Villas for sale in Italy. Italian real estate and property

Overview of Purchase Procedure and VSI Terms

To make a property purchase in Italy you will need an independent , state-regulated lawyer/solicitor called a notaio (no-tie-o), who is essentially the equivalent of a public notary.

The notaio will:

advise you (and we can interpret) on all necessary obligations by you
make the requisite enquiries at the local land registry office
complete the purchase.

A notaio is regulated by strict Italian state laws governing the sale and purchase of property and it is solely the notaio who carries full responsibility for the legal aspects of the sale. Once all the relevant land and financial checks have proved in order and to your satisfaction, the notaio's act of completing the sale is your guarantee under Italian Law that all legal aspects are in order and that the property is owned by you.

It is not difficult to find a notaio, and many are reachable via their web sites or through the Italian phone directory. VSI will soon be making a list available online of independent notaii throughout the relevant regions in which we operate.

Steps of the purchase procedure
Below is an outline of the various stages in the purchase procedure. It should be noted that the vendor is free to pay for the property in full at one time, or to make two separate payments at different times. The details below are the most commonly held practices.

The sale is agreed and the buyer appoints a notaio , (you may already have done so however). The notaio is notified of the sale agreement and given details of the purchase. The notaio carries out the relevant checks on the legal and financial status of the property, ensuring that it is owned by the vendor and that no outstanding debts are secured on the property.
Both purchaser and vendor attend the notaio's offices where the Preliminary Contract - the Compromesso - is now filed. The buyer is required to make a payment of up to 25% of the purchase amount. A date is set in the compromesso for the final completion of the sale, often up to 6 months after the date of the compromesso.
Note: under Italian Law it is legal for the estate agent to carry out the compromesso without the intervention of a notaio. The choice of in-agency or at the notaio rests solely with you, the purchaser.
Once the monies paid at the signing of the compromesso are shown to have cleared the vendors account (a matter of days), the buyer is given the keys and takes possession of the property. The buyer can now legally reside at the property.
The buyer is free to pay the balance of the amount owing on the purchase any time between the date of the compromesso, and the expiry of the date for completion stated in the compromesso. The buyer is encouraged to do so at the earliest opportunity to avoid any unnecessary inconvenience or costs. When the buyer elects to pay the balance, both they and the vendor meet at the offices of the notaio, where the Final Act - or simply l'atto in Italian - is carried out, after which full legal ownership is transferred to the buyer.
It should be noted that at the Final Act there will also be state taxes, notaio fees and estate agent fees (if applicable) payable. The state tax is 4% of the purchase price while the notaio generally charge between 2-3% of the purchase price. Unlike the United Kingdom and USA, all real estate agents in Italy are legally allowed to charge a fee to the purchaser between 2-4% of purchase price.
The purchaser is protected under Italian law. Should the vendor fail to complete the final act within reasonable time of the date set in the compromesso (preliminary contract), or should the vendor refuse to complete the sale for what ever reason, the buyer is entitled to full refund and compensation. The amount of compensation is fixed in italian law and equals the amount paid at the signing of the preliminary contract.
VSI cannot be held responsible in the unlikely event that the purchase is not carried out within the time frame stipulated in the preliminary contract. If such a circumstance should arise, VSI will be entitled to payment of its commission on the expiry of the deadline in the preliminary contract regardless of whether or not the sale is completed. In the case where the delay is not due to the purchaser's negligence, VSI may nevertheless, at its own discretion, continue to assist the purchaser towards a satisfactory conclusion of the purchase or restitution of monies.

Summary of purchase procedure

Purchasing in Italy is different to many other countries, particularly USA and UK.

Payment is usually made in stages, though possession of the property can sometimes be had after the first stage.
Usually there are no more than two payments to make up the full amount, after which the property is wholly and legally owned by the purchaser.
Should the seller renege or in any way default on their part of the sale once a payment has been made, the purchaser has right to full restitution of monies paid, plus a penalty equal to the sum paid.

It should be noted that in the vast majority of purchases the completion of a sale is carried out without problem either technical or legal.

Our Policy and Terms

VSI hosts properties advertised with registered estate agents as well as with private vendors.

VSI makes the introduction to the vendor on your behalf, but is not a party to the legal procedure of the sale (that is, not a signatory in any contract required by Italian Law), unless the property is owned by VSI. We may be, however, present during all important meetings with the vendor and/or your legal representative, ensuring that you are fully and clearly informed of all the relevant issues. We will be happy to communicate on your behalf at any time you feel the need to raise a query or clarify a point. Please note however, that the cost of translations of official and legal documents that arise during the sale transactions are to be met by the buyer (not amounting to a large sum however).

Our recommended translation service are language consultants tectalk.it or 24hours.it . Alternatively you may wish to make your own arrangements. (Note: some lawyers may already possess duplicates of the forms in English though this is not guaranteed, and will vary from area to area).

Our service covers: providing information on the property to you (photos, description etc); receiving and answering all your queries regarding the property and anything related to the law of property purchasing. Though VSI assists in this manner, VSI cannot be held to any legal obligations regarding the property itself, such obligations being the sole responsibility of the lawyer conveying the sale.

VSI property services are facilitators only and are not official estate agents in Italy. Our principle function is to greatly simplify the purchase of property in Italy, given the language factor and that Italian law may sometimes be complex. We also provide language interpretation during all important meetings between the buyer, the vendor and lawyers, though this does not legally obligate VSI in anyway. We aim to facilitate the procedure and help satisfy the purchaser that all is in order by providing adequate language and procedural interpretation. We will endeavor to assure the interests of the purchaser as our first priority, and assist the purchaser in establishing confidence in the purchase.

Any representations made about a property either on our web site or in writing or in person are made in good faith and are correct to the best of our knowledge, but cannot be a guarantee on that or any property.

Details of properties displayed on the VSI web site are accurate in so far as the information provided to us by the vendor and are for initial indication only. No guarantee is made that they are absolutely correct and we do not guarantee in any way the quality of a property. The property must be viewed by the purchaser before any agreement to buy is proposed.

Please also refer to Note 7 above in the purchase procedure, as this also forms part of the terms offered by VSI.

Please Email or call VSI for any specific enquiry.

Direct Tel +39 333 108 4326