La Porta Verde

About Us

A short video about La Porta Verde and Villa Rosa

 

The history of the company

About a year after we arrived to live in Umbria a friend in England called us asking if we could find her a holiday home here. We contacted the agent we bought our house through and asked if they had anything suitable. They had a little house in the next village so we called our friend to tell her. She came over two days later and bought it on the spot! The agent gave us a small commission for the introduction and said that if we had other English wanting to buy we could form a closer relationship.

2002

La Porta Verde began when we met a Dutch lady, Dorrie Seijffert, at a dinner party and discussed the problems we encountered in buying a house and adapting to the Italian way of life. Realising that other people would appreciate help to overcome the difficulties we decided to form a partnership and create an internet-based service. La Porta Verde was born.

2004

Dorrie left the company to start her own independent estate agency.

2007

La Porta Verde becomes an s.r.l. (limited company) with Graham and Lin as company directors.

La Porta Verde created a formal partnership with Casambiente srl, a highly-respected independent estate agency in Umbria, to enable the company to cover direct sales where no estate agent is involved. Casambiente do the conveyancing and checking of documents, providing valuable help and advice for us. We also help them to sell their properties.

2008

La Porta Verde started franchising. The first franchised region (known as region 2) covers South West Umbria, Southern Tuscany and Northern Lazio and is run by Helen Durnan and her partner Richard MacMillan from their office in Lubriano, near Orvieto.

The structure of the company

La Porta Verde is Italian for 'The Green Door', representing the doorway to the Green Heart of Italy...Umbria. This website has proved hugely successful and helped many people to realise their dream of having a home in Italy either for holidays or to live in permanently and offering masses of advice on adapting to the 'Italian Way'. We offer a huge selection of properties in Central Italy and provide the widest possible choice - from castles to ruins and from hotels to bars.

La Porta Verde s.r.l. (equivalent of a limited company) is registered as a marketing company with the Italian Camera di Commercio (Chamber of Commerce) in Perugia, reg. 238569. As such we trade as a marketing and consultancy company for estate agents, but also for a wide range of other related businesses. Our partita d'IVA (VAT no.) is 02750450542.

We made a conscious decision not to become estate agents ourselves, preferring to remain a marketing company for estate agents throughout Central Italy; currently Umbria, Lazio and Tuscany. In this way we are not in competition with them but assisting them to sell their properties to foreigners.

Sometimes, of course, people approach us directly to sell their house for them. In these cases we must involve a licenced estate agent in the sale as a law was recently introduced which says that the name of the estate agent must be stated on the final contract, together with the amount of commission they receive, and even the number of the cheque! So, La Porta Verde has formed a formal notarised partnership with Casambiente s.r.l., an independent estate agent. We had been working with them for some time and have the greatest respect for them.

How does La Porta Verde operate?

We work in close association with many estate agents and property developers throughout Umbria. We select properties from their portfolios that we think you will like, visit them and put them on our website. Many Italian estate agents don't speak English and their website, if they have one, is usually only in Italian...and often out of date. So, by getting more information and photographs and translating the details into English we can offer you the best and widest choice and include properties that are not easily accessible. This costs you no more than dealing directly with the estate agents as they allow us a percentage of the commission that they normally charge. So, if you don't see something that suits you please let us know what you are looking for and we will endeavour to find properties that suit you.

Even if you find a property with another agent we can still help! It may be that the agent is already working with us but if not then we are always happy to add more. If you give us the name of the agent before you contact them we will gladly speak to them and arrange to work with them, acting as your translator and advisor and giving you all the benefit of our experience in the process! Even if you have already contacted them we can still help. Unfortunately we have to charge for this service in addition to the commission you will be paying the agent but we seem to be asked to do this more and more frequently these days.

When buying a property you may need somewhere to stay. We can help you with this too! Simply visit the 'Holidays in Umbria' section and see the list of Holiday Booking Agencies, Hotel, B&B and self-catering properties we have to offer. You can even stay with Graham and Lin Lane, the owners of La Porta Verde, at Villa Rosa which is also the location of the La Porta Verde head office. This makes it easy to shoot out after breakfast to view properties, then come back and sit on the terrace with a glass of wine afterwards to discuss the day's viewings.

If you are buying a property just for holiday letting or want to run a B&B you can also advertise through La Porta Verde. If you bought through us there is no charge at all, otherwise we make a small charge. We also advertise any other services you may offer, again free of charge, from such things as piano lessons and hairdressing to carpentry and building services.

The People

La Porta Verde is all about teamwork:

The Property Team

Graham Lane is the Sales and Marketing Director of La Porta Verde. He designed the website, develops and maintains it. He also handles the sales for English-speaking clients and marketing for the company. He was, until emigrating to Italy, an e-commerce, IT and electronic communications adviser for Smart South West, a government-funded organisation in England. Prior to that he founded and ran three businesses and was also a school governor, a director of Business Link, a karate instructor and a retained fireman for many years! He is currently building a large model car racing circuit in the stables of Villa Rosa and is also writing a book (a very different book!) about his experiences of life in Italy.

Lin Lane is also a director and looks after the administration of the contracts behind each sale, ensuring that everything goes as smoothly as possible.

She was a language teacher in England and as well is fluent in Italian, German, and, of course, English plus some French.

She has written and produced many plays and pantomimes with great success and has just published her first book, a children's book about the cats in and around the castle above their house.

Graham and Lin are the owners and directors of La Porta Verde and are husband and wife. They have five grown-up children, four living in England and one in New Zealand. They live in a beautiful old house, Villa Rosa, which they restored themselves, just south of Perugia overlooking the Tiber Valley, where they provide bed and breakfast accommodation. This is also the office of La Porta Verde. Click here to see more details of Villa Rosa.

 

The Estate Agents

La Porta Verde works in close association with over 80 estate agents and developers throughout Central Italy to bring you the widest possible selection of properties to choose from. Some are independent agents and others are franchisees of the biggest groups of estate agents in Italy. We always welcome more and If you are reading this and run an estate agency in Central Italy, please get in touch with us.

The Technology Team

Henk Jan Bouwmeester is our webmaster who, with his team of technicians, created and continues to develop the latest La Porta Verde website from the original design by Graham Lane. He is Dutch and lives in Holland. He would be happy to help develop your website or design a new one for you. If you wish to contact him simply let us know.

The Services Team

Mark Paolini is our legal expert. He is an independent lawyer and is based in Perugia. He can advise you on your property purchase, writing a will, and many other legal aspects. If you wish to contact him simply let us know.

Rino Cataffo is our accountant. He can deal with your tax returns, council tax, and advise you on any issues to do with tax. Although his English is not brilliant you can write to him in English. If you wish to contact him simply let us know.

Giovanni Rosi is our insurance broker. He has worked in the insurance business for many years. He speaks good English and can help you with all kinds of insurance including your car, house and contents. He lives with his Dutch wife Caroline and their two small children in the centre of Umbria. If you wish to avail yourself of Giovanni’s service then you can contact him on tel. (+39) 075 898 7231 or mob. (+39) 329 216 2829 or email giovanni.rosi@antoniniepartners.com . Please mention that you found him through La Porta Verde.

The Building Team

George Rollo is an architect. He lives with his wife Alison in a house in Monte Castello di Vibio, which they bought through La Porta Verde and have just finished restoring.

If you wish to contact him simply let us know.

Helen Wood is our house restoration project manager for the northern part of Umbria. She works with experienced architects, organises the planning permits and deals with the local authorities. She then oversees the building work and provides weekly progress reports with photographs and helping to ensure the work is done on time and to budget. She can also source materials and services including: terracotta, ceramics, stone; kitchens and bathrooms; antique and contemporary furniture; fabrics and paints; landscaping; interior design. The service is impartial and independent of all agents and trades. Click here to see an example of her work.

Lois Ferguson is our house restoration project manager for the southern part of Umbria.

Lois has not only carried out the restoration of her own home between Orvieto and Bolsena (dug out floors, plastered walls and completely re-decorated)…but manages the restoration projects of others in the southern Umbria / North Lazio region.

Lois works with builders and professionals to cut costs, source materials and implement instructions on your behalf. Close contact is maintained with you, regular photographs e-mailed; problems are immediately notified, discussed and solved. Click here for more.

Roberto Lepanti is our geometra. He is one of the team of highly qualified geometra that we use. He will prepare a technical report on a house for you and, if you decide to buy it, draw up the plans, obtain the planning permission, choose an appropriate builder and oversee the work. When the work is completed he will obtain all the necessary certificates and documents and obtain your certificate of habitation. Although he doesn't speak English he has an assistant who does. If you wish to contact him simply let us know.

Pasquale Mastrini is our carpenter and joiner. He has a fully equipped factory in Cerqueto, near Marsciano and can make just about anything; doors, windows, furniture, stairs, custom kitchens, etc. His team also do commercial work such as bar and shop fitting.

Maurizio Battistoni is our geologist. When land needs analysing for foundations, drainage, a well, etc. he carries out the necessary work.

In addition we have a wide range of builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, decorators, etc. to provide you with a complete service. Please see our restoration and maintenance team. If you need anything from a swimming pool to having your olive trees pruned, simply let us know.

The Holiday Team

La Porta Verde provide links to many different holiday providers and also to individual property owners throughout Umbria to bring you the widest possible selection of holiday destinations to choose from. Click here to see the list of Holiday Booking Agencies

>Meeting Point<

John Tordoff and Maurice Reeve have created a kind of mentoring scheme, welcoming and helping other newcomers settle into the Italian way of life. When people move to another country they need a lot of help and support. When we moved here we found that help from some Italian neighbours who speak English, but not everyone is so lucky. Some of the people who have lived in Italy for some time welcome the opportunity to help others through that difficult first year or so. As time goes on those who have been helped can help others and make new friends. There will shortly be a password protected message board to enable those involved to communicate freely between themselves. Various activities such as play-reading groups, film nights, the English library and Anglican church services also help you to make new friends to share your experiences and a glass or two of wine…all contactable through the La Porta Verde website.

The House, Garden and Interior Design Team

Richard Graham (see above) is a fully qualified and registered architect living here in Umbria. He can design everything from a new staircase or kitchen to a complete house and can design and oversee the restoration of major projects.

Elena Tommasi is a highly respected interior designer. She lives part of the time in Rome but also in Umbria. She speaks fairly good English and can help with anything from a colour scheme to sourcing antiques.

John Tordoff is our garden designer. He is very experienced and has even appeared on TV. Although now retired he likes to keep his hand in. He lives on the east side of the Tiber Valley, near Todi in a house he bought through La Porta Verde.

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