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The Buyer's Expenses for Real Estate in Italy

Buying Process
When planning a budget, it's important for every property buyer to know what expenses await them. We've compiled a detailed list of these expenses and provided examples of costs for real purchases in two Italian regions - Abruzzo and Molise.

I. Tax on purchase and notarial expenses

Taxes on residential real estate in the secondary market (seller private individual) are calculated based on the cadastral value, while for newly built properties (seller company), they are based on the sale price. Read more about calculating purchase taxes here.

How to find out the cadastral value of real estate? It can be calculated using data from cadastral documents. Once the choice is made, your real estate agent will ask the notary to check the documents and calculate the taxes. Thus, even before signing the preliminary agreement, you will know the cost of notarial formalities.

Note: The advertised price is not always final, and developers always state the price excluding VAT. It is quite common to negotiate not only with private owners but also with developers. And only after you agree on the final price, you can calculate the amount to be added for taxes.

The cost of notarial services may vary depending on the region and even the district, and may increase as the sale price increases. In addition, notarial expenses may increase in the case of a bilingual transaction and depositing funds into a notary's account. Since this expense falls on the buyer, they have the right to choose the notary themselves.

Examples of bills for notarial services:

Purchase price in the sales contract € 99,000

Archival fee: €30.40

Notary's fee and overheads: € 1,564.75

Registry extracts: € 200

Contributions to the professional fund: € 1,984

Deposit of funds in the notary's account: € 300

VAT: € 485.01
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Total: € 2,720

Purchase price in the sales contract € 325,000

Notary's fee and overheads: € 3,918.03

Registry extracts: € 217

Contributions to the professional fund: € 483

Deposit of funds in the notary's account: € 300

VAT: € 1,081.97
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Total: € 6,0000

II. Realtor commission

The agency fee is based on professional rates but may vary depending on the region. The usual agency commission in the Abruzzo and Molise regions is 4% of the final purchase price. For purchases up to € 100,000, a fixed amount of € 4,000 is taken. Plus VAT, which depends on the legal form and tax regime of the company (usually 22%). Our agency has a simplified taxation system, so there is no VAT.

A realtor's job is considered complete once the buyer and seller have signed the purchase offer. After that, responsibility for the transaction passes to the notary, and the realtor only handles organizational matters related to the transaction if the parties request it.

Realtor commission is often offset by the bargaining you will help to conduct.

III. Registration of Preliminary Purchase Agreement

After the seller accepts the buyer's offer to purchase, it gains the force of a preliminary purchase agreement and must be registered with the Agenzia delle entrate tax service within 30 days. 2 copies of the agreement are subject to registration.

Calculation of the cost of registering a preliminary purchase agreement:

Fixed fee: €200

Revenue stamps: €16 for every 2 pages of the contract, not exceeding 100 lines per page.

Advance tax: 0.5% of the deposit amount. This amount will be credited when calculating taxes for the notarial transaction.

IV. Licensed Translator Services

If you do not speak Italian, you will need language support for the transaction. Prices depend on the language, number of pages (written translation), and hours of presence at the transaction (oral translation).

The services of a licensed translator, with whom we cooperate, usually cost €600 - €700. This price includes: written translation, 2 hours of oral translation at the transaction, and the presence of a witness fluent in Russian and Italian.

As is clear from all the above, the exact amount of expenses for purchasing real estate in Italy can be calculated when the property is selected and the sale price is agreed upon.

Below are real examples of expenses when purchasing real estate:

Purchase of a house with a garden from a private individual in the secondary market without benefits

Initial request from owners € 60,000, final price after bargaining - € 55,000, cadastral value of the house € 26,000.

Taxes on purchase and notarial expenses: € 4,300

Realtor commission: € 4,000

Registration of preliminary agreement: € 0 (immediate notarial transaction)

Licensed translator services: € 600

Total expenses for purchase: € 8,900

Purchase of an apartment in a new building from a legal entity without benefits

Initial price €220,000, final after bargaining - € 195,000

VAT 10% - € 19,500

Government fees and notarial expenses: € 2,900

Realtor commission: € 7,800

Registration of preliminary agreement: € 364

Licensed translator services: € 700

Total expenses for purchase: € 31,264

Purchase of an apartment from a private individual (secondary) with prima casa benefits

Requested price € 120,000. After bargaining, the price in the sales contract is € 110,000, cadastral value € 49,213.

The buyer stated that within 18 months from the date of signing the contract, they would register in the apartment and permanently reside in it, which allows applying a tax benefit: 2% of the cadastral value instead of 9%.

Taxes on purchase and notarial expenses: € 3,950

Realtor commission: € 4,400

Registration of preliminary agreement: € 282

Licensed translator services: € 600

Total expenses for purchase: € 9,800

To very roughly estimate the costs of purchasing real estate priced above € 100,000, add 10% to the advertised price if buying from a private individual, and 15% if buying from a company (new buildings). For secondary real estate priced up to € 100,000, add € 8,000 - € 10,000. Usually, with bargaining, these amounts include the realtor's fee.
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