This is the first of a series of short articles written by David Collins.
David has lived and worked in Tuscany for about 20 years now and lives near Lucca with his Italian wife and two children.
As founder of Our Toscana he has helped hundreds of overseas buyers to move and settle in this beautiful part of the world.
He is truly passionate about his work and very proud of the many restoration projects that he has taken on throughout Tuscany.
The idea of these articles is to share his valuable knowledge with Barganews’ readers on a number of specific themes.
He hopes to post articles, photos and videos on a regular basis.
Here are a few tips and guidelines that I want to share with you on access roads. When viewing a property, there is a natural human temptation to focus on the house and a tendency to ignore the other surrounding aspects.
Here are the 4 common pitfalls that I often encounter when dealing with access roads:
1. Rights of way
Most people think that ancient looking access roads leading into the property should present no issues.
This assumption may get you into serious trouble and cost a lot of money to rectify! Land maps always need to be consulted to carefully trace every square inch of road from the point you come off a public road to the house you wish to buy. If there appears to be any deviation from the road indicated on theland map, then get it checked! If the road runs over a neighbouring parcel, then make sure that there is a formal servitude agreement in place or proof that it has been there for a sufficient amount of years (aerial photographs etc).
Most vendors will tell you that there are “no problems”. In that case, get them to provide all the back-up documentation before you commit. Also keep an eye on the width of the road. If the land map shows no more than a mule track and you drive down a 3m wide road, then the chances are, you are encroaching on neighbouring parcels. A handshake agreement between two farmers say 10 years ago will simply not suffice should you become the new owner of the property so be careful!
2. Slippages & Land Slides
Many sought after properties are located on hills or mountains that enjoy magnificent views. To get there, it is not uncommon to see roads cut into the sides of mountains. Unfortunately, many hillsides are no longer maintained and this combined with adverse weather conditions that we’ve witnessed over recent years load to slope instability.
Try to keep a close eye on what’s going on below the road. There is often lots of undergrowth that will hide old slippages or retaining structures. If a segment of road slips away after a very wet winter, this may cost you thousands and thousands of euro to repair.
httpv://youtu.be/UfJbWbASNKk
Above the road, look for signs of instability. Such tell-tale signs would be large indented segments, leaning trees or poles. If the land above the road belongs to somebody else, then you’ll have the neighbours to contend with!
3. Annual Maintenance
It is essential to control the surface water runoff. The trickiest segments of road to deal with are generally the areas with a rapid fall. Uncontrolled water will quickly gouge the surface of a white road, making it inaccessible and may even lead to serious slippages.
The road always needs a good camber to the inner side and water needs to be channelled into a open gulley. This gulley needs to discharge at regular intervals.
4. Buried Services and Utilities
Should you require a new water or electrical meter following a restoration project, the utility company will ask you to locate the meter housing off a public road/pathway. Running a cables or water mains down a 400m access road can be a costly exercise so make sure that the vendor has addressed this problem before you commit or at least make it part of an negotiation.
David Collins -- www.ourtoscana.com