Our small guide to buy a house
The following is not meant to be a comprehensive guide on how to buy a house in Italy, but rather my own little handbook on buying a property in the areas I specialize in.
I am Naima Naspi, a real estate agent with fifteen years of experience helping both Italian and foreign clients buy and sell old houses and farmhouses in the villages and countryside of Lazio, Umbria, and Tuscany, all just one or two hours’ drive from Rome. I would be delighted to guide you in discovering this beautiful part of Italy and help you purchase the house of your dreams!
THE KEY FIGURES
In Italy, the only indispensable professional when buying a property is the notary, who will handle the drafting of the final sales contract. The approximate costs of this contract are outlined below.
It is absolutely unnecessary to hire a lawyer, as both the notary and the real estate agent are highly knowledgeable about the process. In particular, the notary ensures that everything is conducted in full compliance with the law.
Most real estate agents work with both buyers and sellers, representing both parties for properties listed within their own portfolio. In this case, you identify the properties that interest you from the agency’s listings, request an appointment, visit the properties, and, ideally, make a purchase. In this scenario, the agent is paid by both the seller and the buyer at the time the preliminary contract is signed. The average commission for both parties is €4,000 if the house costs less than €100,000, or 4% of the sale price if the house costs more (and, as with most professional services, 22% VAT is added).
Here on www.lecasebelle.com there are dozens of interesting properties that I manage the sale of directly, but if you don’t find something suitable in my listings, I can still act as your buyer’s agent for properties listed by other agencies or by private sellers. This service will not incur any additional costs for you, and 
you’ll benefit from working with a trusted professional who is very familiar with the area, can guide you safely through the entire purchasing process, and speaks English. From what my clients tell me, the language barrier with local agencies is often a major challenge.
Write me at naima@lecasebelle.com
BEFORE FOCUSING ON THE HOUSE, FOCUS ON THE LOCATION
I
taly 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 travel to the areas where you plan to buy. Don’t just rely on photos and videos found online!
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?
- 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?
Don’t hesitate to ask me for advice on the area too!
AND NOW, THE HOUSE!
Once you have identified the area, think about the house… what are it’s most important features? Is an outdoor space essential for you? Or, if the context is beautiful, can you do without it? (a house with garden or terrace has a higher price)
Are practical features such as size, or rather aesthetic features such as a panoramic view or antique interiors, more important to you?
What is your overall budget? (we will see shortly what the additional costs are)
If you’re looking to buy something to renovate, keep in mind that we can manage your renovation as project managers, becoming your point of reference for the project and liaising with all the professionals involved.
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 me only two or three weeks before your arrival to learn more about the properties that interest you! 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.
Or… value your time and ask me to be your property finder. Write me for more naima@lecasebelle.com 😉
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. Now you take the keys, and you officially own your piece of Italy!
—> 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. To these costs there are the costs for the translation or for the power of attorney, which can be around €500/1000. I 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!
I am at your disposal to help you buy the home of your dreams!
Below, Brad, who chose to share some interesting properties from my catalog with his community, provides an honest account of his experience in Italy on his channel, including all its highlights and low points, and offers extremely useful advice based on his experience