We have been going on holiday to Lake Garda for about 10 years.

In June 2011 Angela (my wife) was looking on the Dreamhomes web site,and noticed an apartment near our favourite town of Bardolino that looked quite interesting. We already had a holiday booked in Bardolino, so she arranged to view the apartment while we were there.

We first made contact with Madeleine from Dreamhomes when she came down to the hotel where we were staying to pick us up and view the apartment. Madeleine showed us the apartment and several others on the market over the next few days. We found Madeleine  to be very professional, pleasant and jovial. We got on really well.

Buying property in Italy can be quite daunting. We were guided and advised through the whole process, while in Italy and also in England. We were kept up to date with the details and finally co-ordinated the exchange. We went back at the end of October to finalise the purchase making the whole process quite pleasurable.

Madeleines dedication extended to helping us find the right furniture and fittings for the apartment. We definitely recommend Dreamhomes to anyone contemplating buying a property in Italy.

We are delighted with our new home all thanks to Madeleine!

Buying a place in Italy by a lake was a dream but not something that is easily a reality. However meeting Madeleine and having the support of her and Dreamhomes made it exactly that. From the moment we met Madeleine, she spent time to listen what we were looking for, what we liked versus what we didn’t, and she showed us so many places on our first flying visit to Italy. It was during that time that we found La Perla and fell in love with its location and view of Lake Iseo. Madeleine was so supportive as we discussed the pros and cons of the various places we had seen and she gave us all the information we needed to make a decision.

All the reports had said that it was a nightmare to purchase a place in Italy as a foreigner but Madeleine took all of this stress away and managed everything from start to finish. She dealt directly with the developers on everything and was there every step of the way when we had to go through the legal and insurance formalities etc, it would never have been possible without her. Her attention to detail and commitment to offering her clients a superior level of service and very positive welcome to Italy was wonderful. If you are ever thinking of making the move to Italy then Madeleine and Dreamhomes should be your first stop, it will be the best decision you make in your buying process and well worth it.

It is common knowledge that it is impossible to be competent in all matters, especially when you decide to purchase outside of your own country. Being in a foreign country brings up all sorts of problems such as insufficient knowledge of the language which is a minor concern, major one’s being ignorance of the countries laws such as property taxes, local taxes and insurance.

At times it seemed like a really impossible challenge and we soon realized, very quickly, that we needed to reply upon someone else’s expert knowledge. Madeleine Morgan – a professional in her field, helped us with our property search showing us all the suitable property within our tick list, and made sure to see that we avoided wasting valuable time and effort by advising us every step of the way.

I would say not to be afraid of trusting someone, especially in the beginning when your thoughts haven’t really materialized in any specific requirement or preference. With Madeleine you can always rely on her pleasant and professional services with the added bonus of being in the company of a really fun and sincerely nice person.

I always dreamt of having a property abroad. I used to watch ‘ A Place in the Sun’ endlessly, and thought one day… I’d love to own a property in the sun. I’d secretly envy the smug couples looking around the properties on t.v.

My mother and I travelled on a holiday to Lake Garda.  In the evening, I drew on some pieces of A4 paper the surrounding villas and vista with some pencil crayons on my balcony, as I listened to the melodic hum of the crickets. I wondered to myself what it would be like to live there, and thought to myself that I could live somewhere like this.

Then out of the blue, financially some cash was made available, which prior to this had been locked tight in a family trust. I decided there would be no harm in looking at holiday properties on the internet. I saw some beautiful properties. The ones I liked the best led me to Madeleine’s site www.dreamhomesitaly.com .

I’d never heard of Lake Iseo before, and noticed there were some new developments in this area. I researched it further, and discovered it was close to Lake Garda, and the location was excellent. Not far away from Milan, Como and Switzerland, and the other direction Verona, Venice. Too good to be true I thought.

I decided no harm would come of making a property enquiry via email. I did not expect a telephone call a few days later. Madeleine from Dreamhomes  asked if we would be interested in coming to view a few properties. I asked my mother, if she’d like to go to Italy with me, and she said ‘Yes!’.

I honestly did not think anything would come of it. I thought we’ll have a look, and it’ll be like a bit of a holiday too.

In the summer, before I visited Italy. I ventured to a Mind, Body and Spirit exhibition. I had a ‘unicorn’ card reading, by an angel lady. I asked about our Italian trip, and she said ‘I cannot see anything negative’.  I got a card of prosperity and one card said ‘freedom’. She said, ‘Italy will give me freedom’.

The properties I was most interested in were the new developments on the hillsides,  however, when I stood on the balcony of the show house, even though the views of the lake were stunning,  I felt a feeling of vertigo.  The furniture displayed was top class, and you could have it designed exactly how you wanted. I worried about how I would get there, and that I would always need a car.

The second day, Madeleine decided to change her property search criteria. She showed us a character property in a lakeside town of Iseo. I did not expect to like this, but the moment we saw it, it seemed perfect. There were also little ‘signs’, things which I had similar, and a gramophone player in the estate agents which reminded me of my Father.

The beauty of the property being in town, is that it is close to all the amenities. It is within walking distance from the train station, and ferries across the lake. It has amazing views of the town and the lake from it’s balcony. It is absolute value for money, and in perfect condition.  We fell in love with it. We thought we must be a little crazy, and are not normally this spontaneous, but decided to go for it!

I cannot speak Italian, but I’m trying – I was always hopeless at languages at school, so I couldn’t have done it without Madeleine. She helped with negotiations, and all the legalities. The former owner was extremely kind and left us some furniture e.g fridge and washing machine, which was a great help. Madeleine helped us buy new furniture as well, and drove us to a big store by the motorway which had everything.

Yes, I am the proud owner now, of a place in Italy. I still have to pinch myself to see if I’m not asleep, and it isn’t a fantasy. Madeleine is an angel in disguise. Professional, fun and a lovely lady. I would highly recommend her. Don’t be frightened. Dreams can come true.

We have wanted to buy a home in Italy for around 5 years now, we just never knew how to go about it. Italian law can be quite intimidating to someone that has lived in an English based country like South Africa even though I am of Italian decent.
That was until we came across Dreamhomes website while looking for a property. Firstly the website was more inviting and enticing than the other Italian real estate websites out there, so enticing that it actually made me get on a flight and see for myself.
I am not the most decisive person out there, but Madeleine had the patience to take me back to some of the properties up to three times.
Madeleine has got more integrity than most people that I have ever met and she followed through with every aspect of the buying process and thanks to her I now own my small piece of Italy.
Madeleine has been more than an estate agent, from helping furnish our new home, to trying to get a hair appointment for my wife. She has been more like a friend that has helped us with all of our needs. I would recommend her to anyone above any other agent in Italy.
If I were to buy another home in any region that Madeleine sells in I would use her without hesitation.

I have Madeleine and Dreamhomes to thank for making my dream a reality.

Buying a property abroad can be more difficult than buying at home, particularly when you dont speak the language, therefore having the right agent is so important.

We have found Dreamhomes to be very efficient, friendly, helpful and a real pleasure to do business with. They were always easy to contact and guided us through all aspects of the buying process, we cant speak highly enough of them and have no hesitation at all in recommending them.

I am now the proud owner of an apartment in Stresa, Italy due to the support, assistance and incredible professionalism of Dreamhomes. The help I received was excellent and I felt they really bent over backwards for me. Their response time for any of my emails was always prompt and answered fully in 'Layman's' terms. Madeleine was my point of contact throughout the process and I couldn't have asked for more. She took me on viewing trips, met me at the airport, housed me, wined and dined me and baby sat me through the entire buying process which made the whole experience enjoyable and stress free. I can honestly say that without her aid and support I would have really struggled and felt totally out of my depth.

We had been offering for some time to write a testimonial for Madeleine and the team and were delighted to finally be asked to do so. Buying a place in Sardinia has been an adventure with lots of ups and downs. Dreamhomes have been there at every turn to smooth the process and to explain the vagaries of the Italian system.

Let's be clear up front: buying in Italy is as unlike buying in the UK as you could imagine. Unless you are already fluent in Italian, you are going to need an agent that can deal with navigating the system. The Italian equivalent of the estate agent is actually highly qualified and is a cross between estate agent and lawyer. In retrospect we wish we had not used a lawyer for our purchase since Madeleine is qualified to enact the whole process. Yes, an agent in Italy costs a lot more than in the UK but I can assure you they earn the commission. Be prepared for a number of little shocks! What you are in for is a very Italian experience from start to finish. I think the real benefit of using a native English person as the key contact is at least they can be sympathetic when you hit something that simply could never happen at home. If you want somewhere that is like Brighton but hotter don't come to Italy. You will need to immerse yourself in the culture and be prepared to take on a new way of managing your affairs. On the other hand, the locals have welcomed us into their village and many times we have come across people who simply can't do enough for you. We are learning the language and love every minute!

We found the Dreamhomes team to be a delight to deal with throughout the process. From trying to work out what we actually wanted to buy, to getting the legal stuff done and to finding a furnisher or a cleaner the helpful friendly supportive approach was always there. Even after the purchase, Madeleine has been happy to pick up the phone and talk us through some issue that we have been having. We feel we have made friends with her and the others. If you are clear that you want to buy in Italy then I can't imagine that you would find anyone better to help you through it. The end result is well worth the effort since we now have a wonderful little apartment.

If you want to know more or discuss the joys of buying in Italy, please feel free to email us on sjgrant@btinternet.com. Good luck!

We met Madeleine in Sarnico which is near Bergamo in the Northern Lakes area of Italy. This was where we hoped to find our dream holiday home. We spent two days with Madeleine and during this time she showed us 12 properties in several locations throughout the lakes area. These properties ranged from the older type pre owned to brand new off plan developments, but always close to our budget and ideas. Finally we were shown the site where we are now buying. Le Residenze sul Porto in Sarnico, on the shores of Lake Iseo.

When we embarked on this search we had a serious ‘tick list’ of things we wanted including being close to an airport (Milan Bergamo 25 mins), on a lake or with Lake views, close enough to a decent sized town to not need a car, and a number of smaller ‘nice to haves’. Madeleine did a fantastic job in interpreting our wishes and finding properties for us to consider.

Since then we have met up with Madeleine on several occasions as we go through the process of completing the sale. She has always been really friendly and immensely helpful as a guide and interpreter to help us through the various legal and financial hoops that are necessary to complete the purchase. She has even helped us to find Kitchen, Bathroom and Bedroom furniture suppliers as well as helping us with the builder to identify things like electrical socket positions and changes to the plans of the apartment.

Madeleine has helped to make the whole process almost painless. She has been and continues to be invaluable acting above and beyond the call of duty. I like to think that we have become firm friends through this process, and I am sure that we will keep in touch long after we have settled in, and I have learnt the language!

I bought my house in Costa Paradiso, Sardinia because of an advertisement. The ad in itself was nothing unusual, in fact it was a standard ad inviting interested purchasers to come and look at a beautiful development on the island of Sardinia. I had been looking at houses in various places for a while so I decided to follow up this advertisement. After meeting Madeleine Morgan one of the agents from Dreamhomes who was selling property from this development and listening to what she had to say about the property I was immediately interested. Madeleine was very genuine and committed from the outset and went out of her way to make the trip to Sardinia as enjoyable as possible.

Although I knew nothing about the island of Sardinia before arriving there it was impossible not be impressed with its beauty and tranquility, fabulous beaches and of course blue, blue skies. It differs from other holiday destination in its authenticity. It is underdeveloped and very safe. It is free from the building explosion so prevalent in many other Mediterranean countries and any building that is going on is in traditional Sardinian style. The Sardinians I met are open, warm and extremely friendly and helpful. there is an innocence about this part of the world that I really loved and I knew that it would be hard to find anywhere else.

While Sardinia itself made me want to buy the property it was Madeleine who made it very easy for me to purchase. she took me through all of the fiscal issues and through the laws of the country. She gave me an accurate breakdown of all the fees involved including taxes to local authorities and lawyer fees. She made a normally daunting task very easy. More importantly after purchasing the property over a year ago I am still in contact with Madeleine who is always there to answer any queries I may have.

If you want to buy a property or holiday home go to SARDINIA and if you are looking for an AGENCY go to DREAMHOMES. Both will keep their promise.

Purchasing a home in general is not easy, even more so, if you purchase a home in a foreign country and do not speak the language. It is hard to express your desires, especially when there are so many possibilities, after all, Italy is "bellissima". There are so many fabulous locations and quite frankly I would like to live in each one of them!

We started off by approaching three different real estate agencies, who dealt with the lake areas, Lake Garda, Lake Maggiore and Lake Iseo.  The most interesting detail of these agencies were that in two of them there were Russian speaking agents. The third agency was called Dreamhomesitaly, where the agent spoke English and Italian, this agent’s name was Madeleine.  I understood very little of what she was saying ( I did not speak Italian ), but I viewed all she had to show us, and then compared service and prices with the other two Russian speaking agents, of course there was no comparison we chose to work with ‘ Dreamhomesitaly’.

Madeleine interpreted exactly what we were looking for, and we did not need to speak knowing that there was a professional agent assisting us all the way.  I would like to especially thank Madeleine for her care, attention and patience of a saint at all stages of the purchase. She even took power of attorney for us to act on our behalves on the signing of the deed, assisted us with the bank procedures, tax procedures and a helping hand in the right direction with the interior design.  She was always there every step of the way, ready to lend a hand when we needed her.

Thank you Madeleine. Thank you Dreamhomesitaly

Faina e Mikhail Kukushkin - St Petersburg Russia