House Hunters International

Californian Teacher Wants to Get in Touch With Her Roots and Buy a Vacation Home in Calabria, Italy (2nd Home in Calabria, Italy) (12x5)

Date de diffusion: Jan 24, 2010

Salinas, California high school math teacher, Michelle Moser, wants to buy a vacation home in the birthplace of grandmother: the southern region of Calabria, Italy. She's looking for a place with enough space for her and guests, ocean views, a terrace and a kitchen suitable for cooking up wonderful Italian pasta dishes. She hopes to find a place in a small town or village where she can walk to shops and restaurants. With a budget of about $100,000, she knows it will still be a challenge. The first place her agent, Tony Hackett, shows her is a partially renovated home in Santa Dominica Talao. Listed for $85,000, this place has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and is 1,183 square feet. While there aren't any ocean views, this home has beautiful views of the mountains. The renovated parts of the house are well done, but a kitchen still needs to be installed and two rooms are in need of a complete remodel. The next house they look at is a home in the town of Scalea. Listed at $102,000, this place has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and is 700 square feet. Michelle likes the brick floors, wood beamed ceilings and the ocean and mountain views. She's particularly fond of a former escape tunnel that leads to the beach. On the downside, it needs work. The location and layout of the kitchen and second bathroom are oddly placed, there is some water damage, there are some strangely designed stairs and some of the rooms need a bit of a facelift. The last place they look at is back in Santa Dominica Talao, where they check out a 700 square foot, 2 bedroom, 1 bath home for $79,000. Michelle likes this home's layout and thinks it has the best view of the ocean. But, she feels the decor isn't very interesting and would have to plan on remodeling down the road. She also has concerns about the water damage. After weighing the pros and cons of all 3 properties, Michelle reaches her decision.