Question 1

Buying a leasehold property in Italy with us is a very simple and easy process.

Accepted Answer

1. Choose the property from our listings. If you are happy with the price go to step 2. If you feel you can get it cheaper, make us an offer. We'll pass it onto a seller and will let you know if it's accepted.
2. To take the property off sale for 30 days (occasionally term is less than that), please pay 1500 EUR via this site by credit/debit card or via bank transfer (invoice with all details will be provided). 
These deposits are refundable only if you find the property not as described in our listing. If you wish to have more information, please contact us and we'll send you more photos, plans etc. Upon receiving the deposit, we will put you in touch with our dedicated English-speaking sales manager, who will help you organise your trip to Italy or remote purchase.
3.a. If you are buying in person, you come to Italy, view property, pay balance, sign leasehold agreement and get keys.  During signing agreement we'll translate it to you to your language. 
3.b. If you are buying remotely,  after you agree to the price and pay in full with the invoice provided, we'll draw  leasehold contract, sign it with freeholder and email it to you with English translation. You sign in front of local Lawyer or Notary who ONLY need to verify your ID  (usually cost around USD10-50 in USA, GBP5-50 in UK, Free in Australia). You keep the original, take good photo of all pages and email it back to us. After it you or your representatives can collect keys from our office or we can keep keys until your arrival. 
4. After either type of purchase, we give you contacts of your freeholder, who usually create chat in WhatsApp that is valid for life for any questions you may have during your leasehold ownership.

Question 2

Ground Rent and Service Charge

Accepted Answer

Before buying, you will know the exact ground rent charge and service charge for your property and when to pay it. Ground rent and service charge are fixed for 30 years or remainder of your leasehold. It must be paid yearly in advance by cash or bank transfer to freeholder's bank account. Be aware: if you fail to pay ground rent and/or service charge, your lease will be annulled at the short notice (from 30 days).

Question 3

Leasehold

Accepted Answer

Explanation of Leasehold ownership and how it is different to Freehold ownership or to leasing (renting) can be found here.
All leases are up to 30 years from the date of 1st purchase. All leases are extendible at the end of the lease for another term of up to 30 years. The price of extension will depend on property market price at that point in time but rarely exceeds 50% of the price of the new lease. 
When you are buying re-sale lease, you will have it for remainder period of the lease with possible future extension for another term of up to 30 years.

Question 4

How to buy without coming to Italy in 30 days

Accepted Answer

See previous paragraph above.

Question 5

How to buy leasehold property in finance

Accepted Answer

Please see separate page.

Question 6

Bills

Accepted Answer

In addition to the ground rent and service charge, you need to pay bills and utilities (water, sewage, electric, tax, rubbish removal and condominium). Usual amount of these bills for an average 1-2 bedroom apartment come to about 1,050-1,400 EUR per year. On most properties sold by us, bills are pre-paid for year upfront (except electric and/or gas). And bills management is done by freeholder and included in annual charge.

Be aware: if you fail to pay pre-paid bills, your lease will be annulled at the short notice (from 30 days). If you'll fail to pay for your electricity, your property will be disconnected from electricity and re-connection is usually a slow and expensive process.

You do not pay for major condominium works - this is taken care of by freeholder.

Question 7

Rentals

Accepted Answer

Your can rent out your property to friends and family. Rentals to holidaymaker are permitted by all Leasehold agreements, but must comply with local laws which is your responsibility. In Scalea and surrounding towns the usual rent for 1-2 bedroom apartment is about 1,500-2,500 EUR per month of August. Other months' rent varies. We organise cleaning/check-in/check-out services for all our clients at a cost (please see separate page).

If you plan to use finding clients via AirBnB or similar websites, it may involve following too many rules (such as: no keyboxes allowed; obligation to register all holidaymakers in Local Authority; pay City Tax etc.), which are constantly becoming more and more complicated in Italy. Also it may require applications for necessary licenses etc. to obtain which some specific certificates are required, and not all freeholders will provide them due to high costs. If you wish to buy property purely for AirBnB rentals, we advise you to buy Freehold property, please see our separate site here.

Question 8

Building works and decorations

Accepted Answer

As a leaseholder, you can decorate your property any way you like without seeking permission. Major building work has to be approved by the freeholder and usually we get approvals within 2-3 days. There is no charge for this service. We have own team of decorators who can repaint walls, change kitchen, re-tile bathrooms etc. but you can do it yourself or hire someone else.

Question 9

Selling the leasehold

Accepted Answer

You can resell your leasehold at any time. You will need to let us know the price you want and we'll start marketing your property. As soon as we have an offer you are happy with and we have received the money paid by a buyer, we will email you the 'forfeiting leasehold agreement', which you will need to sign and email back to us. As soon as we receive it and the buyer signs the new leasehold contract, we will send the money to you and the sale is completed. Our commissions for resale are 1,500 EUR which are added on top of the price you want. As we are part of investment company and are property brokers, and collaborate with many representatives, we reserve right to invest/speculate/mediate sales so our profit  might be higher on those occasions.

Question 10

Extending your leasehold

Accepted Answer

You can extend your lease for another term of up to 30 years according to the terms listed in the original leasehold agreement. We can assist you with extension. This service usually costs 500 EUR. Extension price is usually 1/2 price of the cost of original lease.

Question 11

Inheritance

Accepted Answer

You can include your leasehold in your Will. Whoever inherits it must come to Italy with a copy of the Will, death certificate and sign the leasehold agreement to his name or do all this remotely. This service usually costs 500 EUR.

Question 12

Legal Disclaimer and T&Cs

Accepted Answer

As much as we want to, we cannot guarantee neither stability in the World nor World Peace. All Governments do change Laws, rules and obligations all the time, often without prior notice. We aim to provide correct information on our website, but cannot guarantee it since we rely on information provided by freeholders, government bodies etc. which are run and managed by people who can make mistakes intentionally or not. We cannot be held responsible for other people's mistakes and errors.

What we can guarantee is 100% refund of the money paid if Freeholder can't sign the Leasehold Agreement and we can guarantee keys pick up and property access on your arrival after you have bought leasehold property and signed the Leasehold Agreement. We also promise to provide help, assistance and advise (for free when we can, but some services are to be paid for) during your leasehold ownership - we'll do everything we can to make sure you are enjoying your property.

Word of Advice: before buying any property, please make sure you can afford yearly maintenance charges without relying on rentals - Covid has toughed us that! If you can't afford - DO NOT BUY!

By using our service (whether you buy the leasehold property with our help or just browsing our website) you understand and agree to all above mentioned.

LEASEHOLD

ITALIA.com

buying property as easy as 1-2-3