Good morning, friends, here I am again participating in this initiative. Today I chose the topic of what bothered me the most and what made me the happiest in 2025. The funny thing is that, in my case, the answer to this question is the same: buying a house. It bothers me because... Because buying houses is a big deal in Italy. We decided to take this step because our lease is expiring and we're tired of paying rent. Furthermore, finding another place to rent in my area is difficult; they ask for a lot of guarantees and a deposit, and no one wants to rent to people with pets like us. First, we had to apply for a mortgage. It took a long time to find a bank that would even consider us because we wanted a mortgage of at least 90-95%, and no bank seemed willing to grant it to us. Why? Because there are tax breaks if you're under 35, and we're not. Because, in theory, you'd need two full-time, permanent jobs, and only my husband has that. So, first of all, it was a pain to go around various banks to finally find one in another city that would take us into consideration. Then, getting all the paperwork done was a nightmare.
The offices were often open in the morning during business hours and that was it. Getting some documents took weeks, some were impossible to reach by car, and others got mixed up. However, once we applied for a mortgage and sent the bank's surveyor to do the regularization (four months had passed), the bank refused us the mortgage (after we had already paid the surveyor) because the child support my husband owes to his daughter was classified as a loan (they don't grant mortgages if you have a loan). We could only get it with a guarantor, and it wasn't easy to find one because the guarantor must have a salary or fixed income and not have any other mortgages. In the end, the only one with these qualities was my mother-in-law, and she did it, so we got the mortgage.
And you'll say, "So, it was a done deal, right?" No, because the hassle wasn't over!! The hassle wasn't over. Because there were eight heirs who were supposed to sell us the house and they couldn't agree on it, plus one of them was in jail, and it took two months to get the power of attorney to sign from the notary. And anyway, it took us a long time, a lot of estimates, and a lot of money to find a notary, a surveyor,
Bank fees and all the related costs, which believe me, are a lot to get a house and a thirty-year mortgage, which is taxed with interest anyway. It's not easy to buy a house in Italy right now.
However, this whole rigmarole is what bothered me the most in 2025. And what made me happiest? When we went to the notary at the end of last month and finally bought a house, our own house! Where we can do what we want, furnish as we please, and arrange it as we please! A place to call and make truly our own, and it's also a beautiful house: 130 square meters, two bedrooms, a study, two bathrooms, a large living room, a kitchen, and a large garden. It's true there's a lot to do because we need to do some renovations and the house isn't furnished, but I'm so happy to finally have a house of my own! When it's ready, I'll obviously post all the photos!
First picture edited by my phone translation with deepl .