Buying a house in Tuscany
This article will attempt to outine some of the things you need to be aware of should you be looking to buy a property in Tuscany.
Estate agents
Just as in the UK, estate agents in Italy's social hierarchy are placed one peg below scoundrel. Nobody likes them because they show you a house and take a massive commission, and more often than not omit certain essential details regarding a property to close the deal. Therefore, exactly the same process should be followed when buying a house in Italy, as buying in the UK. Pay the £100 to have an expert come along with you to evaluate the property.
Here is a small list of some of the pitfalls that other property buyers can fall foul of (including Italians)
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All rooms, to be classified habitable (abitabile) need to be a minimum of 2 metres 70 in height. The only exception to this rule is bathrooms, which can arrive at 2 metres 50 and still be classified acceptable legally (a norma). The catasto, which is the document held by the local registry office that shows the house floor plan will detail the correct format of the house structure. Why is this important? Well, because it might be that you are shown a house that has 3 bedrooms, but in fact one of them is in a room that is not classified habitable. Buying a house in Italy is quite a formulaic process. People tend to look at overall metres sqaured, number of bedrooms and services (bathrooms, storage). Price is set accordingly. Therefore if you are going to a house that has three bedrooms, but the third has been made from a room that is not classified as abitabile, you might have some bargaining leverage - if a house is being sold for E200,000 as three bedrooms, but there are only 2 according to the plan, so you might get E20,000 off. The exception, is in the case that it can be proven that a room was classified on the catasto fine, by prior evidence (for example if a bedroom had always been in a room with ceilings lower than the minimum standard). This is more likely in houses that are very old. It worth knowing about this important element because all new build houses have to comply with this standard (if you are buying one of these) and for older houses an awareness can only improve any contractual negotiation. Clearly if you like a house you buy it regardless, but a handle on building regulations can only help. If you're in the processes of buying a house and need someone to guide you through this process, use the contact form to get in touch.
* thanks to Nicholas Tedford for this refined tuning - Conformità unbanistico (Urban Conformity) is the term applied to a house that meets the minimum requirements in terms of the relationship between the windows and the floor space. Literally the relationship between the size of the window and the floor space need be one-eighth. IE if you have a massive room and a tiny window it is not to the conformity of the law. It is worth noting that many of the houses that were built in Italy, before this law was passed, do not have conformity and this is fine, so long as the house you intend to leave the house as you buy it. However, if you plan to do substantial works to the house, at the end of the project, when the architect submits the finished plans to the local council, this conformity issue could be raised (if the works completed in the house did not address this conformity problem). The best advice to give is that whatever house you are going to buy to make sure that there is an explicit declaration of Conformità when the Compromesso is made.
- Denuncia Inizio Attività (DIA) is a critical step once you have purchased your house and if you intend to do works which will alter the layout of the house as it has been written down on the official house plan, stored in a council office called the Catasto that keep all the plans of all the buildings in the town. The revised floor plan is submitted by the architect after any building works have been completed. Before this takes place by law the architect must submit a DIA, which is the proposed building project outlining exactly the changes that will be made to the building, as well as detailing all the necessary information regarding insurance, and the contractors involved. If there is no reply after 28 days from the council, the building works can begin. If you do not take this step it will take just one phone call to the local comune, from perhaps an angry neighbour to a) put an immediate stop to your work b) put the project on hold for an indefinate amount of time and c) await a fine.
Step 1: Proposta Irrevocabile D'Acquisto
This is an early optional step that you can take to hold a property that you whave decided to buy. It is an agreement between the buyer and seller of a property which outlines their intent to sell and your intent to buy, and the price that has been agreed. It also stipulates the date at which the official "compromesso" will take place. As the buyer you will be expected to pay a deposit of two-three thousand euro's which is held until the compromesso (this is not cashed). It is possible that a seller can pull out of a deal and will then return the deposit. It is only at the "compromesso" stage that there are financial consequences to the seller reneging on the deal.
Step 2 - Compromesso
This is a legally-binding document which states the agreed sale price, the date of completion and the deposit that will be paid once the contract (compromesso) is signed. Expect to pay between ten and thirty percent of the sale price as the deposit. The caveat of this steo is that if the seller should revoke on the deal they are required by law to pay twice the deposit (the 'caparra') plus any damages. If the buyer revokes, they loose the deposit. The compromesso document describes the property as it is listed in the land registry, and acknowledges that the seller is not aware of any outstanding debts on the house (called a Ipoteca sulla casa). It is during the compromesso that the estate agent will expect to be paid. Agency rates can be anything from 1-4% plus VAT. Negotiate hard on this.
Step 3 – Contract act and final payment. (Contratto, Atto and Rogito)
This stage is the final contract, after this session the house is yours. This stage takes place at a Notaio, a Notary, and is signed by both parties, the balance of the funds is made by bankers draft, and it is not unusual for a representative of the mortgage company to also be present. If you are 100% English in your couple then do bring along a translator as it can get fairly technical. In addition to the outstanding dues for the purchase of the house, the buyer will pay a property tax of 4% if the buyer purchases the house as their first residential property in Italy, which theyn intend to make their home, or pay 11% tax for the property and 17% for the land if the buyer owns another property in Italy or will not be resident in Italy following the purchase of the house. The notary will take a fee of 1-2% of the sale price (that is quite painful!). The Geometra will also be present at this stage and will confirm that all the relevant technical documents are in order (expect to pay a flat fee of up to EURO 600).
By passing this stage, you now own a house in Italy.
Other annual expenses
These are a small list of charges that you house will inur, detailed just to help with any future planning.
- Twice a year there are the annual property taxes ('Imposta Comunale sugli Immobili') in the region of a couple of hundred Euros.
- Rubbish collection tax, paid either in 4 installments, or all at once.
- Utilities bills as usual.
- Shared running costs - If you buy a property which has more than five individual flats you are required by law to have a property manager. Fees will cover the administration of communal spaces as well as disputes that might arise. Expect an average of EURO 90 a month.
