Rossinni & Co. on YouTube: Cheap Houses for Sale in Italy
Buying a property in Italy doesn’t mean that you have to be a millionaire. Your dream is attainable and it’s Aden and Fiorella’s goal to give you some give advice and refer you to experts who are knowledgeable and responsive. What began as posting photos of homes for sale in Italy on a widow at their cafe in Australia, turned into a very successful YouTube channel called “Rossinni & Co”. Each week, they share news about affordable properties for sale in Italy. Although they are not real estate experts, the couple shares some good tips acquired by doing plenty of research.
I really enjoyed getting to know Aden and Fiorella. It’s evident that they want others to experience first-hand authentic Italy and practice simple living. We hope you enjoy this month’s “Chat with an Expat” below, and on Live in Italy Magazine’s YouTube channel! (Scroll down to watch it.)
(1:46) Where are you from?
Aden: We’re both from Australia and Australian citizens, although we do have other backgrounds.
Fiorella: I was born in Colombia and pretty much half of my life I’ve lived in Italy. Aden’s mum is English and Irish, and his dad is Italian, from Calabria.
Aden: Australia as a whole, is basically like New York. It’s a huge immigration melting pot. Almost everyone in Australia is from somewhere else. I was born in Sydney and raised in Canberra. Our home is in Brisbane.
(3:00) How did you meet?
Aden: We met online actually! We’ve been married for over 18 years. At the time we were pioneers. Some of our friends thought that we were crazy, but we’re still here.
(3:35) What were you doing in Australia prior to moving to Italy?
Aden: I am a writer: adventure, fantasy, sci-fi novels and I’m also an entrepreneur. I guess I classify myself in that way because I’ve owned a few businesses including the one that we still have in Australia.
Fiorella: I am a respiratory therapist by trade, but for many years I’ve worked in marketing and business development. We’ve learned many things which have helped us have different businesses. What we are doing now ties in nicely with experiences that we’ve had.
(5:10) How long have you been in Italy and how did that come about?
Aden: It’s been a little over two years now. We’ve been planning this for a long time. We’ve been holidaying in Italy from Australia since we were married. Before we were married I was holidaying in Italy. We had always looked at real estate and thought about what we should do. However, the main catalyst was the pandemic. Australians were in a strict lockdown. We were one of the strictest countries in the world and couldn’t leave. That showed us that life is short.
Fiorella: It is that kind of event that you think, “if it’s not now, when is it?” You hardly ever make a big decision when all the circumstances are perfect and aligned. Of course, we had done research and prepared, but there’s always that portion of the unknown that you have to be okay with.
Aden: Just before the pandemic hit, we had purchased our first home. We took a 10 day trip over [to Italy] and started the purchase just before the pandemic hit.
(8:55) Do you have residence status?
Aden: Yes, we are residents now. As an Australian, you can live here for three months (same as Americans), but there was this other law that we saw as a loophole. There is a bilateral agreement between Australia and Italy. It was sort of obscure, but we dug it up! It allowed us to stay an additional three months. But that was a risk. In the meantime, we were applying for my citizenship [by descent] and then received residency while waiting for the citizenship.
Fiorella: That is where we are at now. It takes time.
(10:33) Do you know how long it will take?
Aden: No. It’s been about a year or more. Who knows? It could come tomorrow, six months, or ten years! I don’t really mind at this stage — as long as we are able to live here.
(12:04) What region of Italy did you buy your first home?
Aden: Abruzzo.
(12:53) What thoughts went into selecting Abruzzo?
Aden: It has beautiful beaches and mountains, and it’s in between. You can live in the mountains but be only 30 minutes away from the beaches. There’s an area close to our where you can ski at this resort while looking at the ocean. Also, it’s not as known, so you can still find something that is reasonably priced. Tuscany is expensive.
Fiorella: We’re excited to start renovating this home. It’s in a tiny village — about 300 people. The population increases in the summer because people come back to see family, and tourists go there because of the mountains and sea. It’s a historic village with cobblestone streets and gorgeous stone homes. It’s a really special and romantic village.
(15:19)
Aden: When we first arrived, we knew that we couldn’t live in the house. There was no electricity or water connected because the house hadn’t been lived in for maybe forty years. The house is hundreds of years old. So, we had to find a place to live. We were able to get a rental in the same town for about three months. At that stage, we didn’t know how long it would take to renovate the house and because of Covid the prices had skyrocketed. Plus, all of the builders were really busy.
We bought this other house [in Molise] and now we’re here. Molise is a region right next to Abruzzo. We probably like Molise more than Abruzzo. It has the rolling hills like Tuscany and as you go inland it is more mountainous like Abruzzo. It’s the best of both worlds and we’re fifteen minutes from the beach.
Fiorella: And something we really like is that we don’t have tolls. For example, when we were in Abruzzo we wanted to buy something at Ikea and we needed to pay a toll just to go from a small town to Ikea which was only a half hour away. In Molise when we need to get things within the region we don’t have to pay tolls.
(21:00) Are there many foreigners in Molise?
Aden: There are a few but nowhere near as much as Tuscany, Milan, or Rome.
Fiorella: You have certain regions where towns have hubs of expats where people speak English. Molise doesn’t really have that although we’ve made great friends who are from somewhere else. We don’t have a concentration of English speakers in our particular area.
Aden: Another thing is that you realize that even when coming to these small towns that Italy is a country full of immigrants. Often people have been displaced from other countries. For example, there are towns near us that are 80% Croatians or towns with Albanians, like our town.
Fiorella: A lot of people leave to go to other countries, but then return knowing different languages. So, the more that you get to know people the more you can relate to them.
(25:25) What would attract the authentic traveler to Molise?
Aden: I’ve never been a big fan of tourism. That’s a hot topic too — whether tourism is actually good for a country. Tourism obviously brings money in, but there are negative sides. I’ve always been a fan of going to a place where you see this authenticity and you can live as part of it. Molise is untouched so it doesn’t offer this “merry-go-round” like let’s say, Florence, Venice, or Rome does. Here you get friendly people, great food, and cultural celebrations throughout the year according to each town.
Fiorella: Celebrations are not put on for others to see. It’s genuine and what they do for themselves. It’s really beautiful. There are also natural beauties like waterfalls, or you can do bush walks. Agritourism is big here.
Aden: There is a town that makes bells that is the oldest in the world. It’s made bells for the Vatican and has been doing so for thousands of years. Molise is as authentic as you get.
Fiorella: We are very close to Puglia which is packed with tourists. Here there’s Termoli and you have so much space even in the summer.
Aden: Although it did get discovered more during Covid when people were only allowed to travel locally.
(30:26) Let’s talk about your YouTube channel. Where’s the title Rossinni & Co. from?
Aden: That’s our surname.
Fiorella: This goes back to when we were in Australia and owned a café bookstore. On one of the windows, we displayed photos and information about properties for sale in Italy. When we created our Facebook page back then for this we had already bought our house in Abruzzo and called it “Abruzzo Choice”. Then when we moved to Molise we couldn’t use that name. We hoped that by using our name, it would be bigger than us and we can be involved with a lot more people. That’s why we put the ‘Co.’
(33:00) When did you start the YouTube channel?
Fiorella: We started the YouTube channel when we got to Abruzzo. It was more for us and to share with our family. You want to show them so much and photos don’t really do it justice. Then we started getting some interest and people were commenting. It wasn’t easy for me because I’ve always been a very private person. I had to put myself out there as good enough.
The main goal is to show people that we are not that special. The goal and dream is attainable. You don’t have to be a millionaire or have a family network in Italy.
Aden: Then we started to add houses because of what we had started in Australia. We had contacts from that and scouted for homes ourselves.
Fiorella: Another reason why I feel that it grew organically is because people in our town would show us other homes for sale. It became so often that we started filming it.
(36:06) Did you start with a phone?
Aden: Yes.
Fiorella: For anyone wanting to start a YouTube channel, putting my face there was very confronting. I no longer use a filter — it’s take me as I am!
(38:00) Who is doing the work?
Aden: Everything we do is collaborative. One of my strengths is direction and focusing on the bigger picture. We do a lot of discussing about what we’re going to do. The editing is done by Fiorella.
Fiorella: I really enjoy the technical part of putting the video together like uploading, shorts, and long forms. I guess it’s the marketing side of me. It’s not so crazy that we find ourselves doing what we’re doing. You get the tools along the way.
(41:00) Showcasing, but then it’s up to the potential buyer to consult experts.
Aden: We have lawyers that we work with. We collaborate with many different people. One particular firm will have translators and help with the purchase if the buyer wants to remain at their home abroad. If they want, the experts can do a certain part and the rest is up to you. We also have collaborations with real estate agents, translators, notaries, architects, and geometras.
We try to pass on the expert advice that people need or help alleviate the problems there can be when finding these people.
(43:20) Based on watching your videos, people can contact you and then you refer them to others?
Aden: Yes. I’ve been looking at properties from north to south of Italy for thirty years. I’ve seen things change and know prices in different regions. Maybe sometimes even more than an agent. A lot of agents are very local or specific to a town. They might not have a clue what is happening 10 km from the border of their region.
Fiorella: We see ourselves as kind of a publicity service and putting the spotlight on certain towns and homes. We always say, “a decision like this is about personal responsibility.” You get the basics from us, and rest is up to you.
Aden: Also, one of the important things and incentives for starting this channel is that, when we were in Australia, it was very hard to get into contact with a real estate agent. A lot of times they wouldn’t answer emails nor their phone. When you’re from another country that’s frustrating. We didn’t want it to be like that.
Fiorella: It’s very important with us to partner and collaborate with the right people. We come from countries that are streamlined and are handled in a timely manner. When we consider a partner we first ask, “how responsive are you?” That responsiveness creates trust that is the underlying fabric that makes something happen in the end.
(49:00) How much emphasis do you place on taking the purchase experience offline to in-person?
Aden: I think it’s always good to travel here. However, I do think it’s possible and we know of many people who buy completely from another country. It’s doable, but not a lot of people do that. I personally like to see things like the light and what is next to the home. There are so many variables like how much you are spending.
Fiorella: Some people already know someone who has bought a house in that region. It depends on the circumstances. Some realtors will support you and others won’t accept an offer until you’ve physically seen the home.
Aden: On the flip side, some people take a survey trip of multiple areas and they get so confused and leave without purchasing anything. Then they’ll find something online but are familiar with the region and know, for example, whether or not they like a small town or a large one. In fact, they learned more from that trip than they thought. They then make a decision.
Fiorella: It’s also about timing. We were once looking at Piemonte, but the timing wasn’t right then.
Aden: It’s subjective, very personal.
(55:00) One Euro Homes
Aden: We have a little bit of history with the initiative. A lot of towns are doing it. I liked the idea and we did contact some ‘comunes’, but they were gone. We discovered this town by us that will offer 1 Euro Homes. We’re going to present the correct information because we want to bring things down to the simple facts. We’ll offer a way to contact these towns. In doing so, we have now looked into some of the details and will get more. Personally, I believe the program is brilliant. They are a beacon — beckon people to these towns. Italy needs people. These little towns are infinitely worse. If people don’t go the shops won’t survive or have a way to pay the mayor.
It’s common sense — it’s not just going to cause just 1 Euro. They don’t hide it.
Fiorella: Something we want to bring out with this series is to manage expectations. Some people think that it’s a path to residency or citizenship. We spoke with the Mayor of this town, but it needs to be bigger than just local government –like federal government support.
Aden: Unfortunately, it’s not just up to the mayor. I think what needs to happen is that there should be an alliance between all of the towns that offer 1 Euro Homes.
(1:06) Affordable Homes
Aden: Even in 1 Euro Home towns there are homes that are still cheap but are more livable — although needing work. The program puts towns on the map.
Fiorella: We don’t believe that the dream should just evaporate. If someone is more flexible with what they want, they can still have the Italian life even if the home is not ‘picture perfect’.
Aden: More authentic to the Italian way of life is living in an apartment, even in the historical areas.
(60:10) What is your definition of an expat?
Aden: I’ve never really used the term before. It wasn’t in our vocabulary in Australia. Then we came here and it was used more by the English and Americans. I think it means not coming to another country permanently and can always go back their own country. They have their feet on both sides of the pond.
Fiorella: To me it’s by choice but from somewhere else. I think the word expat is nicer than foreigner. Expat means choosing to be here rather than foreigner is coming from somewhere else.
Aden: We feel that we are part of the ‘reverse immigration’. I’m reversing what my father did and would probably think I’m silly.
Fiorella referred to the word “tribe” and when moving to Italy you need to find your own tribe. That may be a mix of people. We’ve never had the aspirations to just be around expats. We just wanted to be here. You somehow meet others that have the common denominator of likes and dislikes.
Our life is enriched by our neighbors that are Italian as much as foreigners that have made a home here or are looking to stay here. I think it’s about having an open heart regardless of where everyone is from. Find something in common with people you know and let it grow.
(60:17) What do you miss about Australia when in Italy and vice versa.
Aden: I miss the vastness of Australia, the beaches which are some of the best in the world. I miss the variety of food. Italy has great food, everyone knows that, but I miss how you can get Thai, German, Chinese, Indian whenever you want.
Fiorella: We miss the simplicity of life in Italy. It takes time to come down from the rhythm in Australia. Over time, you learn patience and how to go with the flow. Your heart and brain waves relax here. You miss the quality of ingredients in Italy.
Website: https://www.rossinniandco.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkmjHI0dQWwPNmVr0KJgssQ
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rossinniandco/
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