– when you first contact us because wish to buy a house for sale in Umbria, Tuscany, Le Marche, you have seen on our website or in the press we will call you both to talk to you about that property but also to hear from you a fuller picture of exactly what features you are looking for in your Italian property.
– we will then propose a list of properties which match your requirements as closely as possible for your consideration.
– for any properties which particularly interest you we will share the valuations we have done on them to show you the logical process which led to the advertised asking prices.
– as soon as you are able to plan a trip to Italy we will be delighted to arrange a programme of viewings for you.
– we believe that for these viewings it is in interest of total transparency for you to meet and talk directly to the owners whenever possible.
– if you decide to make an offer on a particular property our role will be to establish between you and the seller a figure that is acceptable to both sides.
– at this point we will prepare a formal offer document including the price being offered, terms of payment and any other conditions (e.g. subject to a mortgage being obtained) as well as fixing a timeline for the purchase process., and submit it to the sellers asking them to sign it for acceptance.
– our after sales service incudes assistance where necessary in dealing with service suppliers, local authorities and in finding reliable and recommended home helps and gardeners.
The Purchase/Sale Process
There are 3 basic steps:-
- Having an offer from the buyer accepted by the seller. We prefer for this to be done in writing but if it is acceptable to both parties a verbal agreement is possible.
- Drafting a Preliminary Contract (Compromesso) for signature by both parties, preferably but not obligatorily before a Public Notary. Such a contract will always be subject to the effective payment of whatever deposit has been stipulated – usually between 10 and 20% of the total price – and only when this deposit has been received by the seller will the Contract assume full legal validity under Italian law. The Law says that should the Buyer withdraw without due cause after paying the deposit, he will forfeit it. Conversely if the Seller withdraws without due cause he will be liable to pay back double the amount of the deposit. If either of the parties wishes to take independent legal advice they should clearly do so before signing the Preliminary Contract! All preliminary contracts must be also registered with the Inland Revenue (Agenzia delle Entrate).
- Completion (Rogito) which must be conducted by a Public Notary within the time frame stipulated in the Preliminary Contract. On payment of the balance of the agreed price Title and Possession are transferred to the buyer. It is the buyer’s privilege to choose which Notary will carry out this procedure and it is his obligation to pay the state tax due (Imposta da Registro) as well as the Notary’s professional fee.
Please ask us if you would like more details of all aspects of the steps summarised above