How to Find & Buy Your Dream Home in Piedmont, Italy
15 January 2026
The end of the year is always a good moment to look back honestly at your work — the successes, the mistakes, what worked well, and what could be improved. With that in mind, I thought it would be useful to explain more clearly what my role actually is when helping people buy a house or business in Piedmont, Italy.
The first thing you should know is this: The market has absolutely boomed this year.
I’ve worked locally for more than 22 years, and the market here has always been fairly strong. There was a slowdown around 2006–2007, but even then things recovered quickly and never truly collapsed. It simply required a little more effort and patience.
This year, however, has been unlike anything we’ve seen before.
The Langhe area has become extremely competitive, but savvy buyers are increasingly realising that life here is not only about the Langhe. Roero and Monferrato are also beautiful, authentic, and often far better value.
I’ve personally lived in Roero for 22 years and honestly would never leave it. Canale remains my favourite town in the entire region.
So, how can I help you?
First of all: I’m a consultant, not a traditional estate agent.
Can I help you find a property? Yes.
Can I guide you through the entire buying process? Absolutely.
Can I assist you after the purchase? Of course.
But I think it’s important to explain clearly how I work and what you can realistically expect from me. It makes life easier for both of us.
Consultant, Not Estate Agent
If you ask for a meeting — whether in person, by phone, or on Zoom — I charge for my time.
The reason is simple: I’m offering knowledge, experience, and honest guidance, not simply trying to “sell you a house.”
Sometimes people contact me because they are already working with an agent but want a second opinion. Often they feel uncertain about the advice they are receiving or sense that something is not quite right.
Here are two recent examples.
A very nice Canadian couple contacted me because they were considering making an offer on a property in the Langhe.
Apparently, psychologists say we can assess someone within a second of meeting them. In this particular agent’s case, it took even less time than that.
The couple already felt they couldn’t trust him.
We met in Alba, discussed the property properly, and then visited the house together. Very quickly we uncovered numerous reasons why they should walk away from the purchase entirely.
They paid me for my time — not a huge amount in the grand scheme of things — but it likely saved them a fortune in future problems.
They are still happily searching for the right property.
Another example involved an American buyer who had already purchased a house in what I personally consider one of the more difficult areas of Piedmont — deep in the south-western part of Cuneo province near the Alps.
Now, I love Cuneo. But not every area is ideal for international buyers wanting a lifestyle property.
He had purchased through an agent based in Turin and later contacted me because he needed help beginning the restoration work.
I introduced him to my architect, who later reported back that the situation was a disaster. The buyer had been badly advised. Important restrictions had not been explained properly, and the restoration he wanted to carry out would not even be possible.
Her exact words about the house were:
“Terrible. I hate it.”
He bought without having someone local, experienced, and honest guiding him through the process.
That can be a very expensive mistake. I recently had another amazing experience on Lake Orta, a house for sale by one of the world's biggest agencies for over €1m. A client paid me to go up there and check it out. It was the biggest load of crap and worth €250,000 max. He didn't buy it. Smart man!
So, if you contact me for advice, please understand that this is my profession and my time has value. I’m happy to help, but I provide genuine expertise and practical information, not vague sales talk.
That said, I’ve also created a YouTube channel with a lot of free information that will help you get started. I’ll come back to that shortly.
One final point on consultancy: If you ask me to investigate or report on a property and later decide not to buy it, I still need to be paid for the work carried out.
My Role in the Market
In truth, I’m generally not heavily involved in properties below €450,000.
There are occasional exceptions — genuinely special homes, properties close to where I live, or houses belonging to people I know personally and trust.
But as we move along in 2026, my focus is increasingly on properties above €500,000.
I’m simply not interested in wasting time with poor-quality properties, problematic houses, or homes in weak and terrible locations.
If your budget is around €80,000–300,000 — and I receive many enquiries in that range — I’m probably not the right person for you.
However, I can often refer you to trusted local agents who may be able to help.
It’s Mostly Just Me — So I Have to Prioritise
Although I have some help with certain tasks, the majority of the work still falls on me personally.
Please know I provide a consultancy service - click here for more details
This area is receiving enormous international attention right now, and I am exceptionally busy.
The same applies to emails.
I genuinely try to reply to everyone and keep my inbox under control, but realistically it’s impossible to answer everything immediately.
You may occasionally need to remind me politely!
The YouTube Channel
I also want to say thank you for all the positive feedback I received this year about the videos I managed to produce.
I know there haven’t been enough of them yet, but I’m working hard to change that.
The upcoming productions are going to be far more ambitious and professional.
I’d genuinely appreciate your support, so please subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already. And if you already have — thank you very much.
If there’s a specific subject you’d like me to cover, please get in touch.
2026 Is Going to Be a Big Year
I’d love to say I plan to work less next year… but honestly, I don’t think that’s going to happen.
But note! I will be closed the entire month of AUGUST (2026).
It feels very much like a turning point for this region.
I now regularly meet people selling homes in Tuscany in order to move here because Piedmont is so much easier to access from Northern Europe — and personally, I think we have a much better summer climate too.
Perhaps all we need now is one truly famous celebrity to buy here and the entire region will explode internationally.
Lake Como had George Clooney. Tuscany had Sting — along with countless others. Charley Watts of The Rolling Stones did have a house and farm here in La Morra, Langhe.
This year alone I’ve met:
- a Hollywood actress,
- a Hollywood film director who worked with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones,
- an Italian actress,
- the former manager of Prince,
- and several extremely successful — and genuinely very kind — international business people.
And they all bought something.
So… what are you waiting for?
*The header photo is of my wife Ula looking onto our town of Cisterna d'Asti from Govone. We'd just been to take drone video on a property that just came in and Govone castle. The Roero is spectacular..
