The sale of “Villa Smeraldo”: our interview with Mrs. Dorthe

After the interviews with the new owners of “Villa Smeraldo”, sold on April 28^th, 2020, and thanks to the cooperation between Great Estate and its partner agency Italia Immobilien, we are now going to propose you the interview with Mrs. Dorthe, the seller of the home.

• Welcome, Dorthe. First of all, thank you for the time you are giving us. Would you like to tell us something about yourself? Where do you come from? Which is your job?

I come from Denmark where I live with my ten-year-old son and my husband. I am an interface designer by trade and I love to be creative and think in spaces, shapes, and materials. 

• Why did your family and you decide to purchase a property right into the hills around Lake Trasimeno? Did you already know this area?

Around 20 years ago, my family and I visited Tuscany and Umbria with the intent to buy a family villa. We visited a lot of different locations, but as soon as we saw the view over Lago Trasimeno, we knew the search were over. Almost ten years later, being fond of Italy I considered moving there and we decided to build another villa close to my parents house.

• Is there any particular anecdote or memory about the villa that you would like to share with us?

When my son was a newborn, my husband and I spent several weeks there during the winter. It was a particularly rough winter, with minus degrees and half a meter of snow, and it was impossible to drive down to Tuoro, in our small rental car, to do our grocery shopping. Luckily, Orlando Baldoni, the Archtiect’s father, who was also responsible for building the house, drove up and checked on us in his 4×4, and offered to drive us to Touro several times. Although he didn’t speak a word of English, and we have very limited Italian proficiency, he was kind and helpful to us in these odd weeks in the new house.

• How did you use the property?

We used the property the first couple of years after it was built. We have always brought good friends, and stayed for several weeks each summer. Unfortunately, Danish legislation put a stop to us using the house ourselves, as it is not legal to stay in your house and rent it out without paying a substantial amount of taxes. So in recent years, we stayed in my family’s villa instead, but we never miss a summer.

• If we may ask, can you tell us the reasons why you finally decided to sell “Villa Smeraldo”?

Well, the above explanation with the Danish legislation was the reason. Since we can’t really use it ourselves, we decided to sell.

• Talking now about your cooperation with Riccardo Luculli and Nadia Aron, the managers of the German market for the Great Estate Network: how did you meet them? When did you start your cooperation with them?

I met Riccardo many years ago, as he has helped my parents a lot with doing business in Italy. We have seen each other many times over the years, and have spent many good evenings together in both villas. The collaboration with Nadia was handy when the borders to Italy closed and we needed both someone to represent the seller and someone to represent the buyer signing the contract.

We know that thanks to the support of Riccardo and Nadia, you have recently managed to sell the splendid “Villa Smeraldo” to German customers. Would you like to tell us how something about the negotiation?

The negotiation went super smooth and I think both us as the sellers and the German buyers had a feeling that things were in good hands. Documents were translated into English for us to prevent the language barriers from being an issue and only with the help of Riccardo and Nadia it was possible to sign the final contract due to the closed borders during the time of COVID-19.

• In light of the splendid result achieved and considering the delicate moment we all are in, what do you think about the support you received by our professionals?

These are indeed special times. Because of COVID19, I couldn’t go to Italy myself, so I had to get a power of attorney in Denmark, and send it. Let us just say, the Danish system got a bit stiff because of COVID-19, but Riccardo was very efficient in giving good instructions and information on how to go about it. After being stonewalled a few times by the Danish system and communicating back and forth with Riccardo, I finally managed to get the POA signed and shipped. From there, everything went smooth, and a few days later, Riccardo sent a nice picture of the deal getting signed.

• To conclude so, would you recommend Nadia and Riccardo and Great Estate to other clients who are willing to sell their property in Italy?

Definitely, they have been nothing but helpful and professional. And also very good at communicating and explaining the, for foreigners, sometimes opaque Italian laws and systems.

Read also:

COVID-19 does not stop Great Estate – the sale of Villa Smeraldo

The sale of Villa Smeraldo: the interview to Riccardo Luculli and Nadia Aron