The First Letter...
Thursday, September 17, 2026 · Portico International, City House Country Home
Dear Reader,
We spent four days in Cilento this past May.
We went to walk through four of our partner homes, and we did. Most of the four days went to the Discovery Tour, which is the same tour a buyer takes: the villages, the coast, where to eat, how an ordinary week there actually works.
What struck us was the yin and yang of it. Quiet villages where people were going about their day, and hikers who were very serious about their hiking. Ziplining. Sailing. A beach full of people. Shopping on the high streets and the low ones. An hour of complete quiet, then the noise out of the local pub. Buffalo mozzarella farms with the cheese made that morning, and wineries pouring tastings at their own restaurants. A mixed bag, and better for it.
That is the part worth paying attention to. A place must hold more than one kind of week, because over the years you will want more than one kind. The August when everybody comes and nobody stops talking. The quiet week in October with a book. People who buy a share of a home in Italy or France are buying those weeks with their families; in a place they chose on purpose. It is a recreational purchase, and the memories are the whole of it.
What usually stands in the way is a short list of practical questions. That is what this column is for. Every Thursday I'll answer one, plainly: what a share costs to buy and to keep, how eight owners divide a July, who fixes the dishwasher and, what happens the day you want to sell.
A word about who's answering. I've spent 26 years in real estate. Our office is Chestnut Park, the only Christie's International Real Estate serving many areas of southern Ontario. I own and operate our private practice known as City House Country Home which, just launched our European arm; Portico International. We introduce Canadians to three established companies in Italy and France, chosen after a hard look at their records and their management.
So, write to me. What are those burning questions you need answers to before you pick up the phone. Send your email to [email protected] and it may appear here under a pen name, never your own.
And when you'd like to see the homes, the Portico International door is open.
Until next Thursday,
Roxanne
Roxanne Finn is a broker with Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited, Brokerage, in Stratford. She acts as a referring realtor; partner companies are independent, and buyers should obtain independent legal advice in the destination country. Co-ownership is a lifestyle purchase.
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