few years, and a largish number of €s, to persuade the commune to agree to replace the existing 'virtual' road with another that skirted around our land away from the house.
2) We have had 4 major frane which have blocked the direct road to our house.  Luckily there is an alternative route over the hill behind us into a neighbouring valley - but a 5 minute trip then takes 30 minutes more (each way!).
3) We paid exactly €11000 to have mains water (+ meter) connected to our house.  As the sales particulars specified that property 'had mains water' when we bought it we agreed (after a long and difficult negotiation) to split the additional cost with the (aged, and perhaps confused) vendors.

Now you tell me!

Great post ourtoscana. It still amazes me how many people buy a house without looking at long term logistics of access to property; what if a frana closes the road; can Emergency Vehicles get to the house; how does one get materials to the property etc. Estate Agents will often 'omit' to point out these points as it could well jeopardise a sale and also how do Utilities serve the property; it is no laughing matter faced with huge bills to supply services after you have purchased.

Yes, perhaps utilities could be another great post. Of course there are alternatives to mains utilities, but they are also sometimes not available or very expensive e.g. bore holes...

I'm glad you found the post useful.

I was also going to write a new topic decicated to utilities with problems, prices that I am constantly encountering

Ghiro  .... when you come out the other side of these problems you certainly become much more savvy!!

Flip ... Bagni di Lucca is particulary prone to land slides as you may have noticed. Your point on Emergency services is a very valid one indeed.

I must say that there are plenty of areas in Italy prone to landslides and floods and Web sites that can help identify those. Here is one:
http://geomorphology.irpi.cnr.it/publications/repository/public/maps/AVI-map.jpg/view
 As for Bagni di Lucca, it all depends where you buy, we are perfectly safe where we are, on the other hand, just accross the river from us, at Palmaia, they had a problem a couple of years ago. I actually watched the landslide and it was not a pretty sight!
The problem is that most agents will not point out these problems to potential buyers, as Flip says. My advice would be to engage the services of an independent qualified professional BEFORE buying. What you spend on these services will result in savings, as to fix those problems (if they can be fixed) cost lots of money. Just in Aspirin, you will save heaps!!!

Thanks fro that Gala P.

I guess the situation has become much more critical recently where 3 of the last 5 winters have broken all sorts of records for adverse weather conditions. If we take this and combine it with abandoned hillside forests we have a recipe for disaster.

It would cost some Comunes an awful lot less to pay 20,000euro to say 50 farmers rather than spend millions on trying to cage in entire hillsides after the event has happened.

As you rightly said, prevention will be more effective and less expensive than trying to fix a disaster. The main problem is that most councils are struggling for funds and the loss of revenue through the abolition of taxes for "prima casa" and a reduction in the number of building permits -to name two of the major culprits- has a lot to do with it. And yes, weather conditions have not helped at all. This brings us back to the main topic. Potential buyers must be aware that professional advice is available and that it will always be money well spent.

I'm starting to buy lottery tickets, not so that we can be fabulously rich but so that, when the next frana blocks access to our house, we can say to the comune that we'll fund the repair work provided they do it NOW!