Yes, I am. I have a license from the Chamber of Commerce of Lucca (Nr. 1842). This means that I am trained and have a licensed issued by the Chamber of Commerce, after following real estate classes and passing an examination. I am also obliged to have professional insurance policy and I must follow ethical standards and regulations of the Italian law 39/1989.

Any persons not holding this license are acting illegally, and cannot protect you.

I am also member of the FIMAA board (Federazione Italiana Mediatori Agenti D’Affari).

I have been working in real estate in Italy since 2004, so I have over 15 years of experience.

Yes, you absolutly can by a house in Itay without being an Italian resident.

There are some restrictions on who can and can’t by property in Italy. However, it’s largely seen as a “no restrictions” country.

The only people who may find restrictions are those who reside in countries outside of the EU, unless of course, you live in a country with reciprocity. For example, any US citizen may buy property in Italy, because any Italian may buy property in the US.

You do want to ensure that, if you’re sending money from your home country to make the purchase, it’s officially documented. This is to ensure that whatever proceeds come from a future resale can then be repatriated.

I have many years of experience in assisting non Italian residence purchase property in Italy so if you have any questions or concerns about this don’t hesitate to ask.

No, in Italy we do not have a multi listing.

However if you don’t want to spend time looking through all of the multiple portals selling properties and contacting the individual listing agents, you can hire me as your Property Finder and I will present multiple options to you.

I work with a network of other real estate agents and I can present you many properties that are not on my list, this will make your search much easier, since you will be dealing only with one person that represents you and your interests.

There are 3 main steps once you have chosen your dream home:

1) The buyer makes an offer (proposta irrevocabile di acquisto) in writing to the vendor, in which is stated: the price offered, the dates of the payments and the amounts. Also any requests that the buyer wishes to include should be added in writing. At this stage a first down payment is paid, as an initial deposit, in order to take the property off the market.

2) After negotiations have been completed a preliminary contract is drafted.

3) The final purchase contract is signed in front of a Notary, final payment is made and the keys to the property are consigned to the new owner.

Yes. One always tries to negotiate a better price.

You will need the following to buy a house in Italy:

• ID (a passport or an EU identity card),
• A valid entry visa or a permit to stay (for non EU citizens),
• An Italian fiscal code number (codice fiscale)
• An Italian bank account

Not necessarily at the preliminary stage.

A personal cheque from any European bank in Euro is fine. Otherwise the offer will be written in such a way to allow for a wire transfer to be sent to the vendor’s bank account once the agreement is accepted and signed.

For the final contract you will need to pay the final amount with a cashier’s check. Also once you are an “owner” an Italian bank account is most helpful for all future expenses and running costs of your house.

It is not difficult to open a bank account, but it can be a time-consuming, although Italian banks are getting better. We can help you open a bank account. We highly recommend that you open an account at a branch that is conveniently located to your property.

Essentially, the only difference is that at the time of the preliminary contract, actual ownership does not change.

Generally, a preliminary contract is signed and registered when there is a long time gap between the signed offer and the final contract. The buyer wants to give the vendor a larger amount of money to guarantee that the seller will maintain his obligation.

Should the seller renege on his obligation, he will have to pay the deposit back plus the penalty fee, which is usually the amount of the deposit. Also the time gap may be because the buyer needs more time to accumulate the funds necessary for the purchase, or the vendor cannot vacate the property at the right time, for whatever reason the two parties must agree to delay in signing the final contract.

Not at all, you can avoid the preliminary contract and go directly to the final one.

In Italy only a notary official (notaio) can create, officiate, and validate a contract, whether it’s for buying or selling a property, or establishing a company or partnership.

The notaio is the person who represents the State.

The buyer has the right to choose the notary official and therefore pays.

The buyer is responsible for the purchase tax.

No. Before signing a contract the notary official needs to make sure that you have fully understood what you are going to sign. Unless you know Italian reasonably well, you are required to have an official translator, or give power of attorney to someone who knows Italian and can sign for you.

Yes, as there will be more paperwork involved, and you have to pay a translator.

No, you can purchase a property by giving power of attorney to a third party who can be present, and speaks Italian.

Yes, I am happy to offer this service for you for at an additional cost.

As a rule, there are quite a few; Notary Official’s fees, purchase taxes (calculated on the cadastral value), and the real estate agent’s commission, which is 3% + VAT (22%) on the agreed sales price.

The Catasto is the Land Registration Office, it is a “database” of all land (and what is grown on it) and buildings within the Italian borders.

The “cadastral” value of a house is the fiscal value that the Italian State assigns to a building, apartment and land. This value has nothing to do with the commercial value or selling price.

Generally yes, it depends on your citizenship and your economic situation. Currently it is more difficult due to the economic crisis and credit crunch, but generally speaking it is possible, however it takes a little longer to negotiate.

Although you are free to list your property with multiple agencys. We strongly recomend not doing this and instead choosing just one adgency to represent you.

This will make your sale a lot easier for you.

A good agent will network with other real estate agencies, look after your interests, and protect you and your property.

If you give one agency the “exclusivity”, this will enable that agency to invest, advertise and represent your property more vigorously. Also, one agency can coordinate all the house visits, rather than you dealing with numerous agents.