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Useful information before buying your property in Italy:
Before the Final Deed
As we explained previously the commission due from the buyer is usually is around 3% depending on the value of the property to be paid in the Preliminary Contract (Compromesso) phase.To take the property off the market, you will need to make an Offer (Proposta di Acquisto). At this stage you will negotiate the price and the terms of payment. The Estate Agent will ask you for a deposit from around €5,000 depending on the value of the property. It will be a binding deposit only if the seller accepts the offer otherwise it will be given back free of any penalty or indemnity. The Seller should state in the offer the availability of the property, guarantee that all taxes have been paid and that it complies with building regulations. A Preliminary Contract (Proposta Irrevocabile di acquisto/Compromesso) should be written at the Estate Agent or a Public Notary (Lawyer) office. It will contain all the details of the final contract like the full price of the property, methods of payments and dates for signing the final contract. The Notary will investigate to verify that there are no loans or other impediments, and that all permits and permission are in order. The agreed Deposit (Caparra Confirmatoria), approximately 30% of the sale price, should be paid. When the Preliminary Contract (Proposta Irrevocabile di acquisto), that is a legally binding and private contract, has been signed the Buyer will lose their deposit if they back out of the contract and the Seller will be obliged to repay double of the deposit if he fails to fully apply all the terms of the contract. You will probably need a Surveyor (Geometra) to collect all the documents needed from the local and regional councils for the final contract. In order to ask for a mortgage the bank makes an initial check and will then send a surveyor to estimate the value of the property. This costs about €700. You can expect to obtain up to about 70% of this estimated value, and more if you are resident in Italy. You need to allow one month after giving the bank the documentation to obtain this mortgage money. It can be possible that the surveyor’s estimate is lower than the actual price for which the house is being sold. There are different mortgages available. The mixed rate mortgage is popular but you need to ask the bank to verify which type suits your needs. At the time of signing for the property you will also sign the bank mortgage contract before the lawyer. Usually some money is handed over at this stage from which the bank’s expenses will be deducted 0.002% for the preliminary investigation together with tax at 0.25% .The balance will only be available when the property is registered at the National Register of Mortgages. This usually takes about one month. If you are resident in Italy you can deduct up to €3500 of the bank interest from your annual tax return, but only if it is your first residence and you sign the bank loan within six months before or after buying the house. Before the Final Deed you need to show a valid passport; a tax ID (Codice Fiscale) that can be prepared in the buyers country of residence, at the Italian Consulate or in Italy; a bank account in Euro.
The Final Deed process
On the basis of the preliminary contract, the Notary will prepare a Final Deed (Rogito), equivalent to the Title Deed, that will be registered in the Property Registration Office (Ufficio dei Registri e Conservatoria Immobiliare). The Seller and the Buyer will sign the Deed in the office of the Notary who will countersign it. By law he will collect the Government Taxes:
- 10 % of the declared price of the building
- if you will be resident at the property within 18 months from the date of purchase, you can claim at the time of signing the Final Deed some fee advantages. If it is your first residence in Italy (Prima Casa) the 10% will drop to 3% for the ‘imposta di registro’ and about €300 for the ‘imposta ipotecaria e catastale’, it will be 4% (VAT) if the property is bought by a Company.
- fixed tax of €500
If the Buyer does not speak sufficient Italian, an official translator will be needed or a special power of attorney can be given to the Estate Agent or someone you know who speaks Italian and English. The Notary fees have to be paid at the moment of the signature. It will be approximately 2.5% of the total declared value of the property, with a minimum charge of €1,000. All the other fees are to be paid at the signing of the contract:
- Translator's fee of about €300 (if needed)
- The surveyor's fee (perizia) , from €500 to €1200 depending of the work done
After the Final Deed
Taxes to be paid in Italy are relatively low:
I.C.I. is a tax on the stated value of the property and is about 0.6% per annum.
Rubbish collection tax (Immondizie)
Capital Gains Tax will be paid at 37% if you sell the property before five years of owning it.
STATEMENT OF EXCLUSION OF LIABILITIES – This information should only be considered as a guide line to be checked with the Estate Agents/Banks at the moment of the purchase and you should not rely on it without their additional professional assistance. We can accept no responsibility for any person relying on the information provided in this document only, without specific professional further assistance on the particular case.
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For any information please contact us: italianriviera@gmail.com or call 0044 (0) 2081334413