The Buying Process

If, after you have looked at Borgo Della Nave, you want to go ahead and buy one of the apartments we will take care of all of the legal details. We have an established team including English speaking lawyers in the area to fully advise you. For the sake of independence you should understand that these legal expenses for lawyer advice are for you to pay and we have agreed a standard package at €1,000 should you wish to avail of it. Legal contacts are provided at the end of this page.

The first stage is Contratto Preliminare (preliminary private contract) which is an agreement for us to sell and for you to buy at an agreed price. This is a binding contract and involves paying a deposit. If we fail to complete the contract we are bound to pay you back double your deposit and if you fail to complete you will lose your deposit i.e. if the deposit is €50,000 then this would be foregone if you failed to complete and if we fail to complete we would have to return your €50,000 plus a further €50,000 as a penalty. The defaulting party is also responsible for all costs. This agreement between buyer and seller states the price, completion date, identifies the apartment and its specification, and also includes guarantees from us on title and that the land and building are not legally encumbered.

The Preliminary Contract (correctly called 'Contratto Preliminare di Compravendita' - referred to by some as the 'compromesso') has changed in the past few years and now has to be registered at the tax office (Agenzie delle Entrate) within twenty days. The registration involves a visit to any bank to pay the registration fees of €168 plus 3% of the deposit value but again, our team and your lawyer will guide you through all of this and make it is much simpler than it sounds. You should also note that this 3% is taken off the total costs of buying so isn’t an additional expense.

Completion takes place before a Public Notary (Il Notaio) The Notary is a public official who witnesses the transaction and makes the transfer of title and collects the tax due on the transaction. The notary identifies all of the involved parties in the room (you will have to be present) and then reads through the contract (Rogito). If you don’t speak English we will arrange for a translator.

With all in agreement he will ask each party to sign and the Notary will sign and stamp the document. It is at completion that you, as the buyer, must pay the remaining balance of the price of the property, plus the taxes (reduced by the amount advanced at the time of registering the preliminary contract) and Notary fees. We pay our taxes if there are any due. If the parties have used the services of an Italian agent they will be asked to declare so in the Act and state their particulars.

Italy now has Anti Money Laundering (AML) procedures in place which they call “antiriciclaggio”. The AML requires that the Notary has copies of transfers so that he can see the source and the destinations of funds.

Once the transaction has been completed the Notary registers the new title and mortgage deed (if applicable) within three weeks. After this time has elapsed you’ll get your copy of the registered title deed.

Buying Expenses

There are three main items involved for buyers; tax, Notary fee and estate agent's fee (if applicable). Purchase Tax (IVA) is levied at 10%. Estate Agents fees depend on your agreement with your agent and we pay our fees directly to the agent.