They bought a flat in Italy for 78 thousand euro – cheaper than own contribution in the USA. Was it worth it?
Although the renovation turned out to be full of surprises, and the Italian bureaucracy does not make life easier, the investment gives them a sense of freedom and a plan for the future. They dream about spending part of the year in Italy, and in the rest to rent a flat to tourists. This is a story about how a reasonable financial decision can open the door to life in Europe – without debt and with the view of the Italian hills.
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Kelly Beigle: I started looking for a flat in Washington as early as 2014 and the prices seemed crazy to me at the time. Since then, they have only been growing.
I couldn't understand how to pay a million dollars for an apartment with one or two bedrooms. This would mean the need to work throughout your life to pay them back.
Boris Krstevski: We wanted to buy a property somewhere in Europe. First, we considered Spain, southern France and Portugal.
Beigle: In Portugal you can get a mortgage as a foreigner. There, we considered a completely different price range – a flat in Lisbon for half a million dollars. We were already at the finalization stage, but the transaction did not take place. We still love this city, but the real estate market went crazy in 2022–2023.
Discouraged, we set off on a car journey around Europe. We spent almost six months on the road in 2024 – from Serbia to Portugal and back. We visited many places and eventually decided to Italy when we realized that we had cash enough to buy a flat for 78 thousand. euro without a loan.
They landed in northern Italy, an hour from Milan.
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Private archive/ Kelly Beigle
KRSTEVSKI: We spent several days in northern Italy, in Lombardy – in Milan, Bergamo, where there is beautiful nature. One of the reasons we chose Italy is that I come from Belgrade. Access from those surroundings to our apartment takes only 8-9 hours.
Beigle: We finalized the purchase in December 2024 for 78 thousand. euro. The apartment has 126 sq m is located in a small building with only three other premises. In Italy, rooms are counting, not bedrooms. Technically, it is a five -room apartment, but in practice it has two bedrooms and one bathroom, as well as a separate dining room, kitchen and living room.
Sales and renovation were complicated by distance
Beigle: We worked with Italian real estate lawyers, which helped a lot, but there were many surprises. The biggest time for me was the finalization time. Although we paid in cash, everything lasted for months. I watched the apartment in September 2024, I immediately became interested in him, and we closed the transaction only in mid -December.
The time difference did not help – when I get up in the morning, it is already in Italy 15. There is a lot of holidays and days off. We do what we can remotely, but without physical presence it is difficult to convince anyone to do anything.
KRSTEVSKI: You need to register electricity, gas and water – and it's not as easy as in the USA. Italy is in the EU, but the mentality is different. The offices work two days a week from 9 to 12. You have to make appointments.
Beigle: We try to balance between time spent on the spot and progress in renovation. Although six months have passed since the purchase, we are still working on it.
On the spot, people are very helpful. This is a small town for an hour from Milan. Everyone is nice. We are still learning Italian, and my language skills are bad for now, but people want to help.
The apartment has been empty for years, so it required modernization. We made a full replacement of the electrical installation – it was one of the more expensive elements.
Room in the apartment during renovation.
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Private archive/ Kelly Beigle
We don't have warm water yet. Everything takes a long time. We also need to mount the kitchen, because in Italy the apartments often sell without it – which was a shock for us. There was only a sink. Instead of buying something from Ikea, we decided on custom -made furniture, which of course costs more. Besides, it's just painting and cosmetics. In total, we will spend about 25,000 euro for renovation, most of which will consume the kitchen.
We want to live in Europe and rent a flat to tourists Boris Krstevski in Italy.
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Private archive/ Kelly Beigle
KRSTEVSKI: Ultimately, we want Europe to be our second home. We do not know how many months we will spend there, but we plan to rent an apartment – through Airbnb or short -term.
Beigle: Since we do not have a loan, the apartment can simply generate income. If a positive cash flow is achieved, we could buy another. Whether it will be in Italy or elsewhere in Europe – I don't know. But I would rather not invest in the USA again. It would be another European estate.
I love this feeling that we have a fully repaid apartment. I love the thought that you can buy something for the equivalent of an American own contribution.
The article is a translation from the American Business Insider edition.
