We started our real estate search from Germany. Initially with an online search via IDEALISTA with the right search filters. On IDEALISTA, you can also search in German and English, and most of the property descriptions are also translated.

We then contacted the local estate agents and arranged viewings on site. Being there in person was crucial, because the condition, lighting conditions, smells, neighborhood and surroundings can hardly be realistically assessed in photos.

We have had good experiences with planning viewings over several days. This makes it easier to compare different properties and you develop a feeling for prices, locations and typical defects more quickly.

We even inspected some properties again from the outside at different times of day to see exactly what the position of the sun was like or the noise level from the street or the neighborhood. What we wanted in any case: Sun, sun, sun, and preferably also in winter. If the house then faces east or is surrounded by large, shady mountains or trees, that’s not what we want.

What we definitely didn’t want: Constantly loud dogs barking in the dark or hordes of hikers making a pilgrimage past our dream house on Sundays, which lies sleepily in the supposed wasteland during the week.

If possible, you should also take a look at the traffic conditions in summer. Roads that appear idyllic and quiet outside the main season can mutate into motorcycle race tracks at the height of summer.

We took a week for our local property search and made 8 appointments with estate agents. To keep track of everything, I took screenshots of the individual properties and Google Maps on my tablet and added the name of the contact person and their cell phone number. I saved the whole thing in the order of the appointments so that I always had everything in front of my eyes and could navigate my loved one to their destination (almost) without getting lost.

The price level: in the past, people spoke of the lean (Lombardy) and the fat (Piedmont) side of Lake Maggiore. Even today, there are still more stately villas and grand hotels on the western shoreline than on the opposite side. This is where the rich and noble from Milan, Switzerland and Germany spent their vacations in the last and penultimate centuries. Of course, the eastern bank also offers grandiose residences, but it was traditionally less crowded. Of course, no two properties are the same and a direct price comparison between the two sides is difficult. However, we did not have the impression that the price level of the two sides was very different.

Only now, with hindsight, do I have to say that the surroundings or the nearest town to the property in question are at least as important as the property itself. We viewed a property in Tuscany – we didn’t know at the time that the region around Lake Maggiore was actually the best place for us in terms of scenery – and it was absolutely immaculate and would have suited us perfectly. Fortunately, we were in the area a few hours before the viewing appointment and drove around a bit. No, we absolutely did not want to live in this region. The landscape was very beautiful, but we just didn’t like the villages, shopping facilities and restaurants.

That’s how our little house in the mountains above a lovely village on the eastern shore of Lake Maggiore came to be. But here, too, we underestimated how much a place changes over the seasons: We visited the place for the first time in November: Everything was very quiet, some stores and restaurants closed for the winter, the shutters down and despite the good weather, there were only a few people out and about, apparently locals, few tourists. Just our thing! In August, however, when the Milanese are on vacation and populate their houses by the lake, when there is an event almost every weekend down in the village, when you can only get into your favorite pizzeria in the evening with a reservation, it’s too lively for us and so we spend the height of summer in Germany.