Remco and Maritte, aged 60 and 32, moved with their two young sons from Zierikzee to Tuscany in the television programme Het Roer Om. They planned to turn a former farmhouse with eight apartments into their Italian dream home.

When they first visited the property, they found that it needed extensive work and had several defects. They were also startled by a drop or fall at the property; they said they had not had a structural survey carried out.