A little chat with the new owner of “Villa Brencia”

We interviewed Ms. Sara Marani who, last January and thanks to the cooperation of Great Estate, has become the new owner of the amazing “Villa Brencia”, Cetona, Siena.

Welcome Ms. Marani. Thank you for your time! If we may ask, where do you live and what is your job?

I live in London, where I work as a journalist for an international agency.

Why did you choose to purchase a property in Italy? Did you already know our country and, to be more precise, this area of Tuscany?

Even if I was born in London, where I have always lived and married an English man, my parents come from Italy. We wanted our children to enjoy a home for their holidays in Italy, which had to be in a really amazing area. Tuscany represents a region easy to be reached both from the North – where some relatives live – and Rome, where my uncle is. Moreover, in my opinion, Tuscan trees, the famous cypresses, are among the most beautiful ones in Italy: trees have always fascinated me.. no matter what, they will always remain where they actually are.

How did you discover Great Estate? Why did you contact it?

I contacted Great Estate because I liked one of the beautiful farmhouses advertised on the group’s website which, as I discovered then, the GE consultant Roberto Biggera knew very well. For this reason, I contacted him. I had been looking for a property for several months already, so I was cooperating with other two agencies with which I had already visited some properties too. Soon, Roberto arranged some visits to other properties in line with my criteria.

So, your GE trusted consultant was Roberto Biggera. Thanks to the My Agent service, you were able to establish a relationship of mutual trust. Why did you entrust yourself exclusively to Roberto for you research?

Since the very first time, by always answering to every observation or request about the property I would like to purchase, Roberto demonstrated a great timing and personality, being so able to immediately understand the kind of house I was looking for. Moreover, he had also assured us that, if our research would have been prolonged, he would not have abandoned us. I liked the fact that Roberto was born and lives right in the area of Tuscany where we were looking for our home: in the countryside near Cetona. I believe that this has allowed him to have some intuitions which others may would not have had. He has always been present: I remember that, one day, early in the morning, I wanted to visit a property for the second time before going back to London and that Roberto was able to perfectly organized the whole by also making the architect and sellers be there too.

How many properties did you visited with Roberto?

I think something like 20 properties in a year.

What did you like the most of “Villa Brencia”? Why did you decide to purchase it?

The fact that no dirt roads have to be travelled, no works have to be done and the property surface, not too big, would have allowed an easy managing of it. Moreover, the house had immediately transmitted to me the idea of being more a villa than a farmhouse. And again.. A lot of light, a beautiful garden! Finally, “Villa Brencia” (click here to discover the property) perfectly represents the ideal location for what we were looking for: a great starting point to go to the discovery of so many interesting hamlets and places, all within an hour from there.

How was the negotiation? Were there any problems? What do you think about the services offered by Great Estate?

Roberto, Tommaso Liscaio and Stefano Petri have always supported and explained us every step of the negotiation very precisely. Generally speaking, the Italian real estate negotiations are more complex than the English ones. For this reason, we needed as much help as possible. I have to admit that, when we visited “Villa Brencia” in August and then decided to do an offer for it during a hot summer Saturday, Roberto and Tommaso were very helpful and efficient. They dealt with both the proposal writing and every necessary task.

How will you use your new home?

It will be our holiday home. However, my husband would like to start working mostly from home and then retire. In this way, we will finally have the possibility to permanently live and enjoy “Villa Brencia”.

Did you already know Cetona and the other historical centres of this area?

To be honest, I did not know Cetona, San Casciano Dei Bagni and Chiusi very well, while I already knew Città Della Pieve, Montepulciano and Orvieto. We love the works of “Il Perugino” and this is why Città Della Pieve has always been our favourite place. The thing that my family and I love the most is the variety of hamlets and landscapes offered by this areas: not just Medieval or Renascence towns, but also Etruscan or Roman ones like Sarteano and Chiusi, which we still have to discover! In short, would you like to tell us something about your experience with Great Estate? Decisively positive: everyone was really fair, helpful and precise.

Would you suggest Great Estate to other international clients who, as you already did, want to purchase a prestigious property in Italy? If so, why?

Of course! Roberto speaks a good English, which is a real advantage. But many of his colleagues do the same. Even if we have already purchased the villa, Roberto is still helping.. I like to think to him as a new friend of us!