Buying a Property In Italy

martindias

So this does cut out one bit of hassle - and I understand that the lawyer you get makes a huge difference to the paper work/bureaucracy. The 'title' on this property does seem rather simple - no big family of siblings fighting for their share on sale, so I'm surmising that transfer may be simpler than most! I understand the most important thing is to ensure there is no existing mortgage on the property!

martindias

The kind of tenancy laws we should have here, in my view. The tenant I have lined up wants a let for three years which fits nicely into my plan. However - I hit many pitfalls in the past and know things never go exactly as planned so the small commitment in cash to buy this place is not crucial to my future income/pension. It may not earn me much, or anything - but if I can pay the costs and still have a beautiful small building in a medieval Italian town, I'll be happy!

:beer:

martindias

Yes I have read a lot of helpful articles now on buying in Italy and the taxes/fees are onerous. Thankfully in my case the owner is offering the place directly to me after I stayed there AirBnB. So at least agency fees are eliminated - but feel certain I have to pay extra for a reputed and English speaking lawyer and to lay out on a good building survey so I know exactly what construction issues there might be.

With Italian banking apparently on the edge of collapse I do fear a sudden Italian Government imposition of an extra property tax to rescue banks! The !!!!!!s

Brightspark87

My Mum and step dad bought in Italy in 2011. One thing to note (no one has mentioned this yet) is Inheritance in Italy is different than the UK so you will need to ensure this is clear in any wills you have. This was important for my family as there are 8 of us kids and we must all agree on the way forward and will automatically inherit it.

You will also need an an Italian bank account and may wish to use a money transfer company to ensure the purchase in euros gets the best rate if you do not have sufficient euros already.

They do not rent the property out - but if they did a local lovely agent in their town but its costs lots of £££ but no hassle. AirBNB etc can be risky but sure you could employee a trusted person to deal with it.

martindias

mjdh1957 wrote: »

Make sure you understand Italian tenancy law. In general, continental countries have stronger tenants' rights than the UK

I have been alerted to tenancy laws on minimum room sizes - i'm trying to find out more. My hope is to do a refurbishment of the cantina to make a third habitable room but someone cautioned this could be below Italian minimum laws on room size for renting! I'm trying to find out more on that!

martindias

Brightspark87 wrote: »

My Mum and step dad bought in Italy in 2011. One thing to note (no one has mentioned this yet) is Inheritance in Italy is different than the UK so you will need to ensure this is clear in any wills you have. This was important for my family as there are 8 of us kids and we must all agree on the way forward and will automatically inherit it.

You will also need an an Italian bank account and may wish to use a money transfer company to ensure the purchase in euros gets the best rate if you do not have sufficient euros already.

They do not rent the property out - but if they did a local lovely agent in their town but its costs lots of £££ but no hassle. AirBNB etc can be risky but sure you could employee a trusted person to deal with it.

Yes I need to find out more about opening a bank account as a non resident!

Brightspark87

Getting the account wasn't too difficult - they chose a bank that was in their local town to make life easier.

martindias

Slave_to_the_job wrote: »

I bought a ski apartment in December in Italian Alps, all I would say is be very careful. Italy is certainly not like the Uk when buying / selling property.

Yes it is the selling bit that worries me - not that I plan to sell soon but if I ever had to realise the asset quickly then I know I'd be in stumm. When I last visited earlier this year the number of Vende signs was alarming. Seems few people can access mortgages in Italy so few locals are buying. Possibly one reason the property I'm interested in seems such a bargain, but when I do internet searches in the local area I see the price for the number of square feet is on the high side. You couldn't easily get a garage for that price here (Liverpool)....

marsman802

I'm married to an Italian so well aware of the fun and games you are about to encounter!

Good luck and I trust you have patience and some good negotiation skills.

I say this as someone who paid for my wedding at 4am after the wedding finished using only cold hard cash. Imagine that - an entire function for 200 people including an 8 course meal being paid after the event.

Lots of experience on renting out property over there as well - I do like the way they operate - everything is open to negotiation :-)

Good luck!

martindias

I wonder could I hand over the cash for the house 24 hours after signing the contact ��