Unlike the majority of other Real Estate Agencies, we base our selection rather on the quality of the properties then focusing on a single area. Therefore we can offer a wide selection of high quality properties located in Nothern Lazio, Umbria, and Lower Tuscany where we spotted the best locations and estates and describe them in detail.
Our small guide to buying a house
he following does not claim to be a complete guide on how to buy a house in Italy (we know there are dozens of well-made guides online) but rather our own little handbook on how to buy a house in the areas we deal with. Our guide is the result of decades of experience in buying and selling houses and dealing with customers making their first purchase in Italy.
In fact, for the last 14 years we have been helping Italian and foreign clients to sell and buy old houses and farmhouses in the villages and countryside of the Province of Viterbo, an area located among Lazio, Umbria and Tuscany, just one or two hours driving from Rome.
Whatever topic you are interested in exploring, you will find a lot of information online, sometimes chaotic and contradictory: our personal suggestion is not to rely so much on the internet, but rather on the professionalism and experience of the real estate agent, the surveyor and the notary, who are the key figures you will meet when buying a house in Italy.
Let’s get into the topic!
BEFORE FOCUSING ON THE HOUSE, FOCUS ON THE LOCATION
Italy is a country geographically speaking very diverse. Even areas very close to each other can have completely different characteristics and landscapes, and offer services of different levels.
Our first suggestion is therefore to inform yourself and travel to the areas where you plan to buy. Don’t just rely on photos and videos found online! Maybe even consider a rental period, or long holidays in the area. If you don’t know the area, it could happen that you choose a seemingly perfect house online, but then discover once you are there that the location is not suitable for you from many points of view . Don’t hesitate to ask us for advice on the area too!
First of all, it is important to understand what your priorities are when choosing the location:
Do you want to be near the sea, or a lake, rather to cultural places, museums, concerts? Or are you looking for tranquility? Or contact with nature as wild as possible?
Is it important for you to have an efficient public transport system available? In many areas of Italy there are few train stations, and in these areas it is almost essential to own a car. In our areas very often the most beautiful and cheapest houses are in very small villages, perhaps even with less than 100 inhabitants, and without a bar or shops. Could you take the car even just to have a coffee at the bar or to buy bread? Or would you rather like to have services within walking distance?
If your needs are more focused on the house and more hard to satisfy, for example you want the house to have very specific characteristics or you have a very small budget, obviously you need to consider a larger area and be flexible in choosing the location.
AND NOW, THE HOUSE!
Once you have identified the area, think about the house… what are it’s most important features?
How many bedrooms do you think you need?
Do you want a large living area?
Is an outdoor space essential for you or, if the context is beautiful, can you even do without it?
Are practical features such as size, or rather aesthetic features such as a panoramic view or antique interiors, more important to you?
Are you willing to do major renovations like of a roof?
What is your overall budget? (we will see shortly what the additional costs are)
Our advice: if you are buying for the first time in Italy, and perhaps don’t speak the language, exclude a fixer-upper and prefer those ready to be inhabited. Renovation is a complicated and expensive process even for Italians themselves, for both bureaucratic and practical reasons. Better make your life easier!
IT’S TIME TO VISIT HOUSES!
Once you have identified both the ideal location and the characteristics of the house, it is time to make a list of properties that interest you, and to plan a trip of a few days to visit them.
Please, get in contact with us only two or three weeks before your arrival to learn more about the properties that interest you just! If you do it too much in advance, or when you haven’t yet planned the trip, you risk wasting your time asking for very specific information on properties that are no longer on the market when you finally arrive in the area.
An additional service: if our expertise and professionalism have won you over, you can count on us for a personalized consultancy and HOUSE HUNTING service, which allows you to completely delegate the search for the property to us. This way you can save time and energy and are relieved from the burden of rivers of emails and dozens of useless inspections, and you can interact with a single trusted professional who will help you identify the type and area of the property, will present you with a list of proposals. We will take care of all the preventive controls, will organize visits to a small number of selected properties, and will follow you in the purchase phase. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are interested and want to know the costs of the service.
HOUSE FOUND! NOW, THE PURCHASE PROCESS
Once you have found the home for you, the purchasing process can basically be summed up in the following steps:
- we will write a purchase proposal (PROPOSTA D’ACQUISTO) for you addressed to the seller containing your offer, i.e. the price, the deposit you are willing to leave, the date within which you want to purchase the house.
- once you have signed this official proposal (you can also do it via email), it will be submitted to the owner
- the owner has usually about 7/10 days to respond, either by making a counter-offer or by accepting this proposal and then signing it. When the purchase proposal is countersigned by the seller, it becomes a real preliminary sales contract (CONTRATTO PRELIMINARE DI COMPRAVENDITA), binding on both parties.
- the deposit (CAPARRA) will be paid within 7/10 days, which is generally around 5 or 10% of the price.
- within 20 days the real estate agency will register this contract for you in the state office (Agenzia delle Entrate).
- A notary (NOTAIO) will be appointed to examine the documents and prepare the final sales contract which will complete the transfer of ownership
- in the time between the purchase proposal and the moment of the actual sale, i.e. generally from two to six months, you will have to get an Italian tax code (CODICE FISCALE, we can get it for you), and open a bank account in Italy where you will transfer the money necessary for purchase. Opening an account is not mandatory but it is absolutely advisable, both for the payment of the house and, after the purchase, for the automatic payment of the bills.
- The process ends with the signing of the notarial deed of sale (ATTO NOTARILE DI COMPRAVENDITA, o ROGITO), which takes place in the office of a notary, with the presence of both parties.
Normally the price of the house is paid at the time of signing with a cashier’s check (ASSEGNO CIRCOLARE), which is a check that has been guaranteed by the issuing bank.
If, as likely, you do not speak Italian, it will be necessary to have a translation of the notarial deed. Alternatively, you can appoint a trusted person who speaks Italian to buy on your behalf, through a notarial power of attorney (PROCURA). The notarial power of attorney can also be done abroad, but it must be validated via Apostille, the simplest procedure is to do it with an Italian notary while you are in Italy.
At this point, once the final contract has been signed and the price has been paid, the property will be yours! CONGRATULAZIONI PER LA TUA NUOVA CASA IN TALIA!
If you need it, we can provide you with a consultancy service and help in activating all the utilities in your name, or help you pay your taxes regularly, or take care of the necessary maintenance of the house.
N.B.: In this little guide we will not deal with the documentation of the house, a matter which is very complex even for Italians themselves. You must know that the house must be completely regular from all points of view (it must be legitimately owned, it must have all permits from the municipality, it must be regularly represented in state documents, it must have an energy performance certificate, it must not have any mortgages , etc…). Each house has its own characteristics and must be examined in detail. The documents are checked first of all by the agency, with the help of a surveyor or an architect, and then by the notary.
FOCUS ON COSTS
When you identify the houses that interest you, keep in mind that the price of the houses is hardly negotiable by more than 10%, sometimes not at all, and it is always better to ask the agency, because every case is different.
Furthermore, there are costs to add to the price of the house:
- the real estate agency is paid by both parties, the commission is 4% of the price of the house, with a minimum of €4000 if the house costs less than €100,000 (the tax called VAT at 22% must be added to the commission). The commission is paid at the conclusion of the preliminary contract, so you must plan to pay it at the same time as the deposit.
- registering the contract with the Revenue Agency will cost you a minimum of €280.
- when you sign the deed, you will have to pay taxes on the purchase of the house, and the notary’s fee. The taxes are 9% of the tax value of the house (not the commercial price), and the notary’s fee is from €1400 upwards. If we give the example of a house that costs €100,000, the notarial deed could cost you around €8000 including taxes and notary fee. To these costs there are the costs for the translation or for the power of attorney, which can be around €500/1000. We always recommend that you get a rough estimate of the purchase costs from the agency.
After the purchase, you need to imagine these annual expenses:
House tax (IMU), based on the tax value of the property (it can be €300 per year but also over a thousand, ask the agent for an estimate!)
Waste tax (TARI), based on the size of the house and the number of people who live there (minimum €200 per year)
The costs for electricity, gas and water depends on the use of the house.
If you decide to move to Italy permanently in within 12 months from the date of purchase, you will get a tax discount.
That’s all!
We are at your disposal to help you buy the home of your dreams
Additional services
Are you looking for the perfect house for you but have no time? Let us do it for you. Our HOUSE HUNTING service will save you from a time consuming research, useless visits and emails. You will interact only with our expert, in charge of searching for the perfect selection for you, checking, showing the houses and helping during the buying process.
The hunting service costs between 500 and 2000 euro, based on the the wideness of the selected geografical area and the type of the estate. In case you’ll eventually buy one of the houses of our selection, the house hunting service is free.
Advisory service
Our advisory service is included in the fee we ask our clients, but in case you are buying from a private seller and need some extra help, you can count on us and our services. Our specialists can provide any kind of document and make retrieval, check , rearrangement of all necessary documents an papers. (Fees from 50 euro plus extra costs)