What can we say about David Collins and OurToscana that hasn’t already been said? We can only add our own favourable comments to reinforce the message that David is the man to have on board when you start your journey towards the ‘Italian dream’.

From beginning to final completion of our project, David has been incredibly supportive and encouraging, providing initial advice and ideas for our renovation of a small, two bedroom end terrace property in San Rocco in Turrite. Without his help and common-sense approach to everything we would not have been able to complete the purchase (Feb 2013) and the renovation works (Oct 2013) in such a short timeframe and with only minor hiccups along the way.

David delivers more than expected in terms of his personal involvement, providing almost daily updates in the initial phases and weekly updates thereafter, via ‘Dropbox’ photo’s of the work as it progresses. A ‘virtual’ tour of the work being done was very reassuring when we were unable to see things for ourselves. We had such confidence in David’s ability throughout, due to his own professionalism and very high standards, and that of his team.

The building contractors and other trades were equally professional and their friendly attitude and care towards, not only our own property but respect for the neighbouring properties, went down very well with everyone – quite an accomplishment when dirt and noise on a daily basis, could potentially have caused problems with neighbours.

We are completely delighted with our new home and David’s continued support and follow up, even after project completion, over and above what should be expected of him. Finally, we would just like to take this opportunity to thank David, not only for his support and advice along the way, but also his friendship. He is an honest man, modest and unassuming, and we are very glad we were lucky enough to find him. Grazie mille!

We bought our house in Tuscany in December 2008 having looked for a suitable property in Tuscany and Umbria for two years prior. We needed some renovation work done on the house and things were not going well with our initial building contractors.

We contacted David Collins via his website Ourtoscana and arranged to meet. David quickly assessed the situation and provided a number of options for us to proceed. We asked David to manage the renovation as our Director of Works. He provided a detailed construction plan and engaged a local building firm to complete the work. He liaised with Montecatini Planning Department and without his help and advice we would never have got the plans approved, given the complications of Italian planning regulations and the language barrier. David sourced a local electrician and plumber. He took us to meet a local joiners who supplied and fitted all our chestnut framed doors and windows.

Throughout the building process (8 months), David sent weekly emails with photographs of the work’s progress. He phoned us weekly to consult and advise us over all building decisions e.g. removal of load bearing walls, siting of internal doors, choice of terracotta tiles, position of radiators and electrical sockets. We had problems in dealing with Barclays Italy over releasing the funds from our mortgage for the renovation and David was instrumental in overcoming these obstacles.

In conclusion we are delighted with the service he has provided. The building work has been completed to a very high standard and on time. David has a wealth of experience in the renovation and construction business. He speaks fluent Italian and has a range of building contacts in Italy. Most importantly, David is a problem solver and always comes up with solutions to what seemed to us almost insurmountable problems. This instilled confidence in us back in the UK while all the work was going on. We would not have been able to see this project through without David’s help and we cannot recommend him highly enough. If you’re looking to renovate or build in Italy contact David, you will not be disappointed.

In a culture of excuses where promises are often made and not kept, it has been refreshing to see David Collins of Our Toscana follow through in professionalism, character and quality. His initial assessment of our property and due diligence gave us a definitive understanding of what we owned and what could be done from a remodeling/rebuilding perspective. All in all, he has saved us thousands of Euro’s and a multitude of headaches. Thank you is not enough for all your help and expertise!

My wife’s dream and my worst nightmare. A wonderful old Tuscan farmhouse which needed a complete renovation. From a new roof and a whole new internal layout, with grand designs for the cantina. The internal restructure required everything removing back to the original stone walls and all services, electrics, plumbing, central heating, septic tank etc. etc. needed complete renewal or first installation and all being completed while we were 3000 miles away.

Thankfully David Collins from Our Toscana delivers everything it says on the tin. Plans drawn up, submitted and approved. On time, to budget. A highly motivated and highly skilled team of builders and tradesmen who delivered to plan. On time, to budget. All options offered and estimates provided. Chosen options delivered. On time, to budget. David did not just make it easier, David made it possible. On time, to budget.

Thank you so very much David. We cannot adequately express our gratitude and respect for the highly professional job that turned my wife’s dream into a reality. Many people live the nightmare, you have enabled us to live the dream. Many, many thanks David

We fell in love with Italy, Tuscany in particular several years ago and decided that we needed a holiday home to go back to time and time again. We found our property and were recommended David by our solicitor who was dealing with the purchase. We are house builders in the U.K and thought we knew enough to get by to renovate our property, think again!! David Collins of Our Toscana basically took over the renovation process on our behalf which is a complicated, bureaucratic minefield nothing like it is in the U.K. and couple this with a language barrier you have the potential for disaster. The service he provided was

• An initial site inspection of the property to identify potential problems not only construction but legal also.
• To put together a detailed bill of quantities based on our own designs to send out to a list of contractors recommended.
• To negotiate with the contractors to achieve best price and finalise the construction method, specification and costs.
• To ensure all the paper work was in place and provide individual contracts with the contractors.
• To discuss and agree or dispute any request for additional costs from the contractors.
• To look at any problems on site and resolve them on our behalf.
• He signed off the work as it was completed.
• David contacted our bank and negotiated with them to secure the funding route
• David intervened to ensure sub standard work was put right by the contractor and avoid legal action being taken.

Basically we have now been through the whole process and living the Italian dream with our friends and family. We were very lucky to find David without whom the whole experience would have been completely different, potentially disastrous and I am sure even more expensive than it turned out. We would recommend him to anyone who harbours the dream of an Italian home.

We are in mid-project adding a pool to a house we have owned for four years. We asked David Collins from Our Toscana to be our project manager knowing that it would be a difficult task owing to the unusual circumstances of our location: steep slopes, narrow road, poor access and of course remote. David has been able to organize experienced local builders who are familiar with the difficulties in this area, and although we have met some problems David has been brilliant at coming up with solutions.

Without a doubt he is 100% competent in his work. He has been extremely willing to do research into the project and has always made himself available. David is very personable and considers as a number one priority the complete satisfaction of his clients. We strongly recommend him to anyone in search of a project manager.

David Collins of Ourtoscana was a great help to us. With his thorough step-by-step approach he helped us through the buying process and protected our interests along the way. His in depth knowledge of structural as well as legal matters in Italy was indispensable and we would never buy anything without his services. We whole-heartedly recommend him to anyone who is contemplating a purchase. Call him first not after!!

We have known David Collins of Our Toscana for five years, and it would be unthinkable now to do anything to our house, however small, without his advice. When we first bought our house in Tuscany it needed a good deal of work, some of it structural, and David had been recommended to us.

Speaking English, having a huge knowledge of the Italian scene made him very comfortable to deal with. In effect he was able to bridge two cultures, which made communication not only easy but a pleasure. The amazing thing was that most of the work was done remotely. After an initial walk around and some preplanning, the whole job was carried out with us in Dublin and David in Italy, and we still work like this.

We bought a derelict barn in northern Tuscany in 2005 and were naive and unquestioning ( like i suspect many before us!) of the english agent and builder who facilitated the sale. Consequently two years later, when I moved to Asia for work the barn remained a wreck and we had spent a considerable amount of money fruitlessly . We resigned ourselves to the fact that whilst overseas we were unable to move any further forward with the project not least because of our lack of Italian language and knowledge of anyone else in the region that we could trust to continue the works.

A new Country, a new language, 3 small children and a husband spending more time in the air than on the ground is not what the text books recommended for your first property development. More than a “dream” but a real investment we had to be sure that the development was a success. We obviously needed somebody to manage the project for us but we also had strong ideas on what we wanted although sometimes lacked the imagination and experience on how to make them reality.

Having our project manager on site gave us more than peace of mind that the development was progressing but the almost daily feedback and photo updates on all the details made us feel we were still in touch with the project. The ability to talk to somebody with experience, who not only ensured the work progressed but could offer suggestions and ideas on how to enhance the project (both in terms of an investment and “wow factor”) meant the development never stalled at the first sign of a problem.

David Collins’s ability to take a concept (we were not very good with plans) enhance them and make them reality has taken what could have been a good investment but ordinary development, to another level. Working on our behalf with the red tape and making sure the project avoided the pitfalls which could stall of even stop the development demonstrates that a good project manager is more than go between but an integral part of the development and in our opinion absolutely essential.

It’s hard to write about David Collins and Our Toscana’s services without sounding cheesy and gushing, which isn’t my style, but the bottom line is David does make dreams come true! We found a bit of a wreck with a fantastic view and lots of potential’ and our dream was to turn it into a classy B&B. In truth, we probably wouldn’t have had the confidence to go ahead and buy it if we hadn’t found Our Toscana.

David did a survey, which was very thorough, detailed and most importantly personalised as it took into account our plans for the house. The survey was certainly better than any UK survey we’ve had in the past. Thanks to the survey we knew what the issues with the house were and how they could be solved and so we felt we could go ahead with the purchase without the ‘fear of the unknown’.

Once we moved in, David oversaw all the building and renovation work as Director of Works. He organised the planning and paperwork side of the build with the Italian geometra and recommended an excellent team of builders and tradesmen, who were all very reliable, competitively priced and a pleasure to work with. When one reads and hears all the horror stories so many foreigners seem to have of trying to renovate property here, especially of unreliable builders, I know how very lucky we were to have them.

David came frequently throughout the work, sometimes several times a week at crucial stages, and put a great deal of thought and effort into the project when not on site, being in constant contact by ‘phone and email. When I reflect on the amount of time David personally spent on our project his own fee seems incredibly reasonable. If we’d paid double it would still have seemed a fair price!

What was also refreshing was David’s willingness to work with our rather too small budget and adapt the plans according to this. He was always supportive of our project and shared our vision for what the house could become. It was really helpful to feel we had someone on our side, who knew what they were doing-when we so clearly didn’t! David and Our Toscana did make our dream come true. We have just enjoyed our first summer running a successful B&B in Bagni di Lucca in Northern Tuscany. We can’t wait to get David and his team back for the next phase-and maybe even a swimming pool soon! I certainly wouldn’t use any other company, and I would recommend Our Toscana without hesitation.

My experience from collaborating with David Collins in order to buy estate in Tuscany has been very satisfying. He has been professional, straight forward and a very good advisor. I can warmly recommend him as a partner to anyone who considers buying property in Tuscany. He has contacts and knowledge to support you with whatever you needs may have which have proved to be very helpful and valuable in all aspects of the process.

We came to Italy 12 months ago; we looked at a few houses including some horror stories, which David Collins of Ourtoscana helped us to investigate, we’ve bought, renovated and are about to move in. Without using the services of Ourtoscana we would not have been able to do what we have done within our timescale and budget.

My wife and I were benefited by a small inheritance and wanted to use it, if we could do so “safley”, as both an investment for our daughters’ educations as well as a family summer home in Tuscany. To say we were fearful was an understatement. David Collins helped us eliminate several choices and then to buy our dream house; his evaluations were perfect for our needs, and he later was able to give us major estimates and referrals to chose amongst, and they all held up perfectly.

He lead the purchase of several small adjacent parcels to give us a needed road, settled a dispute with a neighbor, and then held our hand throughout, including indepdendent inspecting of the work of our contractors. His fees, in the end, were less than a bathtub, yet he saved us nearly euro 50,000 and protected a larger cache. Coming out the end of dangerous beautiful rapids one can realize thereafter what risks existed and what skill was used to come through.

David Collins’ expertise & unique understanding of the ‘Italian way’ gave us the confidence that was lacking elsewhere. He saved us over 5000 euros at purchase with a comprehensive survey report and we retain his consultancy services to give us control over the ongoing refurbishment.

After six solid months of house hunting in Umbria we thought we’d seen it all. While a few agents were highly organised and professional others had a creative disregard for hard facts and figures, would forget to mention the toxic waste dump next door (yes it did happen) or overlook the susceptibility of the site to annual flooding. We became used to hearing agents propose a quick signing of the compromesso as houses which had been on the market for years suddenly attracted other bidders who were willing to pay E100,000 over the asking price. Add to this surveyors who took their information from the agents rather than do site visits, notaries who planned to charge one price for foreigners and other (substantially lower) price for locals, and expensive London lawyers who would never give a firm opinion when asked, and it’s not surprising that our resolve was slipping. When a purchase fell through because the seller demanded payment in cash on the Swiss border we decided we needed on hand, professional help.

We found the Our Toscana website and after a meeting with David Collins asked him to take our third and final target to completion. He prepared contracts, directed price negotiations, found an independent notary who would undertake a thorough search, conducted a full structural survey, and steered through negotiations with a seller who had a leisurely approach to completion. Our Toscana paid for itself three or four times over. Thanks to David we moved in precisely on time, very substantially under budgeted cost, with a minimum of frustration and with a clear understanding of the structural, legal, and planning issues. As this was to be our main home this degree of comfort was vital.

We’d just like to express our thanks for your truly excellent and detailed professional advice, regarding anti-seismic measures and costs for our project in Umbria. We especially valued the fact that you were able to outline a range of alternative solutions, all of them showing sensitivity to the building and its context. The explanatory material that accompanied your advice was incredibly helpful: sufficiently detailed for us to proceed in confidence, with an informed decision; but not so technical that we felt out of our depth. Your comments on what is currently considered best practice were invaluable and it was very reassuring to be able to speak directly to an impartial expert with a wide experience of how things actually translate in terms of local practice and procedures.

In 2006 we received a notice from a neighbour that our barn was unsafe and at risk of damaging the adjoining house. In desperation, and with a heavy heart I began an Internet to search to find someone, anyone we could to visit the property, make a full assessment and give us impartial and trustworthy advice on works required and , if possible how to get this done. A further worry was that we would be unable to return from abroad to oversee this. By a huge stroke of luck I came upon David Collins and his Our Toscana website.

He was very happy to discuss what services he could provide and the benefits of each. Within a few weeks of our initial contact he had visited our property and undertaken a full survey following up with detailed costings for both the work required to make the roof safe ( the immediate safety concern), as well as figures for proceeding with staged renovation works – keeping in regular contact by email and telephone. The survey was detailed and thorough and something we should clearly have undertaken before we proceeded on the sale. (If we had received this survey on viewing the barn we would never have proceeded as all the hideous pitfalls and costs would have been clearly revealed)

We had many questions in the early stages of our contact with David as we were unsure if we ought to try and do the minimum works to try and sell the property and cut our losses, or risk more money to finally improve the barn for our own use. David was incredibly patient and helpful with my endless emails and advised us clearly of the pros and cons of both options.

After much consideration, and buoyed by David’s involvement we opted to begin a two stage renovation process. David again was happy to answer endless questions from us on this. Within eight weeks a local team of tradesmen started work. We decided to finish stage one of the works and then review and consider if we wished to continue further. David kept us closely informed of progress on site visits via email and Dropbox with regular photos and videos. Having completed stage one, and being satisfied by what we had seen we decided to continue with the second stage works. David arranged the tradesmen and liaised with all those on site regularly to ensure that works progressed seamlessly. He also advised us on cost saving measures that by completing some works now we might save money later should we proceed. He provided breakdowns of bills per tradesman and in a staged fashion. Where decision were required on type of finish or fittings he sent us photos to help us choose or costings should there be savings to be made with certain choices.

At the end of stage two with the house watertight and all internal works completed we opted to defer further works to allow us to rebuild our savings and visit the property finally when we returned full time to the UK. We saw the house ourselves last month for the first time in five years and since all the works had been done. We were blown away.The house looks fabulous and the quality of work and finish impressive. There is nothing that we would have done differently had we been on hand to review during the process.

Finally it looks like we may be able to realise our dream of an Italian holiday home. I only wish I had tracked David down before we bought the barn or earlier in the process at least. His professional and impartial advice should be sought by anyone considering buying and renovating property in Italy, especially those that have limited Italian and are unable to be on the ground to oversee and coordinate works. It will save much money and frustration in the long run and we cannot recommend David’s services highly enough.