The first step is to understand the purchaser’s needs and help to identify the ideal property studying together the various kinds of properties, the areas and necessary features.

Having identified the ‘right’ property, an offer in writing is drawn up together. In this phase we offer help assisting the purchaser to understand the taxes, dues and costs to take into consideration as well as the purchasing price.
If the purchaser does not personally know any professionals in the field, we put them in contact with our trusted specialists, including well-known notaries in the area, giving them quotations in advance. For brokerage, the commission is 4% + VAT (four percent) on the final price, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
An IRREVOCABLE PURCHASE OFFER is drawn up in the real estate agency’s office and presented directly to the seller’s agent.

It is the document with which the purchaser makes their offer to the seller in order to purchase the property and is a free and customised text according to the various needs, approximately containing the following data:

• seller’s and purchaser’s details
• address, description, land register identifiers, energy rating
• price offered for the property
• deadline within which the seller can accept the proposal
• payment times, date and place of the future notarial deed
• a pledge to put down a deposit (between 10 and 20 % of the proposed price). If a deposit cheque is left, this must always be in the name of the selling party with non transferable written on it; it will be kept at the real estate agency and considered a down payment on the price to be contained in the preliminary contract.
• Real estate brokerage commission

The seller must be compulsorily informed of the proposal and is free to refuse and/or rephrase a counteroffer, but if accepted, the purchaser is obliged to keep faithful to the offer.
If the seller does not answer within the terms established by the purchaser in the proposal, this latter will not have any obligation.

If, on the other hand, the purchasing proposal is accepted, the parties will have to respectively keep faith to the agreement underwriting a PRELIMINARY SALE CONTRACT.
In this phase it is important that the purchaser, who intends purchasing by applying for a mortgage, goes to the bank to start the procedures because processing times vary from 30 to 90 days according to banks.

The Preliminary Contract is usually carried out at a notary’s office chosen by the purchaser and with this contract the purchaser acquires the right to have the sale finalised at the established conditions.
The notary will carry out a further check on the property thus verifying that the property on sale is free from prejudicial constraints and land register discrepancies thus enabling a secure purchase for the date of the definitive notarial deed of sale.

The fundamental elements indicated in the preliminary contract of sale are the following:

• full details of the purchaser and seller or the property;
• means of payment (cheque, bank transfer) and the relative deadlines;
• description of the house (land register outcomes, rooms, accessories) and of the other confining properties with all the details of origin;
• date of the notarial deed;
• presence of any bonds (such as mortgages or various servitudes);
• compliance with building regulations;
• Any clauses, payment of a confirmation deposit or penitential deposit;
• The title of possession with the starting date and any limitations;
• Specification whether the purchase is being done with or without a mortgage;
• Date and signature of the contracting parties.

At the stipulation of the preliminary act, the estate agent’s fee is paid unless there are suspensive clauses. In the preliminary phase, the amount required for the tax advance payment based on the deposit paid is left with the notary ( who will see to its registration at the competent office). The last act is the Notarial Deed, that is the PURCHASING CONTRACT which must necessarily be drawn up by a notary. All that had already been stated in the preliminary contract of sale is basically repeated in the notarial deed with any additions that may have been necessary in the meantime. The selling party’s trusted specialist will have to produce a technical report certifying the “confirmity statement” of the property as well as the certificates of the installations.

It is the seller’s duty to supply all the documents the notary requires for the stipulation. The purchaser, at the moment of the notarial deed, will have to see to the payment of the balance. At the moment of the notarial deed, the VAT or registration tax will be paid as well as the Notary’s fee. The means of payment allowed are bank transfer to the notary’s account, cashier’s cheque (preferably because payment is directly guaranteed by the bank which has issued it), or bank transfer directly to the seller’s account.

Once the sale has been concluded, the purchaser has the right to obtain an authenticated copy of the Purchasing Act which will have to be transcribed by the notary at the Land Registry Office which is usually available within about 3 weeks from the stipulation date.

In the end, it will be necessary to:

• prepare new contracts for utilities or carry out the transfer of gas/telephone subscriptions
• give notice of the new owner to the condominium administrator (where present)
• notify the Town Hall where the purchased property is located with the details for the TARI (refuse tax)
• no notification is necessary for the IMU (sole municipal tax) because the registration of the deed at the Inland Revenue carried out by the notary applies to this end
• as of the first of January 2014, IMU on the main residence (where one’s anagraphical residence has been established) and the related appurtances, excluding registered houses in the categories A/1, A/8 and A/9, is no longer due
• if the purchased property is a ‘second home’ the IMU must be paid in two installments (with deadlines on 16th June and 16th December) by way of the F24 form. It is advisable to enquire about the exact sum to be paid at the Town Hall where the property is located because the rates are established locally and change from year to year.