Since 2018, interest in Italian property by citizens of CIS countries has increased, this is due to favorable prices in the market, including in Sardinia. The procedure of buying in Italy is not simple and can be very confusing for people who do not speak Italian and do not know all the peculiarities of working in this field . Italian real estate market is regulated by law and all procedures must be in accordance with the law on the registration of transactions with foreign nationals. The registration and preparation of the package of documents is radically different from the Russian one.
Therefore, foreigners often turn to experienced consultants and professionals who are able to assess all the risks and be very honest with the buyer, before he/she signs something or pays. Only with the right accompaniment and trust between buyer and Agent, the stress will be minimized.
According to the Italian law, real estate can offer only licensed real estate agent or Real Estate Agency authorized by the owner by the agreement of the exclusive contract, notarized power of attorney or the owner himself. To conduct the final stage of the transaction, can only real estate agent who is registered in CONFCOMMERCIO (General Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and has received a license for this activity or Real Estate Agency.
Before you start inquiring about all the details of the procedure, you need to consider your goals for the purchase.
Choice of housing
First of all, you need to decide what type of housing and for what purposes you want to buy. It can be a modern villa, an apartment with all the amenities, built with the most modern materials, an old house in need of cosmetic repairs or renovation. We advise to plan for what purposes you need housing, it will allow you to save a decent amount of money and time in the future: rental short / long term, a B&B, vacation for his family, to move to a new place of residence residence residence – education of children / business / insurance medicine.
Planning to rent out purchased housing, tourist rentals, it is very important to consider that in the summer period in Sardinia, all the beaches, very well served by comfortable public transport, because they have a very high cost-effective potential, thanks to the constant flow of foreign tourists, and the Italians themselves.
The procedure for buying property in Italy
The procedure consists of several steps.
First step;
Once you have chosen a property in Sardinia, made an official offer to buy, called proposta irrevocabile d’acquisto (literally from the Italian “offer to buy”), with translation into Russian and legalization at the Italian Embassy in Russia.
Second step;
Offer to buy
In the text of the offer to buy specifies the price for which you are willing to buy the property and the validity of your offer (usually 7-15 days). “An offer to buy” does not obligate the seller to accept it, but you are obligated to buy the property for the stated price if the seller accepts your offer. Therefore, it is important to get all the necessary information and advice before making an “offer to buy. Typically, the “offer to buy” is a standard form issued by CONFCOMMERCIO, which provides real estate agency or real estate agent.
Once the seller has accepted your offer, the next step is to sign a preliminary contract (preliminare di vendita or compromesso). By signing this contract, the seller agrees to complete the transaction on the terms listed therein. The contract can list all the clauses the parties wish to include, the main clauses:
- object data;
- the names of the seller and the buyer;
- the price of the transaction, as well as the method and term of payment;
- date of signing the notarial deed ;
- bail amount. Usually at this stage, the buyer leaves a deposit (acconto) of 2-5% of property value.
The real estate agent draws up the real estate in Italian, but you have to translate it for yourself to understand what it is about and what terms and conditions you commit yourself to.
The deposit, called “caparra”, is paid at the signing of the compromesso and is usually between 10 and 20% of the value of the object.
There are two types of collateral:
- caparra penitenziale
If the buyer changes his mind about continuing the purchase after signing the preliminary contract, the seller keeps the deposit. If the seller decides to renegotiate, he will have to return the deposit to the buyer in double the amount as compensation.
- caparra confirmatoria
Caparra conformatoria, which is the same as caparra penitenziale, but gives both parties the opportunity to go to court to force a deal.
Step Three;
Notarial deed
One of the duties of the notary is to check the real estate documents for various parameters in order to draw up a contract, the so-called rogito or atto di compravendita. The real estate agent or agency, is obligated to check all necessary documents for the transaction and provide to the notary. Please note that it is the responsibility of the notary to perform a check only on certain parameters.
One of the important points is to provide the notary (codice fiscale taxpayer code) for the transaction. Russian citizens do not have a residence permit in Italy, and therefore do not have codice fiscale. In this case, the transaction can only be done through a real estate agent or agency.
After all the necessary checks are completed, a date and time are set for the parties to sign the notarial deed. The buyer transfers the money to the deposit account of the notary’s office and it is kept until both parties sign the purchase agreement. In the absence of one of the parties, on the day of signing the notarial deed, the money is returned to the buyer’s account and the transaction is considered not completed.
If you do not speak Italian, Italian law requires you to hire an interpreter in order to fully understand what is being said and what you are signing. In case you cannot attend the transaction in person, you can delegate a representative who speaks Italian to represent your interests under a notarial power of attorney issued by you in his name. The power of attorney is translated into Italian and legalized through the Italian Embassy.
Once both parties have signed the notarial deed, ownership of the home passes from the seller to the buyer. After that, the buyer must pay for the purchased home, notary services and taxes. The notary will then register the notarial deed and give you your registered copy. Registration time can take from three days to a month.
Once you have received from the notary, a copy of the registration of your home with the Department of Real Estate, you must go to the utilities to replace the owner’s agreements.
You must be logged in to post a comment.