Additional notes on buying property

We appreciate the whole process of buying property abroad can be very confusing, largely due to language barriers but also different practises, laws and generally a different way of doing business.

We know that Italian bureaucracy sometimes seems to provide more questions than answers, but it is part of life if you wish to come here.
We aim to minimise its impact and proactively avoid problems.

We have no desire to pressure you into buying quickly, we dislike high pressure sales techniques and feel they have no place in Sicily!

We feel it is imperative that clients visit Sicily if they have not been here before. We try to consider all relevant factors of the properties we get offered, but ultimately you choose them! Therefore we encourage you to visit, explore and discover Sicily. Hopefully then we can arrange a viewing trip for the properties/areas you prefer.

There are few national chains of estate agencies here, one of the main reasons being Sicilian's desire to only do business with people they know and therefore trust. Another reason is that Italians are by nature are rather parochial and tend to stick to their local area unless wanting a holiday home.
Much is said about 'middle men' and whether the total cost of buying property in Italy can be reduced by 'cutting corners' by doing away with some checks and professional advice. The vast majority of people who have bought property in Italy will tell you that professional help is invaluable and most 'horror stories' tend to go hand in hand with rushed decisions and lack of knowledge and research.
The following extract is from the code for professional estate agents in Italy;
“The role of the estate agent in Italy has evolved from the mediator in commerce and has ever since been considered to be the person who brings together two or more parties for the conclusion of a transaction. In Italy the estate agent is truly 'the middle man', acting for both parties. For this reason he is required to be impartial and consequently receives a commission from both parties, both buyer and seller. This is regulated by the Italian Civil Code, art. 1754.”

In terms of ‘horror’ stories, Italy we believe is much safer than say Spain where land can be claimed retrospectively by third parties on dubious grounds.

One area to mention is when buying agricultural land, i.e. farm house with surrounding space – Prelazione agraria (farming pre-emption rights) the neighbouring (if any) farmers are allowed to purchase the land for the same price the seller paid for it for up to two years afterwards. This is easily preventable by asking them to sign that they are not interested in doing so before the property is acquired.

The other talking point is the famous ‘under the table’ payments; previously the purchase price was frequently under-declared to minimise the taxes due. Under a new finance law passed on 1st January 2006 the buyer can now declare and pay all due taxes on the lower Valore Catastale (Land Registry Value) and at the same time declare the higher sale price without being penalised and not having the worry about possible ramifications from under-declaring the price.
We believe the motivation behind this seemingly generous law, is an attempt to encourage more foreign buyers, who are essentially much needed investors in the currently weak Italian economy.

We have a network of contacts and are always happy to try and assist you in putting you in touch with any persons that could be of use. We want you to feel certain of the impartial nature of our advice, so we will happily also provide you with the relevant governing bodies of trade groups, professional associations, etc if you would prefer to source your own service providers.

We live here and are proud to help people discover how wonderful Sicily is. This is our livelihood, so it is in our interest to keep our clients happy!