When buying a House in Italy, one must be acquainted with the Italian laws that regulate the purchase and the sale of a property, just like in any other country. Use of a real estate agency is always advisable because agents are tightly regulated, and should do all of the searches and investigations about the property so that the purchase will be safe and the buyer protected.

Terra degli Ulivi estate agency will commit to comply all of the legal requirements needed in order to buy a house, including the translation of all the papers and the final purchase deed as required by the Italian law when one of the parties does not understand the Italian language.

Translation services are included in our fees

All translations into English will be done within the agency and costs will be included in our fees. We are fluent in English and Italian, but for other languages an external translator and interpreter will be needed, and will be charged at cost.

Legal assistance from your home country will not be needed if you choose to work with us. In case of need we will cooperate with an Italian lawyer who speaks English.

Choosing a property

The following are suggestions and descriptions of the steps that one has to go through to buy a house. First of all, once you have found the area where you want to do your purchase, we advise you to vist the area to shop around. This is even more necessary for old houses in the historical town centres and for any property located in the country side. The more you see, the better you will be able to understand the real values of the properties. For instance, houses in the country which are over 3 or 4 km from Martina Franca or any other town may appeal to overseas purchasers, and cost less because there is little interest from local buyers who tend to prefer to buy close to an urban centre.

In other words, it’s ‘location, location, location’; the further out you go, the more you get for your money. Of course, this is not always true, and factors like beautiful views, or easy access to the coast will influence values, but this rule works very often. Puglia still represents astonishing value, however, compared to other regions of Italy.

Usually, we show our customers many properties to show the different values and enable them to compare and to choose conscientiously. We are only an hour away from Bari and Brindisi airports, and can help you to reserve hotels, bed and breakfasts or apartments to rent in town or country.

How to buy a property

Once you have found the property you’re interested in, you proceed as follows:

1. The ‘proposta d’acquisto’
First of all you fill out a ‘proposal of purchase’ (‘proposta d’acquisto’) addressed to the vendor. In this, you define the terms of the purchase, the price offered, how you intend to pay (amounts and timing of deposits, interim and final payments) and when the purchase deed will be completed. In other words you dictate your conditions in order to buy the property.

The ‘proposal of purchase’ that Terra degli Ulivi estate agency will draw up on your behalf will be written so that the purchase is effective only if the property has all of the customary legal guarantees against eviction, annoyance, trespass, damage or breach of possession, and free from any restrictive covenants, legal or financial liens or charges, adverse entries or registrations that might be deemed prejudicial.

This does not mean that at the time of the proposal the property must meet all of these legal requirements, but that by the time of the completion of the deed, the vendor must have freed the property from any such debts or restrictions. Usually, the purchaser attaches a small amount of money to the ‘proposal’ as a returnable deposit to show his good will and intention to proceed.

If the vendor accepts and signs the proposal and agrees with the conditions and timetable dictated by the purchaser, the proposal becomes a preliminary agreement. Once the preliminary agreement is accepted, in the case that the purchaser withdraws, the vendor will keep the deposit. If the vendor withdraws the deposit must be returned

2. The ‘Compromesso’
The second step is the ‘Compromesso’; an official preliminary agreement where all of the terms of the proposal of purchase are dictated in more detail. If changes have occurred in negotiation (such as the price or timing), these are re-stated. At this stage the vendor pays a further amount of money, which we always advise to be at least 10% percent of the total sale price. This is because if the vendor changes his mind, for any reason, after the ‘Compromesso’, he has to pay back a sum which is double the amount of the deposit. Additionally, the law will protect the purchaser with the right to reclaim cost from the vendor (for instance fees, travel, expenses, hotels related to the sale).

The purchaser may choose the Notaio, the public officer before whom the sale deed will be completed. We will recommend a Notary whose work has proved satisfactory to other overseas purchasers in the past.

The ‘Compromesso’ stage may be omitted if the purchaser and vendor decide to move directly to draw up the sale deed once all of the conditions stated in the proposal of purchase have been
agreed and the ‘proposta d’acquisto’ has been signed by both parties.

3. The “Rogito” or deed of sale
The final step is the “Rogito” of deed of sale. This will be compiled by the Notary and completed by purchaser and vendor, in his presence. At this stage the transfer of the property with the title of
ownership will take place, and the final payment will be made by the purchaser to the vendor.

The notary will read the deed to the parties, making them aware of their responsibilities, in a formal ceremony. After this reading the translator will repeat the contents of the deed, which we will have previously translated in written form, and which must be attached to the deed for any party who does not understand Italian. In order to complete a deed , a foreign citizen must also have a ‘codice fiscale’, a financial identity number. This can be issued here in Italy or by application via the Italian embassy or consulate in other countries.

Fees and charges
At the time of completing the deed, the vendor will pay the final amount of the sale, taxes and the Notary’s fees. The main tax is the registration tax, which is 10% of the registered fiscal value of the property. However, the Italian government will allow the purchaser to reduce that percentage to 3% if buying that property as a primary residence. Foreign citizens who take advantage of this primary residence easement have to commit to register as an Italian resident within 18 months from the date of the deed. Also, if they sell the house within five years, they lose the 3% advantage and re-pay the difference to the government.

If the property is being purchased from a company, the purchaser will not pay registration tax, but instead will pay I.V.A. (VAT) at 20% of the declared value.

If the property purchased is in the country, the buyer will pay 10% registration tax for the
building, and approximately 18% tax on the value of the land.

Notary fees are not fixed, and depend on the notary, but usually range from 1% to 2% of the total declared value of the property.

Estate agency fees
Our fees are charged to both to the vendor and to the purchaser at 3% of the sale price, or Euro 1,500 for properties up to Euros 50,000 sale price. In the case of Terra degli Ulivi, our fee includes our work to translate the proposal, the compromesso, the deed of sale and any other necessary documents into English. We update clients regularly on progress, in English, by email or by phone.