To know

To know

What you need to know

Here you will find the information you need to make your approach to buying and selling clear and complete.

  • Having seen and liked the house, the potential purchaser makes a purchase proposal to the Vendor binding on a specific date, which the Estate Agent hands over to the Vendor together with a cheque made payable to the Vendor as a deposit for commitment to purchase.
  • The Seller may accept or not accept the proposal; in case of acceptance the cheque deposited becomes a deposit. Conversely, in the event of non-acceptance, the Estate Agent returns the cheque to the potential purchaser, who will then decide whether or not to continue negotiations.
  • If the Seller accepts the proposal, the Estate Agent accrues the right to the agreed mediation fee and may issue an invoice. Within 20 days of accepting the invoice, he is obliged to register it with the Inland Revenue Office. The cost of registration shall be borne by the buyer, unless otherwise agreed between the parties. If the proposal contains a condition precedent (e.g. obtaining a loan), the proposal takes on the legal character of a conditional preliminary purchase agreement.
  • Once the purchase proposal, or the preliminary purchase contract, has become effective, the Notary indicated by the purchaser carries out the checks required by law and draws up the final purchase deed (Deed).

The mediation contract with the real estate agency is the agreement that is made between the person who wants to buy/rent a house and the real estate agent. The real estate agent is a professional registered with the local Chamber of Commerce, with a regular licence, who undertakes to put in contact those who want to buy/rent a house with those who want to sell/rent it. The real estate agent does not establish any relationship of dependence with either party. He is only entitled to commission if the deal is successfully concluded thanks to his intervention. The agency contract may be exclusive or non-exclusive, and does not provide for any particular form, even if, as a matter of practice, agencies use pre-printed forms (forms deposited at the Chamber of Commerce) in which the conditions of the agreement are laid down.

  • Make sure that the person you are addressing is a licensed real estate agent registered with the REA of the Chamber of Commerce
  • Use forms (forms) filed with the Chamber of Commerce for both the definition of an assignment and the definition of a proposal
  • Define all details of agreements in writing
  • Agree in writing on the amount of the commission and its payment method
  • The agent is entitled to commission from both sides, from the person selling or renting the property as well as from the person buying it, to ensure the impartiality of his work
  • Pay attention to the appropriateness of both the duration of the assignment and the period of validity of the proposal
  • If a client gives an exclusive assignment to an estate agent, he may not conclude the sale himself or instruct another estate agent to do so unless he pays the penalties provided for
  • In the case of purchase and rental, make sure that you have all the necessary and useful information to make your decision
  • In the event of an assignment, provide the estate agent with the necessary information and documents so that he or she can operate with transparency and security for future purchasers
  • Remember that any deposits must be made out to the seller and that the commission is due to the Agent on conclusion of the deal, which, unless otherwise agreed, coincides with the communication of the buyer’s acceptance of the proposal.

The APE (Energy Performance Certificate) is a document to be issued by a locally and regionally recognised entity. Indicating the energy class of buildings has been compulsory for property advertisements since 1 January 2012.

BUILDINGS EXEMPT FROM THE OBLIGATION

Energy certification is not compulsory for all properties. Exempted are in fact Non-residential agricultural, craft and industrial buildings, if they are air-conditioned at a controlled temperature for production purposes;
– buildings related to landscape and cultural heritage;
– artisanal, industrial and agricultural buildings using energy waste from the production process that cannot be used in any other way;
– buildings that have to undergo only conservation and restoration;
– isolated buildings with a total useful floor area not exceeding 50 square metres;
– equipment that is installed for production purposes in the building, even if it is used for civil purposes.
– for transfers of undivided real estate shares for a consideration, or for autonomous transfer of the right of bare ownership, as well as in the presence of deeds of division, company demergers and mergers;
– when the property has no heating system;
Therefore, if there is provision for a radiator, stove, chimney or fireplace, even if there is no boiler, the EPC is mandatory.
There are three different levels of obligation to comply with the regulations: 1) obligation to “make available” the APE, for free title deeds in addition to property transfer deeds and all new leases, even those not subject to registration
2) “declaratory” obligation; a clause is inserted whereby the Parties state that they have received the information and documentation, including the APE. It concerns contracts for consideration and new leases, but only if subject to registration.
3) obligation to “attach” a copy of the certificate to the contract for the transfer of real estate for consideration and for leases of entire buildings and individual units, even if subject to registration, nor for free transfers.

LEASE – OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE APE CERTIFICATE AND INSERT CLAUSE

The Landlord must provide the Tenant with a certified copy of the original APE for all “new” or “renewed” contracts.

Lease agreements with energy certification obligation
Energy certification becomes compulsory in leases for:
– new lease or its renewal for both residential and non-residential properties;
– holiday rental contract for a duration of more than 30 days in total per year;
– lease of a business including buildings;
– a leasing contract for a property;
Lease agreements without energy certification requirement
It is not mandatory to produce an energy performance certificate for
– holiday leases for a period of less than 30 days per year;
– leases for residential use of publicly-owned property;
– rental of a property for free use and/or usufruct;

The APE is the responsibility of the owner, who must give a copy to the tenant. However, the tenant is not obliged to attach the APE to the contract itself, except in the case of a lease of an entire building.

SALE – OBLIGATION TO ATTACH THE APE AND INSERTION OF CLAUSE

For transfers of property, e.g. sale of property, there is an obligation to provide, insert a clause and, above all, attach the APE to the deed.

Essential requirement

The Supreme Court has confirmed that “the delivery of the APE of the property that is the subject of the contract, when it is a residential flat, although not a condition for the validity of the sale, is an obligation that rests on the seller, as an essential requirement of the property sold, since it affects the possibility of using it lawfully for the use contractually foreseen”.
Recently, the Court of Cassation, in a ruling on the request for rescission of the contract by the buyer due to the absence of such a certificate, stated that the subsequent issuance of the habitability certificate excludes the possibility of configuring the hypothesis of a sale “aliud pro alio”, i.e. of an asset other than the one chosen by the buyer, with all the consequences this has for the calculation of the limitation period (sent. 17123/2020).
Indeed, if the sale were to be considered a sale aliud pro alio, the buyer would be entitled, within the ordinary 10-year limitation period, to claim rescission of the contract for breach of contract from the seller, as well as compensation for damages.
As regards the notarial obligations to enclose the aforementioned certificate with the deed of sale, Article 40(2) of Law No 47 of 28 February 1985 provides that deeds of transfer of immovable property must contain, by declaration of the transferor, the details of the building licence or permit or amnesty, under penalty of nullity. In the case of construction works started before 1 September 1967 (the date on which the so-called “Legge Ponte” came into force), a declaration in lieu of a notarial act may be produced in place of the details of the building permit, certifying that the work was started before 2 September 1967.

The notary is a public official to whom the State entrusts the power to attribute public faith, that is to say the value of legal proof, to the acts he concludes. Consequently, everyone – including the judge – must presume the truth of what he certifies, unless the offence of forgery is established.
The public deed is proof

* of the provenance of the document from the public official who drew it up,
* of the statements made by the parties in it
* other facts that the public official states have occurred in his presence or have even been carried out by him.
For this reason, the notary must personally ascertain the wishes of the persons who address him and the purpose to be achieved, in order to prepare the most suitable and cost-effective document in accordance with the law. To this end, the notary’s advice before the deed is concluded is indispensable.
In the exercise of his function, the Notary is required by law to be independent and impartial: he must therefore protect the interests of all parties equally, irrespective of who commissioned him. He must therefore abstain whenever he finds himself in a conflict of interest (e.g. when his own relatives take part in the deed). He therefore performs a function of preventive control of legality. The notary may have recourse to different and alternative contractual solutions and, in compliance with the Principles of Notarial Ethics in force from time to time, has full freedom of choice in the concrete performance of his activity.
The Protocols relating to notarial activities, drawn up in the past by the National Council, have been definitively approved and only a small part of them are in force, while the others are currently only food for thought, without any external value and without any binding force for individual notaries.
The notary has the duty to enforce the law and cannot and must not receive acts prohibited by law. Thanks to the controls carried out by the notary in Italy there is essentially no litigation on real estate transactions (only 0.003% creates litigation). Moreover, thanks to the abolition in 2000 of the homologation check by the court and the consequent assumption by the notary of responsibility for the constitution of the new company, a limited company, which until 2000 needed about 150 days from its constitution to its actual operation, can now be operational on the same day as the notarial deed or in a few days at the most.
Finally, the notary collects on behalf of the State the taxes linked to all deeds (registration taxes, mortage taxes, cadastral taxes, etc.), paying each year, via his computer network, several billion euros in indirect taxes and capital gains without any charge to the State, even if not collected by the client.

What does the notary’s fee consist of?

The notary’s fee that you will have to pay is not limited to quantifying the notary’s fee but includes a long list of other charges linked to his profession. The fee includes
1) Taxes and duties (VAT exempt)

* Registration tax
* Land registry tax
* Mortgage tax
* Stamp duty
* Mortgage tax
* Transcription rights at the Land Registry (Land Agency)
* Land registration fee
* Notary archive fee
2) Fees and remuneration (subject to VAT)

* Fee (according to the tariffs set by the Ministry)
* Register entry
* Mortgage viewings
* land registry searches
* Chamber of Commerce searches (if one or both parties are legal persons)
* various certificates
* fees and charges for writing and for copies of the deed
* other expenses
As you can see, there is a long list of expenses, some of which the notary has already incurred in order to carry out all the checks and inspections necessary for the conclusion of the deed, or a series of taxes, fees and charges that the notary collects on behalf of the State or other various bodies.
This is because the notary, in addition to being obliged to carry out certain checks to ensure the regularity of the sale, is also obliged to settle and collect taxes on behalf of the State. This means that the buyer pays the fees and taxes directly to the notary, who then passes them on to the state.

How much do you actually spend?

It is practically impossible to quantify the costs exactly because they depend on the value of the property you are buying, whether you are buying from a builder or from a private individual, and whether it is your first or second home.
We can try to do the math assuming that you are buying a small flat from a private individual that costs €100,000.00 with a cadastral income of €400 and is your first home. The notary’s fee will be around € 3500, of which € 1100 in taxes as follows: Registration tax 2% of the revalued annuity value (400×115=46200×2%= € 924 you pay € 1000 which is the minimum tax)
Mortgage tax € 50
Land registry ta x € 50
Notary fee € 1100 +22% vat (€ 1342)
The remaining € 1150 are given by all the other expenses that I have listed above, viewings, certificates, stamps, etc..
Another important thing that affects the notary’s fee is the mortgage, if to buy you have to sign a mortgage deed the fee and the notary’s fee increases because in fact they are two different acts, one made against the seller and the other against the bank. In this case, consider approximately another € 1200/1300+VAT.

BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME
Among acts of sale, the purchase of a first home deserves special mention because of the tax benefits it offers.
What are the prerequisites for buying your first home?
It is necessary:
* that the house is not included in the cadastral categories A1, A8, A9;
* that the property is located in the municipality in which the purchaser has his residence (when the residence is in a different municipality from the purchase)
* that the purchaser undertakes to establish residence within 18 months of purchase in the municipality where the property is located;
* that he/she is not the sole owner, or joint owner with his/her spouse, of the rights of ownership, usufruct, use, dwelling of another dwelling in the territory of the municipality where the property is located;
* that he/she is not the owner, not even by shares, even in community with others, of the rights of ownership, usufruct, use, dwelling and bare ownership of another dwelling house purchased with the same benefits as the first house;
* taxation: if the seller is a private individual: registration 2% (with a minimum of 1000 euros) and two fixed (50 euros + 50 euros); if the seller is a company: VAT 4% and three fixed (200 euros +200 euros).

BUYING A SECOND HOME
With regard to the purchase of a second home, it should be noted that the checks and formalities that the notary must carry out are the same as those for the purchase of a first home. The cost differs because the taxes and fees to the state increase.
Taxation: if the seller is a private individual: registration 9% (with a minimum of 1000 euros) and two fixed (50 euros + 50 euros); if the seller is a company: VAT 10%/22% and three fixed (200 euros + 200 euros + 200 euros). Similar taxation is provided for buildings for uses other than residential use.
In transfers for valuable consideration between private individuals and in equivalent cases of residential property and its appurtenances (garages, taverns, closets, etc.) the taxes are to be paid, at the express request of the purchaser, on the basis of the cadastral value and not on the basis of the price; as a rule the cadastral value is lower than the established price.

The area we consider embraces the western coast and part of the hinterland of the western Garda between Desenzano and Salò. We have analysed the sales of the last 5 years for residential properties for first and second holiday home. The elements we found in determining the quality and value of the local market are:
* Demand for first and second home properties
* Supply of first and second home properties
* Qualitative elements of supply and demand
* Economic results
Our analysis shows that a good balance between supply and demand has been created in recent years and that, due to the economic crisis from 2008 to 2018, property values have depreciated by about 30%. This balance consequently determines variable elements of differentiation and valorisation in the m2 of the properties, depending on the need (first home or second home), the qualitative expectations of the clients on the properties, the area and the local offer. An important element of valorisation that in recent years has been added to the variables described is that of mobility from the large urban agglomerations of the Cremasque, Cremona, Bergamo and Milan areas, with the construction of the Bre-be-mi motorway and its links to the A4. This road system, in fact, favours direct transfers and their travel times, fuelling interest in the already recognised and coveted destination of Lake Garda from Peschiera to Salò. Obviously, the A4 and the SS Gardesana have always been the main road axes for the residential, commercial and tourist development of Lake Garda. The qualitative axes, therefore, of the choice of potential home buyers in this area are mainly:

First home
1. Price
2. Mobility and connections
3. Services
4. Total or partial lake view
5. Type of house
6. Age and state of repair of the house

Second home
1. Mobility and connections
2. Partial or total lake view
3. Type and quality of the area
4. Services
5. Price
6. Type of dwelling
7. Age and state of repair of the house

Value of the properties in the last 5 years First house ( on average 100 m2 ) Prices per m2 range on average from 1,800 euro for less qualitative houses to 2,800 euro for houses with high quality elements Second holiday house ( on average 80 m2 ) Prices per m2 range on average from 2,300 euro for less qualitative houses to 4,000 euro for houses with high quality elements. For this type of house, the lake view is an extremely subjective element of valorisation and can only be quantified in relation to the sensitivity of the client with respect to this parameter.

If you have any other questions or queries, we are at your disposal

Contact us now