Andrea Love spent years thinking about owning property in Italy. In 2024, she finally went to Sardinia, looked at roughly 15 properties, ran into the realities of banking and financing as an American, and ended up signing a contract on a new-construction apartment in Valledoria.
In this episode of Maxwell’s Kitchen, Andrea walks through what the process actually looked like from the inside. We talk about €1 homes, why she chose Sardinia, how difficult it can be to get financing without Italian residency, what she learned while touring properties around the island, and why new construction ultimately made more sense for her than taking on a major renovation.
The conversation also gets into property management, renting the apartment when she is not there, residency and citizenship questions, retirement, living part-time overseas, and the bigger question of how travel changes what you want your life to look like.
In This Episode
Why Andrea wanted to own property in Italy
What €1 homes in Italy really involve
Why Sardinia stood out
Searching for property as an American
Trying to open an Italian bank account
Financing without Italian residency
Looking at roughly 15 properties
Driving across Sardinia to view homes
Buying in Valledoria
Her €129,000 new-construction apartment
Older renovation properties versus new construction
Customizing the apartment during construction
Property management and future rentals
Owning property versus having residency rights
Living part-time in Italy
Retirement and investing overseas
Sardinia, Portland, and quality of life
Guest
Andrea Love
Andrea had wanted to spend more time in Italy for decades, but buying property there became a much more serious goal after she began thinking about retirement, investing outside the United States, and what she wanted the next stage of her life to look like.
Rather than trying to figure everything out from home, she went to Sardinia, rented a car, lined up property showings, and started learning the process in person. That eventually led her to a family-run developer in Valledoria that was willing to help her structure the purchase.
Why Sardinia?
Andrea considered several parts of Italy and also looked at Portugal, but Sardinia kept pulling her back.
Part of the appeal was price. She found properties that were far less expensive than comparable real estate in Portland, including the new two-bedroom apartment she eventually agreed to buy for €129,000.
Location mattered too. Valledoria gave her access to beaches, northern Sardinia, airports, ferry routes, and other parts of Europe without requiring her to buy in one of the island’s most expensive resort areas.
The episode also gets into the reality behind the famous €1 homes in Italy. The purchase price may be symbolic, but the renovation obligations can be significant, and many of those properties are in small towns where buyers are expected to restore buildings within a set period.
Buying Property as an American
One of the biggest obstacles Andrea ran into was financing.
She originally expected to put about 20% down and finance the rest, but discovered that opening an Italian bank account and getting a traditional mortgage as a nonresident was much more difficult than she expected.
That changed when she found Maguledda Costruzioni e Immobiliare in Valledoria. The company was developing a small apartment building and was willing to work with her on financing directly.
Andrea toured the construction site, looked at another completed property to see the quality of the work, met with the owner, and was able to make decisions about finishes and some parts of the interior layout while the building was still under construction.
That combination of financing, new construction, and flexibility was what finally made the deal work.
Renovation vs. New Construction
Andrea looked at older homes too, including inexpensive properties with ocean views and plenty of character.
They also came with old kitchens, aging electrical systems, unfinished work, access problems, and the possibility of much larger renovation costs.
Buying new construction meant giving up some of the romance of owning an old Italian home, but it also meant fewer unknowns. Her apartment was being built with modern materials, energy-efficient features, new appliances, and the ability to customize parts of the interior before completion.
For someone buying from another country, that tradeoff made sense.
Residency, Rentals, and Living Part-Time in Italy
Owning property in Italy does not automatically give an American the right to live there indefinitely.
Andrea talks about the difference between buying real estate and gaining residency or citizenship, along with her own longer-term interest in qualifying for an EU passport through family ancestry.
In the meantime, the plan is to use the apartment herself and potentially rent it when she is not there. The developer also offers property-management services, which could make that easier once the building is finished.
The goal is not necessarily to move to Sardinia permanently. Andrea sees the property as an investment and as a way to create more flexibility in where she spends her time.
More Italy Travel
If Sardinia has you thinking about spending more time in Italy, these guides are a good place to keep going:
24 Hours in Rome: A One-Day Itinerary You Can Actually Do
https://maxwellskitchenpodcast.com/maxwells-kitchen-podcast/24-hours-in-rome
24 Hours in Capri, Italy: Ferry from Naples, Capri Town + Marina Grande
https://maxwellskitchenpodcast.com/maxwells-kitchen-podcast/one-day-capri-italy-travel-guide
24 Hours in Ischia, Italy: Ferry from Naples, Via Roma + Aragonese Castle
https://maxwellskitchenpodcast.com/maxwells-kitchen-podcast/one-day-ischia-italy-guide
24 Hours in Cinque Terre, Italy: Monterosso, Vernazza + Manarola
https://maxwellskitchenpodcast.com/maxwells-kitchen-podcast/discover-cinque-terre-italy-coast
Useful Links
Maguledda Costruzioni e Immobiliare
https://www.maguleddaimmobiliare.com/en/
Andrea Love
https://andrea.love/
Maxwell’s Kitchen Travel Guides
https://maxwellskitchenpodcast.com/podcast/itineraries
About This Episode
This episode is part of the Maxwell’s Kitchen interview archive, but it overlaps directly with the travel side of the site: what it looks like when visiting a place turns into seriously wondering whether you could build part of your life there.
Andrea’s experience is one example, not a universal guide to buying property in Italy. Laws, financing rules, residency requirements, taxes, and individual circumstances can change, so anyone considering a purchase should verify current requirements with Italian authorities and qualified professionals.
