Consider these when you buy a property in Italy
In this section we will give you very important tips on how to buy a house in Italy. First of all you should get an idea about the types of property available in Italy. Then there are various steps which you should follow when purchasing an Italian property. Also we have include a breakdown of the costs involved when purchasing an Italian property.

Different Categories of Italian property

Appartamento- Apartment
Monolocale- Studio Appartment/1 room (usually includes separate bathroom)
Bilocale- Apartment /2 rooms (usually includes separate bathroom)
Casa- House or home (A general description applicable to any property)
Casale- Farmhouse
Casetta- Small house
Palazzo- Palace/ Mansion / Block of flats (Any very large building)
Rustico- "Rustic" property in need of restoration.
Rovina- Ruin (usually in the historical sense)
Villa- detached house with surrounding area / garden.
Villino- Cottage or small house with garden.

Where should you buy an Italian property
Location is a very important fact that you should consider before you buy your property. So you have to carefully consider your needs in short and long term, before buying your property.
Accessibility

You should know where the hospitals, the railway station, the local airports are.
Also If you are going to buy a Casale (farmhouse) in the middle of the countryside you might find some roads inaccessible without a 4 x 4. Is the area still accessible if it snows or if it is icy?

Facilities

What are the facilities you and your family members are mostly focusing on? What are different interests and hobbies of each family member? When you consider about your new home, you should consider about each family member’s interests and needs as much as possible. How far do you want to live from the supermarkets, towns, schools and playgrounds, hospitals, doctors, dentists, hairdressers, sports facilities, bars, restaurants, hotels, beaches, mountains, and so on.

Resale value

Probably you may want to resell your house one day. Think whether your house is resalable. You may have too think in different points of views, also consider about the point of views of different buyers. Does the area has some attractions so that other buyers will also be interested to live here? Does the area have most of the facilities to attract new buyers? You should consider what might be important to other buyers too.

 

The Purchase process

Then we will give you some information about the Purchase process. You must be familiar with the following two words:

"Compromesso" and "Rogito"

These two words tell you about the two stages of the contract which you should make to own a home in Italy.

The Compromesso is the preliminary contract. With this contract you can secure your purchase with a deposit called a "caparra" . The Rogito is the final contract. This contract will be done when the sale of the house is finalized.

When you find an interesting property, and you want to make an offer for that, the estate agent may ask you to sign a "Proposta irrevocabile d'acquisto". If I translate this to English, it gives you the meaning, "irrevocable proposal to buy". This does not have any bond between the vendor and you and also you have not yet reserved your home. This is just an offer price and a written acceptance by the vendor. This type of a proposal is only enforceable between the vendor and the estate agent. As such, within the time limit stipulated within the proposal, if the estate agent finds another buyer who makes a better offer for the same property, the agent is able to make another "irrevocable proposal to buy" with another buyer for the same property without letting you know. So you should be aware that you haven't reserved your property until you sign the "Compromesso".

Preliminary Contract - Compromesso

When a buyer and the vendor come to a price agreement about a property, you can sign a
a preliminary contract or "Compromesso" .

The Compromesso is composed of:

· The Selling Price
· Description of the Vendor and Buyer
· Description of the property to be sold
· The deposit (caparra or deposito) This varies, but it is usually around a third of the Sale price.
· Date of the Final Contract (Rogito)

When you and the vendor decide to sign a Compromesso (the preliminary contract) both parties are bound by law, if the Compromesso is registered with the Local Registration Tax Office. The Compromesso is a proof of intention to buy and an agreement to sell. Once both of you have signed the Compromesso you are both committed to the transfer of the property.
If you as a buyer, want to still withdraw, you may do that at a risk of loosing your deposit. The vendor may also withdraw from the Compromesso but will have to return the deposit and he has to pay a penalty too. A Compromesso contract is very rarely broken, and it normally ends up with the signing of the final contract or " Rogito" .

Tax Code - Codice Fiscale

Before you want to buy the property and sign the final contract (Rogito), you will need to have a tax code called a Codice Fiscale. You have to get this in order to pay tax on the building. The Codice Fiscale works in much the same way as a National Insurance Number and is easy to apply for.

Final Contract – Rogito
After signing the Compromesso (the preliminary contract), it will take a few months to sign the Rogito (the final contract) or the final contract.
The Rogito is a legal document which will be signed on the presence of an official body called a “Notaio”. (Notary/Lawyer). He exercices most of the functions of the escrow company in the US, or of the solicitor in UK. As an "escrow company", the notaio checks that the title deeds are in order, that the property is legally registered and has no illegal buildings. Something the notaio does not do is to hold the paperwork on a mortgage note between the vendor and seller, collecting payments and issuing statements the way an escrow company in the US can do. Usually, property in Italy is bought in cash, or less often with a bank loan.

He oversees the signing of the Rogito, registers the Rogito to the Land Registry and collects the tax on the property (for this reason you need the Codice fiscale). The Rogito (the final contract) will consist of:

o Description of the property and land for sale
o The date of the Sale
o Name of the vendor and the new buyer, i.e. you
o The Declared value of the property (NOT THE PURCHASE PRICE.)
(The Declared value is often considerably less than the Sales Price as it is based on official Land Registry price tables and is used to calculate the Property Tax)

The process goes as follows:
The Notaio (Notary/Lawyer) the Vendor and yourself will all be present (unless you appoint a legal power of attorney to represent you). The Notaio will want to know that the buyer has given proof of good credit to the seller and will be able to pay the sale price. Having satisfied this question, (usually a banker's guarantee) the Notaio will go on to read out the Rogito.

If, however, you do not speak Italian you can have a " scrittura privata " (a simplified version of the contract) read out by the Notaio and directly translated by a representative. Having read out the Rogito, the Notaio, the vendor, and yourself will all sign the Rogito. The Notaio will then register the sale with the Land Registry. After this process is completed you own the Italian property.

Typical Cost:-

Purchase Price (- deposit)
Purchase Tax 10% if non Resident, 3-4% if Resident (based on Declared Price)
Notary/Lawyer’s fee, 2.5% of Declared price
Estate Agency fee 3-4% of Purchase Price
Bolli (Stamp duty) 1% of Declared Price

Residency - Residenza

Once you may have bought your Italian property, you may stay in Italy only for your Summer or Winter Holidays, or you may live in Italy permanently. If you want to stay in Italy for more than a vacation, you should consider applying for residency here in Italy, because the cost of being a non-resident in Italy can be more expensive.

NOTE: To claim purchase tax as a resident on your property you must claim residency within half past one year of signing the Rogito.

Cost Breakdown
If you buy a property with a purchase price of 200,000 Euros the Declared Land Registry value will be about 120,000 Euros approximately.
The Purchase tax, Notaio's fee and Stamp duty will be calculated on the Declared Land Registry value.

Typical total Cost for a House selling for 200,000 Euros with a declared value of 120,000 Euros

Non Resident Resident
Purchase PricePurchase TaxNotary/Lawyer’s feeEstate Agency feeBolli (Stamp duty)TOTAL 200.00012.0002.0006.0001.000219.000 200.0003.6002.0006.0001.000212.600

Please note: the cost calculation mentioned above can be used only as a guide. This can vary.

Maintenance Costs

There are also running costs to consider when purchasing a house in Italy and generally include the following:
- Property taxes (rates)
- Buildings Insurance
- Contents Insurance
- Utilities (electricity, gas, telephone, water)
- Waste or Garbage tax ( tasse comunale dei rifuti)
- Community fees (Spese del condominio - only applicable if you are part owner of a community building or land e.g. an apartment in a block of flats.)
- Garden maintenance
- Swimming pool maintenance