Those interested in purchasing or selling real estate in Puglia, Italy, often have questions about the local property buying procedure. As promised, here is a quick tutorial.
You should start by verifying the expert’s qualifications by looking into the background of the company managing the property. Therefore, the agent will have to be within the law when a buyer requests evidence.
Real estate agencies operating in Italy must register with the relevant provincial Chamber of Commerce. Both a “partita iva” (Italy’s version of a VAT number) and a “R.E.A.” (Registered Economic Agent) number are required of the businesses.
Due to the lengthy course and final test, it’s not uncommon to communicate with individuals who aren’t members of the Chamber of Commerce. These said brokers operate lawfully but are not authorized to collect any fees from you. In addition, if you decide to purchase a property via one of these, you should know that you are not protected: if something goes wrong, you have no assurances. Of course, it is entirely up to you to decide whether or not to use a professional agent; our advice is simply that you should not take any unnecessary chances with your money.
You should make a verbal offer on the property after you’ve settled on it. In the event that the proprietor gives his or her consent, the following steps should be taken:
- Look at all the paperwork associated with the property.
- Legal possession of a piece of property. Included in this document are the seller’s contact information, the property’s cadastral parcels, the construction permit information, and more.
Building permits are authorized
If a home has, for instance, a room that is not registered on the floorplan or a planning permit does not exist, the property cannot be sold. The permission of building is a document needed in the purchase process, as on that it is mentioned if the property has been built in accordance with the Italian laws (Testo Unico dell’Edilizia, D.P.R. 380/01). However, if the owner can “legalize” the “unregistered party” by submitting a planning permission to the commune where the property is situated, then they should do so.
In the presence of a Notary, the property’s title will be transferred to the buyer after the owner obtains the necessary building permits. We know this may sound strange, but in Italy, a planning permit is not needed if the house you intend to buy is listed on the property title of the seller as a “fabbricato rurale,” “rudere,” “trullo,” “masseria,” etc. “built before the date above.” This is in accordance with Law 765/1967, also known as “Legge 765,” which states that planning permits were not required for building a house in the countryside prior to September 1, 1967
Analyses of cadasters
The visura catastale and the planimetria catastale (the registered floorplan at the Revenue Office) are two components of the cadastral searches. The visura catastale is a document produced by the Italian Revenue Office (Agenzia delle Entrate) that contains information about the property recognized on the map of the region. Before putting a property on the market, we want to have a complete set of records in order to know exactly what we’re dealing with.
Obtain an APE (attestato di prestazione energetica) energy performance certificate
Attaching this certificate to the deed of sale and the lease agreements is mandatory under state law. In a nutshell, it details the property’s energy use and usual energy bills, and provides tips on how to cut down on both.
Credibility and identity checks from the law enforcement
The Notary, a public official who is authorized to stipulate and register the Final Public Act, carries them out.
To ensure the buyer’s safety, we always double-check all documentation prior to the signing of the preliminary contract. In any case, you are free to hire an attorney if you feel more secure doing so.
The title, a cadastral plan filed with the Registry Office, an Energy Performance Certificate, and a construction permit are the very minimum requirements for ownership of real estate. As indicated above, if a home was constructed before to September 1, 1967, it may not need a planning permission. Since then, a planning permission has been needed whenever construction takes place anywhere in Italy’s rural areas (a requirement sometimes known as “Legge Ponte”). The need for a construction permit is waived under following circumstances.
Getting a tax ID (codice fiscale).
Similar to the National Insurance Number in the United Kingdom and the Social Security card in the United States, Italians are issued a codice fiscale. Its primary function is to positively identify people in Italy for administrative purposes like opening a bank account or establishing service for utilities. The Tax Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) issues them.
A new bank account opening.
When purchasing property in Italy, having a bank account there is helpful since you will need to pay for utilities like electricity and water. According to Law 147/2013, art. 1, co. 63, it is really not needed, as you have the option of transferring the balance onto the notary’s bank account, and following the stipulation of the deed of sale, he or she will transfer the cash onto the seller’s bank account.
A non-reversible offer to buy is called a “Proposta irrevocabile d’ acquisto” in Italian.
An irrevocable purchase proposal is a legally binding agreement prepared by licensed real estate agents that indicates the buyer’s intention to acquire a certain property. Buyers often sign the contract first, and its contents—which may contain anything from cadastral information to the purchase price to the amount of the down payment—are exhaustive. On occasion, we will skip this phase and go on to the outline of the contract instead. We pledge to go right to the point, the preliminary contract, if the seller accepts your verbal offer on a home that you’re interested in purchasing.
Compromise/Preliminary Sale Agreement in Italian
A preliminary contract, or “compromesso” or “preliminare di vendita” in Italy, is a legally binding contract drafted by an estate agent, a lawyer, or a notary public that establishes the selling price agreed upon by the parties, the date within the sale that must be stipulated in front of a notary public, and any other agreements. Italian law applies to it and recognizes it.
The final transfer document (Atto pubblico di compravendita/Rogito).
The notary public (a public official representing the Italian government and acting as a neutral party) stipulates all the protections that come with the final deed (also called a deed of sale) when real estate is sold from one party to another.
At this point, you will pay the remaining money owed to the seller using the methods specified on the deed. Unless the notary is fluent in your language, the law requires you to have a copy of the deed translated into your language and the presence of a translator at the time of signing. Within one month of the deed of sale being agreed, the notary will arrange to have it registered at the Registry Office (Conservatoria degli Registri Immobiliari).
Payment to the intermediary
According to the Italian Civil Code (art. 1754), as noted, an estate agent in Italy does not work for a single client and instead focuses on bringing together as many interested parties as possible in order to strike a deal.
In exchange for their services, both the seller and the buyer pay the estate agent a commission of three percent (plus VAT) of the sale price. It is important to remember that the commission is paid in full by both the vendor and the buyer. Unless a prior written agreement is made to collect all commissions from the buyer and not the seller.
Taxes
When we talk about taxes in this article, everything hinges on whether or not you want to make Italy your permanent home. The notary’s fee is variable (based on the value of the property), the Registry tax is 2% of the cadastral value, and the cadastral tax and mortgage tax both cost €50. If not, you’ll have to fork out money for a notary (the amount of which varies depending on the value of the property), plus 7% in registry taxes, 1% in cadastral taxes, and 1% in mortgage taxes (which have nothing to do with mortgages). The price of the property is not used to determine taxes, but rather the lower cadastral value. This will result in a lower total tax bill when the final deed of sale is stipulated.
