Taxes, fees etc

The Italian law allowes the real estate agents to take a fee of 8 %, often this fee is devided 50-50 between vendor and purchaser, however it is likely that you as buyer will be asked to pay 3 - 4 % of the agents fee. You will most likely be asked to pay this fee after the compromesso has been signed and registered as this is when the mediation is regarded as closed and the agent has a legal right to his payment.

Property taxes:

From January 2006 the buyer can choose to have the purchase property taxes calculated on the cadastral value of the house and not on the market value, the cadastral value will often be lower than the purchase price if you buy an older house.

Be aware that there are other taxes involved when buying a new cosntruction or buying through a constructor, is this case you will be paying VAT and not the regular property tax.

Property taxes on a holiday home (seconda casa) are higher than for main home (prima casa). In order to be taxes as a main home you will need to take up residency in the house within 18 months after the purchase.

The rates as of 01.01.2008 are as follows:

Prima casa Seconda casa Tax on the house 3 % + € 336 10 % Tax on non-agricultural land 11 % 11 % Tax on agricultural land 18 % 18%

Then there is the cost of the notaio.

Depending on the paperwork necessary and the complexity of the deed it will vary from 2.500 - 5.000 euro.

If you are not fluent in Italian you will need to have an interpreter present and also have the whole deed translated, this might cost you up to 1.000 euro, an alternative might be to give proxy to an Italian speaking person which then acts on your behalf.

If you decide on having a Geometra to do a survey of the property, you should calculate from 300-500 euro