If you have found a property, you make a verbal offer to us. If this has been accepted, both parties sign the so-called Compromesso, a preliminary contract in which the most important contractual points about the property, the price, the period until the notary deed as well as any conditions are laid down.
It is not necessary to be on site for the preliminary contract and it can also be drawn up in your language.
An important element of the preliminary is the so-called ‘caparra confirmatoria’, a binding deposit – usually 10 percent of the purchase price – which is forfeited if the notary contract is not concluded (unless conditions set are not met). This penalty also applies to the seller.
The conclusion of the purchase process is the notary deed.

The contract must be drawn up in Italian, or, if you are not fluent in Italian, in your own language and you must be present. Therefore, we work together with a German notary or with accredited translators for German, English or French.
If necessary, a person you trust can represent you by means of a power of attorney. We as a real estate agency – in collaboration with surveyors and the notary’s office – check all the necessary legal requirements such as the absence of mortgages and encumbrances, depths or easements as well as existence of all the necessary building permits and correct cadastral entries – one of the most delicate issues in Italy. Ownership is transferred to you the day of the notary deed; the subsequent entry in the land register and cadastre only has a declaratory effect.

There are usually three items that are incurred by the buyer of a property:

a. Land transfer tax

The land transfer tax for residential properties is 9% of the cadastral value for a second home and 2% of the cadastral value for a first home. The cadastral value usually corresponds to between 15-35%* of the market price, depending on the municipality, number of rooms, condition of the property, etc.
Land is taxed at a rate of 9-15%. The calculation basis here is the market value, which can vary greatly depending on the municipality, location and type of property.

However, the land transfer tax is always at least 1,000 euros plus 50 euros mortgage tax and 50 euros cadastral tax.

Example*
A house with a garden and a market value of 200,000 euros has a cadastral value of 40,000 euros. The taxes for the house are therefore around 3,600 euros.
In addition, there are taxes for the neighboring garden, which is estimated to be worth 20,000 euros and is generally taxed at 9%, i.e. 1,800 euros. If the land is an agricultural land, it is taxed at 15%, so you would end up with 3,000 euros – in exceptional cases it can be less, provided that the very low cadastral value can be taxed.

b. Fee for notary and translations

As a rule, the fee for notarisation is approx. 1% of the purchase price, for cheaper properties approx. 1.5%*, for expensive properties approx. 0.8%. In addition, there are around 1000-1500 euros* for the translation of the contract including all appendices, the presence of the translator and witnesses at the notarised contract, if a bilingual contract is required due to a lack of language skills.

c. Agency commission

When we have found the right house for you, our commission is 3% plus VAT (IVA in Italy 22%) on the negotiated purchase price – and is therefore at the lower end of the commission usually charged in Italy. For properties under 100,000 euros, we charge a minimum commission of 3,000 euros + IVA. The first half of the commission is due upon conclusion of the preliminary contract, the second half only upon conclusion of the main contract.

* without guarantee and subject to legal changes

Italian banks generally only lend to people who have an income in Italy. If it is a small amount, e.g. for renovation, it may be possible, but it is not easy and the interest rates are usually higher than in Germany, for example. We therefore advise our foreign customers to borrow against an existing property in their home country, if available.

There are currently (Status 11/2024) only restrictions for:

– Swiss: Due to a reciprocal law, the areas that people who only have a Swiss passport can buy are limited to a net living area of 200 square metres and a plot area of 1000 square metres

– Russians can currently only purchase property to a very limited extent.

For all other EU citizens, it is sufficient to have an Italian tax number, the so-called codice fiscale, which you can obtain from the Italian consulate in your country or from us.

– Our advantage: We speak your language

We speak German and Italian as our mother tongue as well as English and French fluently – and mediate through our own nationalities as native Germans and native Italians between sometimes very different mentalities.

– We are THE estate agent in the Valprino Valley in and around Dolcedo

With our office in the centre of Dolcedo, we are always there for you and can be contacted personally. We know the market and the prices for properties in our area and have 25 years of experience in buying and selling property and everything that goes with it.

– Our service – before, during and after the purchase of your holiday property

We are happy to take care of all the paperwork, notary appointments and banking transactions associated with the purchase. This is a matter of course for US. Thanks to our long-standing presence as the only estate agent in Dolcedo, we know the local particularities and the decision-makers in the municipality and the building authorities. We are also happy to help you with contacts for authorities, architects or if you would like to rent out your home.

We speak your language and we work internationally.

We know, everyone says that.

But only a few agencies in and around Imperia have a team who speaks German and Italian as their mother tongue as well as English and French at a business level.

The figures speak for themselves: currently more than half of our buyers come from Germany or Switzerland, but we also have customers from France, the UK, Northern countries especially from Sweden and Norway, and increasingly from Poland. And – of course – Italians from nearby or from areas such as Turin and Milan.

We are THE real estate agency in the Valprino Valley

We are the leading agency for all types of property in the Valprino Valley based in Dolcedo. We have been there for more than 30 years. This means that we really know the market, the realistic prices and the local particularities.

Since we are close to your properties, we can guarantee that your house or flat for sale will be shown to many interested parties. However, we select carefully beforehand to avoid unnecessary viewings for everyone involved. This means that your property will only be viewed by genuinely interested parties.

Important for us: No constraints when selling a property

Although we put a lot of effort into marketing your property, you do not have to sign an exclusive contract with us. We don’t want to force our clients into anything, but we rely on mutual fairness and trust.

You will conclude a contract with us which includes only a small amount to cover the costs in case you will find a buyer yourself, for example.

An important matter for us: support throughout the whole selling process

The sale of a property often harbours surprises: Missing papers, tax issues such as gain taxation and so on…  

We will help you with the entire process: with enquiries to the authorities, cadastral matters, preparation of missing building permissions – sometimes it is only about providing the original in the respective municipality, sometimes there are incorrect or incomplete healing permissions that have to be asked for and supervised.

In addition, we will help you with preliminary contracts, notary appointments and the necessary translations, thus enabling the smoothest and quickest possible process.

A good question. In this period, the market is generally very divided: there are properties such as small detached houses in good locations we have a lot of requests for and whose prices have remained stable for a long time or have even increased slightly in the last one or two years.

For other properties, such as building plots or ones which have to be completely restored, it became quite difficult to find buyers due to the higher material- and construction costs. We can help you without obligations or costs to find the current market price.

In addition, every location in our valley has different prices and its own special features. Just like the property itself. Therefore, we can only make an evaluation if we have seen the property and its location and inspected some documents. We are happy to value your property free of charge and to give you a REALISTIC estimate of what you could achieve. As we have sold in recent years many properties in every village in our area, we can tell you what you can expect regardless of tax values or unrealistic advertised prices.

The following maximally costs for two appraisals and our commission are incurred for the sale:

– An energy certificate (APE – attestato di prestazione energetica), which is valid for 10 years if no energy-related measures will be carried out, e.g. upgrading the heating, installing a heat pump or new windows. Depending on the size of the house, the energy certificate costs 300-450 euros per unit – with the exception of cellars and garages – and it is drawn up by a specific technician.

– A Due diligence report regarding the building permissions (RRE – Relazione di Regolarità Edilizia), which proves that all building permits – including historical ones – are available and that these are congruent with the current status of the house, as well as confirmation that the cadastral plans and entries correspond to the actual conditions. This report usually costs between 350-600 euros, depending on the size of the house, and it is drawn up by a surveyor, architect or engineer.

– Our commission: if we find a buyer for your property, our commission is 3% plus VAT (IVA in Italy 22%) on the purchase price  – being near to the minimum of the commission usually demanded in Italy. For properties under 100,000 euros, we charge a minimum commission of 3,000 euros + IVA. The first half of the commission is payable on conclusion of the preliminary contract; the second half on conclusion of the contract.