Buying without a Real Estate agent?

These days, you can find houses for sale in Italy on various websites. Idealista, casa.it, immobiliare.it, who doesn't know them. And in addition, websites and blogs often feature articles by 'experts' who have bought a house in Italy themselves and share their experiences with the general public. Always fun to read how others experienced the process. Some writers also take the opportunity to give their audience substantive advice on the do's and don'ts, and even on how best to handle the entire buying process. Apparently, a one-off experience is enough to consider oneself an 'expert' and offer advice to others. Besides, it even seems attractive to some writers to simply buy a house from a private (Italian) seller, without the involvement of an Italian estate agent. After all, the latter charges commission and those few percent brokerage commission are then quickly earned, especially when every euro counts. The question that arises is whether all this is such a sensible course of action.

Different market

What many foreign homebuyers find out only during the process is that the Italian housing market has many challenging elements in it. And that that market, with all its rules and customs, operates differently from the often orderly and well-ordered markets in their home countries. And all in Italian is a language that hardly any foreigner master well enough. In addition, they have no idea that a large proportion of the houses for sale often do not comply with the applicable urban planning and cadastral rules. Enough reason to trust real experts, you might say.

Increasingly stringent requirements

Over the years,the requirements imposed by the Italian authorities have become increasingly strict and aimed at full compliance with their own rules. After all, these are there for a reason. Consider, for instance, the strict rules around earthquake resistance. Natural disasters often have a profound impact in Italy and rules are regularly tightened to protect the public. As a result, when selling, homeowners are increasingly forced to make their property compliant with all regulations. This sometimes requires hefty costs and if the deviations are too great and legalisation is difficult or impossible, a property may be unsaleable. A good Italian estate agent sets the necessary requirements for properties to be sold. And so it happens that a large proportion of de facto unsaleable properties end up in the private circuit. An estate agent foresees the problems and the owner then has no other option but to try to find a buyer himself. Fine to save a few percent commission then, but the consequences can be significant: you become the owner of a property that may never be fully legalisable. And then? The Italian government's requirements for properties will definitely not become any less stringent in the future, which could get you into quite a bit of trouble in case of an inspection. And what about when you yourself want to sell the property again? You don't want to think about one day being the owner of an unsellable property yourself.

Buy through an official estate agent

It is definitely advisable to leave the properties from the private circuit. In most cases, these are sold without an estate agent for a reason. If you buy a property through an authorised Italian estate agent, preferably one that is also a member of one of the estate agents' associations such as the FIAIP, you can be sure that you are buying through a party that is trained to do so but is also subject to strict professional and liability rules. And that makes buying a property abroad a lot less exciting. And take the 'advice' of self-appointed 'experts' with a grain of salt. Fun to read, but also no more than that. And yes, of course, you can say we are preaching to our own parish, but over 20 years of working in the Italian real estate market has given us insight into the real do's and don'ts!

Do I need a Lawyer when purchasing a property?

The role of a lawyer is common in the Anglo-Saxon system of real estate transactions where the notary does not have an active role. In most European countries and therefore also in Italy it is not necessary to appoint a lawyer to assist during the process. A licensed Italian real estate agent has comprehensive knowledge to facilitate the purchase process, while the notary plays a central role in drafting the transfer deed and formalizing the ownership transfer.