Our journey with IREL is so full of highlights that it is difficult to pinpoint a particular one. It all began with a referral from Italian Citizenship Assistance and continues to this day. Who would have thought that a simple Google Search would have revealed the wonderment that is IREL!
It began at a hidden gem of a law firm at an office in Rovigo and a simple meeting with the lovely Linda Balboni and her colleagues. Having spent my career in the hospitality business creating feasibility studies for restaurants and hotels as well as hands on operations of restaurants, research was a huge aspect of my day-to-day life. Google unleashed a torrent of information, most of it good but sometimes painted with a broad brush of exaggeration and inaccuracies. Digging through the information was a combination of relevance and inconsistency.
Despite all the interest in Instagram, Yelp, Tripadvisor etc. and social media in general, information seems to have become less and less reliable albeit abundant. Our expectations were simple…let’s take a train to Rovigo meet with IREL and ICA, see what happens and have a nice lunch! After all, we had done our research, read some reviews, looked on Facebook and searched online. We began with an exchange of emails and ended with an incredible relationship that continues to this day.
Shopping for an attorney on-line is nothing like looking for a Panini Maker on Amazon so we were at the mercy of the internet. Asking questions in a Facebook group gave us contradictory answers from folks whose intentions were good but whose situation was not the same as ours. My wife has dual citizenship, US/Italy, and speaks fluent Italian. I can order food in a restaurant and exchange pleasantries but as I like to say, ”Io non parlo Italiano. Sto provando a imparare l’italiano”.
We have family and friends in Italy, especially in Treviso and the surrounding areas, and we had been travelling there for many years. We had contemplated dual residences but that seemed impractical, so a few years ago we began our search for the dream!! Move to Italy permanently. We knew that the residency issue would present challenges so we took a chance on ItalianCitizenshipAssistance.com. After all, if you have the courage to name your company ICA you better be good at it. And they were and are but that’s for another story.
We then began our search for our future home in Treviso. We had certain criteria that were inflexible so we began by searching on-line using those criteria. We made appointments to view properties on our next visit. We began to narrow it down and finally found our “gem”. We knew it was the place when we first walked in the door. It screamed our name. It was a condo that had been outfitted beautifully with an underground garage and storage room, right outside the medieval walls with two terraces. The sellers were going to leave all the fixtures, cabinets, built-ins etc. so it was a great find at the right price.
Now what? Notaio…notary? Do we need a lawyer? What about utilities, taxes, bank accounts, realtors, fees, IVA, residency? Too many questions…too many sleepless nights. In short, IREL and Linda Balboni and her colleagues stepped in and what a giant step it was! They walked us through the entire process and held our virtual hand all the way! Without Linda and Georgiana we were lost and they guided us all the way and still do to this day!!!
We have been furnishing and upgrading and loving every minute of our property. Thank you IREL.
Written by Lenny and Meryll Levenson
