How do you purchase a house in Italy?
With the right people, following the process correctly, its not as hard as it might seem, or what others might tell you; don’t believe everything you hear.
Here are the phases of the purchasing process of a house. Our estate agency will give you all the support you need with our services; this is to both potential purchasers and vendors.
Find The Right Property:
This can be the fun part, or it can be a minefield. Make sure you have thought through what it is you are looking for, ask yourselves:
- Is it for us, or an investment?
- The city, or the country?
- In town, out of town?
- Apartment or house?
- Land, no land?
- Hilly position, down by the lake?
Sometimes you may need to look at different types of properties, in different areas, in order to establish what it is you really want. Which sometimes means finding out what you don’t actually like.
Check out our buying tips here Tara’s Buying Tips.
Check our properties here, find the right house, and see if we can show you the one that gives you goose bumps and makes you feel like you are at home.
Make An Offer:
If you are sure that the house you have found is THE ONE, then you should make an offer to secure it.
In the written offer the property will be described in detail with all its fiscal and town planning details, the payment conditions will be proposed and a deadline for the final purchase deed established.
You will need to put down a holding deposit to take the property “off the market” while the vendor considers it, which you will get back if the vendor rejects the offer.
Don’t forget, we will be with you through all of this.
Offer Accepted – Preliminary Deed:
Once the offer is accepted in all its parts, the offer itself is registered and is considered for all intents and purposes as a Preliminary Deed.
If there are aspects in the deed that need changing after this, then a new deed is issued.
In normal circumstances, when the Preliminary Deed is signed, the purchaser will pay a security deposit; this is usually 10-20% of the agreed sale price. If the vendor/s withdraw after the Preliminary Deed is signed they are required by law to pay the purchaser double the amount of the security deposit.
If the purchaser withdraws their offer after signing the Preliminary Deed they lose their deposit fully. This provides protections for both the purchaser and the vendor, but focuses on preventing vendors selling to a later (higher) bidder.
The Final Notary Deed
The final sales deed is carried out by a Notary, who is the only recognized professional authority to execute a legal sale.
The Notary must take responsibility to guarantee the property is of clear title and ensures any other issues pertinent to the property are determined prior to sale. The purchaser will usually choose the Notary who will act for them.
The purchaser will have to pay all the expenses tied to this deed - both the notary fees and sale taxes.
The amount of sales tax will depend on the actual sale price of the house if you are buying from a physical person/s. If you are buying from an entity, such as a construction company, the sales tax is determined on the declared price.
Sales taxes are determined as follows:
| 2% of | Fiscal value of the property | When buying as a first home from a person |
| 4% of (VAT) | Declared price | When buying as a first home from an entity or company |
| 9% of | Fiscal value of the property | When buying a holiday home from a person |
| 10% of (VAT) | Declared price | When buying a holiday home from an entity or company |
Again, we will help you work through this to ensure you are paying the correct taxes.
You are required to be present to sign all legal documents in front of the Notary.
If you don't speak Italian a qualified translator will be there to assist you and the contract will be read out in both Italian and your own language.
If you cannot be present you can issue a Power of Attorney, which the notary will prepare and you will need to get apostilled (certified) by a lawyer in the country you live in.
As your agent, Il Castello di Tara will be present for this whole process, as we will be for every step along the way.