Residential property · UK · Italy · France
Buy it. Fix it. Let it.
Without being there.
We help owners and investors buy and renovate residential properties in the UK, Italy and France, preparing them for letting. Our team coordinates each project from the initial review to handover, working with local trades whose work we know from our own properties.
The first conversation is free and without obligation. We’ll understand your plans and agree the next steps together.
One team for the whole project
From the first conversation to handover, the Cornaglia Capital team coordinates every stage and keeps you informed of progress, decisions and next steps.
Site visits and our own reports
On every project we visit the site and send you a report with photos and notes made there, not just images supplied by the contractor.
Written scope before works start
Budget, timetable and what completion includes are agreed in writing before work starts and before the first invoice.
Our role
Good agents. Good builders. Good advisers.
One team keeping the whole project in view.
A property project runs through many good hands, and each does its part well. The whole project still needs holding together: the sequence, the handovers and the decisions that need to be made in time. That is our part. We work alongside the professionals you need, review the property before you commit, agree the scope before the works start and tell you the moment something drifts, while there is still time to say no.
What you get
Four moments where money is made or lost.
We are with you at each of them.
Know what you are buying
We look at the building the way a builder and an owner would: condition, constraints, likely renovation costs, achievable rent. If the numbers do not work, we tell you before you commit.
Before you buyA purchase with clear next steps
We keep surveys, advisers and deadlines in a clear sequence, so you know what is outstanding, who needs to act and what comes next.
The purchaseA renovation managed to a clear brief
We agree scope, budget and timetable with you in writing, supervise the works and raise changes early, before they cost you.
The worksReady for letting, with local support in place
We prepare the property for letting and hand it over to a local letting or property-management professional, so it is looked after from day one.
After the keysHow it works in practice
Four questions every owner abroad asks.
Straight answers.
Who goes to see the property?
We do. Before you buy, during the works and before handover. You receive our report, with photos, after each visit.
Who hires the builder?
Usually you. We introduce trades we have worked with on our own properties, agree the scope with you in writing and supervise the works. On some projects we contract the builder ourselves; when we do, that responsibility is set out in the scope before work starts.
How do I know what is happening?
A short written update after each site visit and at every milestone, with photos. You hear about changes as soon as they arise.
Who looks after the property once it is let?
A local letting or property-management professional, chosen with you. We prepare the property, hand it over and stay available if something needs a second pair of eyes.
Written reports, with photos
The report comes from a team that has been on site.
We own and manage property ourselves
Construction in the family. Operators by trade.
Owners by choice.
Since 2018 we have bought, renovated and let our own homes in the UK, Italy and France, as partners in every one of them. We know where the costs hide because we have paid them. That is the perspective we bring to projects for clients.
“Construction teaches you how a building works. Operations show you how it performs. Ownership brings the two together.”
Marco Cornaglia
Marco comes from a Piedmontese family that has been in construction for four generations. Years running hotels and restaurants in Italy and London gave him the eye of someone who manages a building every day, not only on handover day. Together with Barbara he owns and manages residential property in the UK, Italy and France; at Cornaglia Capital he leads the works, the trades and the technical side of every project.
Barbara de Souza
Barbara has lived in four countries, Brazil, Italy, Ireland and the UK, and has spent years guiding international families through relocation and settlement in Italy. She knows first-hand what it takes to buy, renovate and let a home in a country that is not yet yours. Together with Marco she owns and manages residential property in the UK, Italy and France; at Cornaglia Capital she leads cross-border projects and client relationships.
Where we work
You do not need to be there.
We are.
Our operational base in Italy is Piemonte. We work across the UK and consider projects elsewhere in Italy and in France case by case, when we can give them the same attention.
UK
United Kingdom
Buy, renovate and get ready to let, with our own site visits and written updates.
IT
Piemonte, Italy
Our home and our base, with trades we have worked with for years. Elsewhere in Italy, case by case.
FR
France
Where we own and manage property ourselves. Client projects considered case by case.
Illustrative images. They do not depict Cornaglia Capital properties or completed projects.
Before you get in touch
A few things
you may want to know.
How much does it cost?
A fixed fee per stage, quoted in writing after the first conversation, once we know the property and the scope. No percentage of the purchase price.
Do you work only with investors?
No. We work with owners buying a home for their own use as well as with investors. The questions are the same; only the numbers change.
What languages do you work in?
English, Italian and Portuguese, with the trades, advisers and authorities in each country in their own language.
I have already found a property. Can you check it?
Yes. Send us the listing and we tell you what to look at before you commit.
Can you work outside the UK, Italy and France?
No. In Italy our base and our trades are in Piemonte; elsewhere in the country, and in France, we take projects case by case, when we can give them the same attention.
What if the works run late or over budget?
We tell you the moment it starts to drift, with the options and what each costs, so the decision is yours while it still is.
Do you provide legal or tax advice?
No. We refer you to independent, qualified professionals and work alongside them.
A first conversation, with no obligation
Tell us what you have in mind.
We will tell you what to look at first.
Tell us about the property or idea. We’ll outline what we need to assess and agree a practical next step together.
We reply within one working day · WhatsApp +39 379 238 6683 · English, Italiano, Português