Here are Jennifer and John: From Long-Time Clients to Buying a Stunning Penthouse in Lenno
Some real estate dreams are worth waiting for, especially when they come true on the shores of Lake Como!
Our history with Jennifer and John, from Colorado (USA), goes back a long way. After sharing an incredible real estate journey with this lovely couple over the years, we couldn't be happier to see them secure a breathtaking penthouse in Lenno. Following a few light touch-ups to tailor the space, their new property is already generating great returns on the rental market.
Let's dive into their journey!
Jennifer and John.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR STORY. WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN LAKE COMO AS A LOCATION FOR BUYING YOUR SECOND HOME IN ITALY? DID YOU KNOW THE AREA BEFORE? HAVE YOU EXPLORED THE REST OF ITALY? WHAT DID YOU KNOW ABOUT LAKE COMO / WHAT WAS YOUR PERCEPTION OF THE LAKE FROM ABROAD?
John says - I first visited Italy in my early twenties, I was in a study abroad program for Urban Design, and we were essentially based at the Florence University of the Arts. The program started in Paris and as we made our way to Florence we stopped in Lake Como, from then on I would leave Florence on weekends and come back to the lake to get away from the noise of the city. After the program finished I returned to Toronto, before we got married Jenny and I lived in Boulder, Colorado, and then back to Toronto, and then back to Boulder!
Anyways, Jenny spent about a year in Avignon, France in a study abroad program and we both had the travel bug, mostly for western Europe. We tried our best to get back to Europe once a year, we have spent quite a bit of time in France and England, but in many ways Italy always felt the most comfortable. In terms of exploring Italy we have travelled around Tuscany, Rome, Naples, the Amalfi coast. Last year we were in Bologna, our daughter is considering going to the University of Bologna and we really enjoyed our time there. Interestingly Jenny has only been to Lake Como once! I don’t really know why we haven’t visited more, I guess in my mind Lake Como was always more of a retreat and when we were travelling to Europe it wasn’t intended to be a retreat as much as an event – go go go!
I have always thought that Lake Como’s location, being close to Milan and central in western Europe, would make a perfect landing spot for travel if we were able to spend more time in Europe. As we have advanced in our careers and the potential of being able to take more time away is becoming possible we made a trip to view Lake Como in 2019, I think Sara showed us at least four or five different properties! We really liked one of them but were concerned that it didn’t have a garage - by the time we decided not having a garage wasn’t a big deal someone else had already made an offer on the property.
Then before we could make our trip the next year COVID took control of the world, and in many ways we gave up on our dream of owning a home in Europe. Late in 2021 we started thinking about a European home again, but we actually switched our focus to France! The trip that we planned for 2020 was postponed until 2022 because of COVID, but that trip was planned for Italy and now we were considering France…., what to do? We spent quite a bit of time planning our 2020 trip, it was a trip that was celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary so we kept the itinerary and off we went to Italy instead of changing to France. I think this trip solidified our desire to make Italy our landing point. The funny thing about that trip is for some strange reason British Airways cancelled our flight out of Milan. This meant that instead of ending our time in Italy in Lake Como, we flew from Florence to London and never made it to the Lake!
Nevertheless, I kept looking forward to the Friday Roundup emails, and a property popped up that really caught my attention so I reached out to the Lakeside team to request more information. The entire remote experience was fantastic, once again we ended up losing out on the property that caught my attention, but Lakeside sent us all sorts of additional information including an incredibly useful video tour.
Now that we missed out on two different properties we decided we wanted to be a little bit more decisive. Sara and her team suggested a few other properties and two of them stood out to us, they sent us additional video tours and the Lenno apartment was the clear winner for us.
A beautiful shot of the lake taken by JJ.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES LAKE COMO SO SPECIAL COMPARED TO OTHER LOCATIONS IN ITALY OR EUROPE?
Since we will not be able to spend long periods of time here, at least for a few years, it was important to us that the property had the potential of being rented. Lake Como is an incredibly desired international location, the Villas, the hikes, the restaurants, the gardens, the natural beauty, the proximity to all the small villages, the ability to take the ferry to get around the lake – all of these factors led us to choose Lake Como over other locations.
YOU ENDED UP BUYING A LOVELY APARTMENT IN LENNO, A TRULY CHARACTERFUL PROPERTY THAT MANY HAD NOTICED ON THE MARKET. WHAT MADE YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH IT?
At first it was the beamed ceilings, the covered terrace, and the fact that the terrace faces southeast for good sunshine. The views are very nice, even though it doesn’t have the huge lake view that many properties have! After some time thinking about the property, we really became excited about the proximity to the Lenno lakeside promenade with the restaurants and cafés, the ability to easily walk to the ferry stop. On our trip in 2019 we walked right by this property and Sara picked us up in front of Wine Note da Kita – we were charmed by this area.
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF LENNO AND ITS SURROUNDINGS? WHAT DO YOU PARTICULARLY LIKE ABOUT THESE VILLAGES?
The lakeside in Lenno is quieter because the main road does not run directly beside the lake in this location, the restaurants and promenade benefit greatly from not having the road directly beside them
John and their friend walking up to Sanctuary Madonna del Soccorso in Lenno.
DO YOU THINK IT IS EASY TO BUY A PROPERTY ON LAKE COMO OVERALL? DID YOU ENCOUNTER ANY DIFFICULTIES OR CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY?
Once we made the decision it was very easy! Sara and her team made the process very straightforward, with any major purchase things come up, but the team was easy to communicate with and in general things went smoothly. We actually figured out that a wall had been built in a different location from the plan, and between Sara and the seller they were able to navigate getting the plan corrected. Getting the plan corrected benefitted us greatly because it created a legal second bedroom!
WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO FOREIGN CLIENTS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A SECOND HOME ON LAKE COMO?
We have no hesitation recommending Lakeside to anyone, in fact we already have! From the very first few minutes of meeting Sara she felt like someone we could place our trust in, which is incredibly important when making a major purchase in a foreign country. After more time speaking with her, and continuing to communicate over several years we now think of her as a part of our small family.
ARE YOU PLANNING ANY RENOVATIONS TO YOUR HOUSE IN LENNO? HOW OFTEN ARE YOU PLANNING TO STAY THERE?
We have had the entire apartment repainted, and the beams refinished. It has been fun picking out new lighting, and all new furniture to make it our own. In the upcoming years we will redo the kitchen and bathrooms.
The stunning view from their penthouse.
WE BELIEVE EVERY HOUSE HAS ITS OWN SONG. IS THERE A SONG YOU ALREADY ASSOCIATE WITH YOUR LOVELY NEW HOME IN LENNO?
Not yet!
IS THERE ANY OTHER AREA OF LAKE COMO THAT YOU PARTICULARLY LIKE? IF SO, WHY?
We really enjoyed Menaggio where we met the Lakeside team!
Another great shot taken by JJ.
Has Jennifer & John’s story inspired you? Are you thinking about investing in a property in Lake Como?