What are the procedures to follow when buying in Italy?

What are the procedures to follow when buying in Italy?

It is good to inquire and arrive prepared before carrying out a very delicate action such as buying a house. Precisely for this reason, we recommend that you always rely on an expert in the sector, real estate agents or real estate agencies that offer consultancy activities in the search for the property, manage the first contracts and can ensure assistance in the various stages of the sale which are:

• the negotiation or pre-contractual phase;
• the irrevocable purchase proposal;
• acceptance of the purchase proposal;
• the preliminary contract;
• the deed of real estate sale or notarial deed.

The customer or company coming from abroad must necessarily follow the regulations of the Italian law which imposes some fundamental requirements such as the possession of a tax code issued by the tax office, or it can be requested at the Italian Consulate (in any city of origin ) while for companies it must be requested directly from the competent Revenue Agency in Italy. The buyer, in the event that he cannot be present himself during the transition period, entrusts an Attorney with the task of following the necessary operations until the end, which will take place after registration.

Let’s better define the points to follow:

– One of the most important phases is undoubtedly the negotiation, necessary to define the terms and details of a transfer, such as to be able to satisfy both the buyer and the seller. From here the payment methods are established, the limits with respect to the delivery of the property and the signing of the deed of sale, the notice by the buyer of the possible need to access a mortgage and the communications of any existing constraints on the ownership by the seller.

– The second phase concerns the purchase proposal that binds the party proposing the purchase after signing. However, it is not binding on the seller until he signs it. If at the expiry of the term of validity the seller does not accept, the proposal will be useless. Therefore, for both parties, it is advisable to include mortgage registrations or charges of any kind in the proposal. During the proposal it is right to read the main documentation relating to the property, as well as indicating whether you intend to take advantage of a mortgage or any other payment procedure.

– Acceptance of the proposal follows, accompanied by a non-interest bearing check which in the event of non-acceptance by the seller will be returned, on the contrary if the contract is concluded, with the approval of the seller, this sum will become a confirmation deposit. (Article 1385 of the Civil Code). All payments must be made through checks or bank transfers and must be kept until the notarial deed is signed. With the contract concluded, the Real Estate Agent has the right to receive the commission.

– The preliminary sale is a document that sees the commitment between the two parties to sell and buy, with a precise identification of the parties themselves (if there are more than one) and the object for sale. This can be drawn up with the assistance of a professional, who in Italy often identifies with the figure of the Notary, who will take care of the drafting of the final deed and will make an accurate assessment in the tax field, will carry out inspections of mortgage surveys. and cadastral, will verify the validity of each clause, will check the personal data, the exact identification of the parts and the property, the agreed price, the payment methods, the date on which the parties intend to stipulate the notarial deed indicating the chosen notary, of the existence or not of mortgage or other bonds. This is followed by the registration of the purchase proposal and the preliminary at the Revenue Office and the transcription of the preliminary at the Land Agency Real Estate Advertising Service.

– Finally, the signing of the final sale contract, or notarial deed which is the main sales contract, signed by the buyer and the seller before the Notary, chosen and paid by the buyer. The notary has the task of verifying that the property is full, not burdened with prejudicial formalities and of checking the identity of the owners and the identification of the property to be purchased. From that moment the asset will be transferred in all respects from the seller to the buyer.