International Real Estate: Italy, Spain and Portugal properties

Every month, Mondinion.com releases statistics about searches performed on the site by visitors and potential buyers / renters. In May 2009, the top searched countries were: Philippines, Italy, Spain, United States, Mexico, India, Portugal and France.

"As the holiday period is coming, more and more buyers and investors are looking for popular vacation destinations such as Spain (especially Marbella, Barcelona, Alicante) - http://www.mondinion.com/Real_Estate/country/Spain/, Italy (the always popular Toscana and Sicilia) - http://www.mondinion.com/Real_Estate/country/Italy/ and Portugal - http://www.mondinion.com/Real_Estate/country/Portugal/. Other overseas real estate destinations are Philippines, Mexico, India and Brazil.", commented Zoltan A. Baranyai, Founder of Mondinion.com.

Campari? Crostini? Step Into My Umbrian Estate

I’m so at home that I invite the real owner of the Montagnola estate, Vittoria Iraci Borgia, along with Carmela Guzzo, her factotum-cum-culinary-magician, and their families to elaborate multicourse feasts. When they arrive, bearing lovely gifts for the hostess, my friends and I sweep out to welcome them, the picture of gracious beneficence. We proffer Campari-vodka-grapefruit juice aperitivos, along with crostini alla Romana and arancini before moving on to the main feast as the sun starts to set.

Global recession? What global recession? If you don’t count discretionary spending (read eight pairs of shoes from the Prada outlet in Montevarchi), my dolce vita sojourn is cheaper than a week at many beach houses stateside. For 2,400 euros (about $3,400 at $1.42 to the euro) for the whole week, we rent the six-bedroom (each with private bathroom) Caprareccia, the simply furnished, staggeringly beautiful hilltop jewel of La Montagnola’s rental offerings.

Italy's Assilea sets standard clauses for real estate leasing contracts

Italy’s leasing association Assilea and the Notary Council of Milan have jointly set the future standard clauses for real estate leasing contacts.

Following a series of legislative changes in the last three years, the leasing association and the Notary Council decided to strengthen their cooperation which started back in 2005 and make clauses uniform and more transparent.

The standard clauses concern the purchase of property to be leased, the sale of property already under a lease agreement, the leaseback of property, and the purchase of land on which to build property which will subsequently be leased.

Assilea said that the initiative will “slim down and speed up” notaries’ deeds of real estate leasing operations and make the market “more competitive and transparent”.