Buying property in Italy

The following is aimed at providing you with some basic information about the house purchasing process in Italy.  It is not intended as a substitute for sound professional advice.  For further information please consult a qualified representative or notaio for details of the acquisition process.   It is important that you are aware that by the time you have acquired your property the expenses, taxes and fees can amount to around an additional 20% of the purchase price.  Be prepared for this.

In Italy both the purchaser and the vendor pay the agent a fee.  You should check what percentage of the purchase price your agent will expect from you.  It is more often than not 3%.

When you have found your property and negotiated your price, most professional estate agencies will ask you to submit a Proposta di Acquisto (written offer) and receive a signed agreement by return from the vendor.

This offer will determine what is included in the sale. Then you will be asked to sign a ‘compromesso’.  This document of intent is legally binding but need not be drawn up by a ‘notaio’ (notary public).

The compromesso will outline the agreed purchase price, the amount of the caparra (deposit), the period of validity of the arrangement and any specific clauses that either party may wish to include.  It is signed by both parties.

The caparra is normally 10% of the purchase price and is due at the signing of the compromesso.

Your compromesso may agree that you will pay, for example, €100,000 for a house, subject to certain conditions for, say, 90 days.  It is not unusual to pay the €10,000 caparra directly to the vendor who holds the deposit for the 90 days agreed.

If at the end of this time you do not complete the purchase (atto) the vendor retains the deposit and may remarket the property.

If the vendor defaults on the sale, having taken your deposit (caparra confirmatoria), they have to repay you two fold.

The atto may take place at any time after the compromesso, the time given on the compromesso is the maximum time the vendor allows you to organise your end of the deal.  N.B.  The dates on a compromesso can be amended by mutual agreement if they are running close to expiry.

You will need to find yourself a notaio to complete on the purchase of the property.  The estate agent may be able to recommend one to you.

If you do not speak, read and understand Italian fluently, the notaio is obliged by law to provide (at your expense) a translation of the documents and an interpreter to explain them to you.  This process can slow up the process as documents can take up to ten days to translate.

When the notaio is content that all the necessary documents have been provided he will invite all interested parties to his office to sign the atto (completion document).  This is quite a formal occasion.  Both the vendor and the purchaser should be present, (if you cannot attend an authorised power of attorney can act on your behalf), and the estate agent may attend to ensure the deal is as agreed.

The documents from the vendor will include their rights to sell the property.  They will need to identify themselves formally and produce the land deeds.

The purchaser will also need to produce evidence of their identity and the outstanding balance of the purchase price in a banker’s draft.

The purchaser will need a codice fiscale (fiscal code - NI number).

If the purchaser is to claim a lower tax bracket on the house transfer they will need to show evidence of their residency status (residenza) which need not be completed but in the process of being obtained.

If either party is not fluent in Italian then an interpreter will need to be present.

The notaio will read aloud the atto.  This alone can mean that this ceremony can take time.  Be prepared for a long time at the notaio's that day.  If both parties are agreed to the contents then they sign, the money is handed over and the deal is done. The notaio will present you with a bill for the transfer taxes and his costs at the time of the atto and this will need to be paid immediately.  (Check first what those charges will be).

The estate agent will expect to be paid at the time of the atto, if they have not already been paid at the time of the Proposta di Acquisto. Check their terms for payment before signing this.

Check list when you are ready to purchase your home:

You will need the following: 

Codice Fiscale                            National Insurance No. (available in Italy or consulates abroad)
Permesso di Soggiorno            Permission to Stay in Italy. From the Post Office.
                                                                 (EU citizens still need a Carta di Soggiorno).
Residenza                                    From the council local  to the property
Bank account                               Any high street branch

 

You need to pay:

The vendor                                  For the property
The notaio                                   For the service and the taxes
The agent                                    For the service and fees
The council                                 For planning permissions etc.  

The interpreter                           For the translation of documents and the reading of contracts.