You have decided to buy a home in Italy? Well, here's some useful information and advices. If you're not Italian citizen, be aware that there are no restrictions on the purchase of real estate in this country.
Advice number one: do not improvise
Magazines and internet can be a useful first step to get an idea of the Italian real estate industry and of operators to contact.
The advice, however, is not to improvise. Locate a reputable agency that has experience in buying and selling property in Italy to foreign buyers.
It will be a fundamental guide in the search of your property, to optimize the time and avoid any error: the legislation of buying and selling real estate in Italy is very complex and changes frequently, to have a serious referent will allow you to make a serene purchase.
How to locate an agency that you can rely on?
These are some of the elements to consider when selecting a professional agency:
Real estate portfolio: a good properties portfolio in terms of number and quality makes it possible to compare a wider range of proposals, develop a better knowledge of the market and make a more conscious purchase.
The purchase/pre-sale proposal
The agency presented to you to some real estate, you have visited the most interesting and you've finally found the right one for you.
The next step is to formalize your interest through a written purchase proposal to be submitted to the seller that, if accepted, commits the parties to conclude the deal.
Casaitalia International is responsible for drawing up the proposal, indicating in it: the price offered, the method of payment (especially if you need a mortgage) and the date by which enter into the act.
The proposed purchase is set by Casaitalia to form the Preliminary sales at the time of acceptance by the owner.
In this way, the next step will be directly the deed.
How long is my offer challenging?
The proposed purchase is usually valid for 10-15 days, after which, if the seller will not have signed for acceptance, decays, not producing any obligation between the parties.
The down payment to guarantee the purchase
To guarantee the commitment to complete the purchase, the seals acceptance of the proposal by the owner, the buyer will pay the account of the seller an amount equal to 20% of the proposed purchase price, as a deposit. If the owner fails to comply with the requirements of the proposal / preliminary sales agreement, the buyer will be entitled to a refund of double the deposit paid.
Conversely, if the buyer withdraws from the contract, the owner will retain the deposit receipt.
The registration of the proposed purchase / preliminary sale
The agency will handle the registration of the contract with the Inland Revenue, to be made within 20 days of signing of acceptance.
The costs on acceptance of the Proposal / Preliminary purchase
Upon acceptance of the proposal / preliminary, the buyer will have to bear the following costs:
the stamps, always in half with the seller: 16 Euro stamp each 4 pages (25 lines to front) for each registered copy of contract. Must then apply to each graphic attachment (such as floor plans, for example) a stamp of € 1,00;
The attainment of the Tax Code
If you are a foreign national, once the seller has accepted your offer to purchase and prior to compulsory registration, that you get with the Inland Revenue assignment of a tax code.
The Tax Code in Italy is an alphanumeric code with a fixed length of 16 characters, which is used to uniquely identify for tax purposes and administrative citizens, non-recognized associations, taxpayers and foreigners born and / or domiciled in Italian.
Casaitalia International will take care of this for you.
The transcript of the preliminary sale
Unlike the pre-registration, transcription is not mandatory and may be useful in special cases, or when he expected a large space of time between the acceptance of the purchase order / preliminary and definitive act of sale (usually 6 months can be considered a normal time).
The transcript may be made by a notary at the Real Estate Registry of the Revenue, upon payment of a fixed transcription of 200 €, which will add the fixed fees transcription of € 35 and the 'notary's fee that depends on the value of the sale.
The final action of sale
The actual transfer of ownership occurs at the time of the final sale.
This must be signed by a notary public must, which is an officer of the Italian government and therefore unbiased, normally chosen by the buyer.
After making a general inspection of documents of origin confirming that the seller is the property owner, that third parties do not have a claim on the property, that everything is in order in terms of cadastral and mortgage planning, the notary will draw up a new contract where, in addition to names, dates, places of birth and social security numbers of the buyer and the seller will be required to indicate the following elements:
Historic buildings: the constraints of cultural heritage
Not all historic buildings are subject to the constraints of the Soprintendenza ai Beni culturali (the government department in charge of cultural heritage); however, in the case that the property is, it will be necessary to make provision in the deed for the law which offers the right of first refusal to the State, at the same price.
Italy has a great many historic buildings, and the likelihood in which the State would exercise its right of first refusal is very slim.
The notary will send the public deed of sale to the Soprintendenza, indicating that the building is subject to the constraints of cultural heritage, upon which the time period in which the Soprintendenza can respond (60 days) will begin. If they do not respond, this means they are not interested.
After 60 days have elapsed without the State having exercised their right of first refusal, the Parties will go back to the notary to sign a document declaring fulfilment of condition precedent. In this document, the Parties basically declare that the State has not been in touch with them, therefore the property can be signed over to the buyer and the final payment (deposited at the notary’s office at the time of the deed of sale) transferred to the seller.
In the event that the State does exercise its right of first refusal, any money which the buyer has given to the seller in the meantime will be returned to them, without interest or penalties.
Transcription of the act of sale
The act of purchase will be transcribed by the notary must within 20 days of signing it at the Real Estate Registry of expertise.
The cost of the transcript of the act will be quantified by the notary public and it must be paid at the signing of the act.
After the successful record of the document to the Real Estate Registry, the buyer will receive a certified copy of the Notary Act of trade.
The costs of the final purchase
The costs of the final act of sale shall be borne by the buyer and are paid to the signing of the act itself.
They are:
N.B. The cost of the notary varies in relation to the sale price. It is advisable to request a quote for the parcel notary once handed over documents for the preparation of the act.
The fees related to the sale
The fees related to the sale depend on whether the seller is a private individual, a company or a construction or renovation, and also depending on the type of purchase: first or second home.
In the case of purchase as "first house" benefits are provided as long as it is a residential property and that does not fall in the category called "luxury".
The price-value rule
In the most common case, in which both the buyer and the seller are two natural persons (individuals), and the good object of sale is an estate for residential purposes (villa, apartment etc....), the buyer may require the application of the rule of the price-value for which will be authorized to pay the taxes related to the sale by calculating not the actual selling price (that will be declared in act) but on the cadastral value which is normally much lower.
When the seller is a private person, the buyer will pay:
If the seller is a construction or renovation company and sell within 5 years after work completion, the buyer will pay:
If the seller is a construction or renovation company and sell within 5 years after work completion, if you do not require the application of VAT, the buyer will pay:
N.B. To take advantage of reduced taxes for the purchase of a property as a "first house" it is necessary that:
The fees for the acquisition of agricultural land:
Technical verifications of the property
Casaitalia, already in the acquiring stage, analyzes the ownership documentation and requires the owner to instruct its own technician to carry out a general inspection of the property and to engage to any discrepancy of the regularization.
The buyer who deems it necessary can, however, delegate a reliable technician (or Casaitalia can suggest a few) to maintain at its own expenses a due-diligence on the property.
Translations
If you do not speak Italian it is necessary that the purchase / pre-sale proposal and the final act of sale, to be translated into your language.
The purchase / pre-sale proposal of sale will be translated for free by our agency, as defined by the act of sale, the notary will instruct a licensed professional for the translation. The cost borne by the buyer for the translation of the Act can amount to an average of 500 Euro + VAT, payable to the notary upon signing of the Act.
The first steps after the purchase
Immediately after the purchase of the property, you will need to: