Interested in buying a home in Italy? Or just curious about the process? The process is one of the first questions we get when people learn we bought a house in Tuscany. However, its not super complicated and probably easier then you think.
In this post, we are going to talk about how the process was for us and the steps and procedures we went through. It may not be the same for everyone, depending on various circumstances, for example buying cash vs needing a loan or mortgage.
First, we searched for a house using the links provided on the front page of this section of the site. In Italy, the buyer doesn’t normally get a realtor, instead the sellers have realtors and the buyer contacts each realtor for each of the homes they want to view. This seems a bit odd to most Americans but you have to understand that there is no multiple listing service (MLS) in Italy like there is the states. In Italy, real estate is a very localized business, even from one village to another, you may have agents that have great knowledge and listings in one and almost nothing in the other. Now, there are services that offer help to Americans and part of this service is that the person contacts each of the realtors for you and sets up the viewings. We did not find this process difficult and most of the realtors spoke English, so we just contacted each one ourselves. Another thing to note here is that you will notice that the same realtor or real estate company will represent many listings in specific areas. For example, when we were looking at the Pisan Hills, we noticed L’Architrave and Toscana One had the majority of the listings we were interested in viewing. So, when we contact them, they then sent us other listings they had in the area they thought would be of interest. And contacting them was as easy as emailing the email address on the listing and the representative got back to us within a day or two.
Upon contacting the different realtors, and seeing the listings online and the additional ones they sent, we made the decision to continue moving forward. So we booked our trip and arranged the dates with them that we would be meeting them to view listings. As I mentioned in a previous post, we viewed about 15 homes over three days. The realtor met us at the first home and we followed them to the rest of the houses from there. When we met with them they would walk us around the village or towns we were viewing and showed us the homes, walking us through and giving us all the information in terms of renovating, any knowledge they had on town laws, etc. It was all very similar to viewing houses with a realtor in the states. The funny and coincidental, kismet story of our house was that it had become available for the sale the day before we got there, so the realtor had just gotten the keys and asked us if we’d like to see it because she thought it fell perfectly in line with what we were looking for and liking about all the houses we had seen so far. And she was right, we loved it and knew that was the one.
Now this quick blurb I’m going to say is my opinion… I’ve been asked before by people about buying sight unseen. Saying they’d love to buy a home in Tuscany, but can’t take the trip over right now. I would not do that. Not because I don’t trust people or being scammed or anything like that (although that can also be a valid fear), but because I sincerely believe you have to be there to not only see it, but feel it. For one, driving through Tuscany isn’t always the easiest and some specific drives can be intimidating for some. So, you may buy a home in a village perched high on a hill and when you take the drive, it’s dark and winding and you may not be comfortable doing it. Also, the vibe of the towns, they’re all different. Maybe a town might be populated, but sleepy, or the amenities and businesses of the town doesn’t suit you. And of course the feel of the home. When we were searching I fell in love with a listing, the town looked beautiful and had great views. Some of the people from the area even said it was well situated and praised it. The house looked great, barely needed work and was across from a park with views. We would have bought it sight unseen if we couldn’t get out there. But, once we viewed it in person, it couldn’t be farther from what I wanted. The town was not very touristic so all the businesses closed early and the town was dead by the late afternoon. The house did not feel like my “vibe”, it was compartmentalized, a little darker then what the videos and pictures showed. Bottom line, if I wouldn’t have gone out there I wouldn’t have felt and seen the amazingness that is the town we chose and wouldn’t have felt the warmth of the house we bought. I probably would have focused on the renovations it needed rather then all the wonderful aspects of the house.
So, after three days of house viewing and two days of a lot of conversations, we decided to pull the trigger. We made the offer to the realtor and went back and forth on negotiations with the sellers with the realtor being the mediator. Once we made our final offer and the seller accepted, we then began the buying process. The house we bought was sold by L’Architrave, and as an agency they help with everything. The realtor fees are higher, but they help with getting the “geometra” (architect) to inspect the house and do the write up, they translate all the documents and contracts and if we needed a mortgage they would have helped with that, but like I said, we bought cash and did not need that. They also have what’s called a “notaio” which acts like a title agent, but my husband has a friend who is one in Florence and we had her do that part for us.
So as part of this, you need to understand Italian culture a little, and certainly have some patience, while going through the process. First, lets start with pricing. Most Italians will price their home at around 10% above what they actually want to list it at and that listing is of coarse above what they are actually willing to accept for the house. This makes your offer, once you find a house, a bit of an artwork. You want to get the best deal you can without making an offer that is insulting to the owners. As a rule of thumb you can offer 20%-25% below the listing price but again, this is really something to talk through and think about.
You should also understand everyones role in the purchase process. Historically, when someone passes on, their estate was divided equally amongst all descendants. So, after Nona passes on, her farmhouse was divided amongst her six children. That could mean that each child now has title to a single bedroom of the house. So, to buy the whole house you will need all six kids to sell you each of their titles. In the past, this was a problem because buyers would think they were buying a property only to show up and find a cousin living in the upper bedroom because he had the title to that room. In enters the geometra and the notaio (notary and title). It is the geometra that verifies the sizes, dimensions and functions of the property being sold. They then report their findings to the notaio who combines that with their own research on the title history of the property. Although both of these people are neutral third parties, the reality is they work for the buyer because their job is to make sure that everything is legitimate and that you, the buyer, understands what you are buying.
Once the geometra and notaio figure out and settle all the background on the property and determine everything is legit to sell, a “closing date” is set. Something else to note, during this time, if they do find something off with the property, they bring it to your attention and you can determine how you want to move forward. Things like electrical equipment that needs to be replaced, a difference in how the house is represented in government paperwork so titles need to be redone, plumbing, anything can come up and you can chose to move forward, renegotiate the price, have them fix it or walkaway. Assuming all is smooth or resolved, you can then either go in person for the closing or sign a power of attorney to someone to represent you in the closing process.
The closing… it is not like closing a house in the states. A closing in the states is usually pretty quick, signing documents, briefly going through them, and 30 minutes later all is done. Not in Italy, our closing lasted close to three hours. They must read every page of the closing documents and translate as needed. This is to make sure all parties are aligned and the laws of the town, renovations, etc. are understood (especially when it comes to old buildings, our village home is from the 1700’s). At the closing, you will have the buyer, seller, realtor, notaio and geometra going through all of the documents, making comments, and fixing things as needed.
Once it’s all over, the realtor gives you the keys and you are a proud owner of a home in Italy. If you’re home is move in ready, you head on over there with a bottle of Prosecco and celebrate. But, if it needs renovations, then the real work begins. Have fun reading that post on the blog, it’s under the title of blood, sweat and tears, lol.
Comments