Realtor Recommendations Southern Marche and House Closing Costs

The first thing to remember is that the market here is different from America,.  houses are not done up to sell,  they are sold.  The buyer is expected to do the work.  As to whether they are what you want is a subjective thing.  Look for houses on Immobiliare.it - they have the largest choice, and you will get a good idea of prices.

As to costs - everything depends what you are going to buy.  If you are inscibred in the AIRE you can buy as prima casa and you will pay 2% of the rateable value as tax.  Notaios fees are set by law and are calculated according to the price paid for the property.  Agents are typically 3% plus IVA.  If you are not in te AIRE you will pay 9% of  rateable value as tax. 

A lawyer will charge alot for doing what the notaio and the agent must do by law.  If you choose a FIAIP registered agent they should work to a professioanl code of conduct and have indemnity insurance.  Someone on the ground in Le Marche can tell you the good ones.  

If you are Italian nationals and are moving here full time you will pay 2% in tax and must take residence within 18 months of the purchase.  

Be specific with the agent, telling him what you want, your budget and what is not negotiable (bedrooms, outside space, etc) That will help him to not waste your time showing unsuitable properties.

I agree with Modi, in Italy it is difficult to find a "staged" house. I would even say that in many cases houses look worse than they should...
Costs will be as per Modi's advice. What I would advise you to do is to get a structural engineer to check any old house to avoid nasty surprises. Also get the beams and joists checked for wood eating insects and termites. All the rest can be fixed!
Good luck with your search!!!!!

I would even say that in many cases houses look worse than they should...

Very true - I have owners who wont spend a cent on the house - not even cleaning it - before they hand over the keys.

modicasa wrote:I would even say that in many cases houses look worse than they should...Very true - I have owners who wont spend a cent on the house - not even cleaning it - before they hand over the keys.

...............and remember, they'll probably take the kitchen away with them when they go!!!!!!!

modicasa wrote:The first thing to remember is that the market here is different from America,.  houses are not done up to sell,  they are sold.  The buyer is expected to do the work.  As to whether they are what you want is a subjective thing.  Look for houses on Immobiliare.it - they have the largest choice, and you will get a good idea of prices.As to costs - everything depends what you are going to buy.  If you are inscibred in the AIRE you can buy as prima casa and you will pay 2% of the rateable value as tax.  Notaios fees are set by law and are calculated according to the price paid for the property.  Agents are typically 3% plus IVA.  If you are not in te AIRE you will pay 9% of  rateable value as tax. A lawyer will charge alot for doing what the notaio and the agent must do by law.  If you choose a FIAIP registered agent they should work to a professioanl code of conduct and have indemnity insurance.  Someone on the ground in Le Marche can tell you the good ones.  

If you are Italian nationals and are moving here full time you will pay 2% in tax and must take residence within 18 months of the purchase.  

Be specific with the agent, telling him what you want, your budget and what is not negotiable (bedrooms, outside space, etc) That will help him to not waste your time showing unsuitable properties.

Hi Modicasa,

Yes, we have our Italian passports, currently listing our US address, along with our carta d'identita, from the commune in the Basilicata, where we are registered, with our US address.  Do we need a letter from our consulate stating that we are inscribed in A.I.R. E. as well? 

I am a bit confused when you say there is a 2% tax.  I thought it came to 4% for a prima casa?  It is on the cadastal value, rather than the price paid, is that correct?  Are notaio fees based upon price paid?

We are definitely being more firm with any agents we are contacting as in the past, most of what we have been shown has been a waste of time.  We were even shown a bed and breakfast by one agent, who had been told that we were just looking for family home.  It has been very frustrating.

Thanks so much for your help.

For prima casa you will pay 2 % of the rateable value plus two tax stampsof 50 euros each.  The notario will probably need to see your inscription in the AIRE, but if you are planning to move full time and take up prima casa, it is possible that as Italian citizens you will have 18 months to move and take up residence in the comune so he wont want to see the AIRE paperwork.    I would expect not, as usually its for prima casa Italians who have no intention of living here.  

NOtaio fees are in bands and based on the price paid.

Lisa, I have sent you a pm - hope it will help you!

Lisa, I think you have been looking for a property for a long while....seem to remember your postings on the Italy Mag site years ago.....I know it is frustrating being shown houses that are not what you want but it seems the thing they do here, you must be more firm with the agents, I am selling our house in central Marche, the number of unsuitable clients that have been to view has been overwhelming....what a waste of everyones time !

Well, in estate agents' defence - you can't imagine the proportion that buy something NOTHING like they told you they wanted. It is very very high.

IMO a house purchase is a very subjective thing and whilst it is good to have a clear idea of what you want you must remember you will undoubtedly need to compromise as nothing will be perfect.

I would (even if you keep it to yourself) decide what is really a non-negotiable and what could become a compromise. Sometimes it is impossible to be clear on this until you've seen lots of houses.

I know you have been looking for a long time but I'm pretty sure I remember you saying you weren't going to buy for a while. Maybe the agents got the impression you weren't an imminent sale (so for them not serious) so didn't treat you very seriously. One of my estate agent friends said to me once "You British buy houses like you do shoes - try on lots and then buy the first one you saw". It did make me laugh but she was correct. We do a lot more browsing and chopping and changing with agents than Italians.

I would suggest you find an agent you like and trust and let them find you something. 99% of the time even if something is for sale via a different agent, they all know each other and will commission share to get the sale. At least then you are dealing with someone you like and trust. Don't, however, expect them to behave like a US realtor because they really, really won't. You will have to adjust your expectations accordingly (rather like the rest of life in Italy!) rather than the other way round or spend your whole house-hunt being disappointed.

I don't know exactly where in Marche you are looking but I can reccomend AEG Immobiliare in Amandola. Gildo is also the regional head of FIAIP and sells property in the US so is more internationaly minded. On top of that he is very, very nice and completely straight.

modicasa wrote:For prima casa you will pay 2 % of the rateable value plus two tax stampsof 50 euros each.  The notario will probably need to see your inscription in the AIRE, but if you are planning to move full time and take up prima casa, it is possible that as Italian citizens you will have 18 months to move and take up residence in the comune so he wont want to see the AIRE paperwork.    I would expect not, as usually its for prima casa Italians who have no intention of living here.  NOtaio fees are in bands and based on the price paid.

Thanks very much Modi.I will ask our consulate for the AIRE paperwork.  I appreciate your taking the time to answer my questions (I know, I have a ton of them!)

Hazy wrote:Lisa, I have sent you a pm - hope it will help you!

Yes, I just read it.  Thank you so very much.  We will reach out to them. 

Angela Fuller wrote:Lisa, I think you have been looking for a property for a long while....seem to remember your postings on the Italy Mag site years ago.....I know it is frustrating being shown houses that are not what you want but it seems the thing they do here, you must be more firm with the agents, I am selling our house in central Marche, the number of unsuitable clients that have been to view has been overwhelming....what a waste of everyones time !

Yes, Angela, we sure have been!  We have started being more firm as we don't want to waste their time or ours.  Being shown places like an agriturismo when we told the realtor we just wanted a family house, was particularly upsetting.  Good luck with your house sale.  We will have to do the same with ours in the US.

Admin wrote:Well, in estate agents' defence - you can't imagine the proportion that buy something NOTHING like they told you they wanted. It is very very high.IMO a house purchase is a very subjective thing and whilst it is good to have a clear idea of what you want you must remember you will undoubtedly need to compromise as nothing will be perfect.I would (even if you keep it to yourself) decide what is really a non-negotiable and what could become a compromise. Sometimes it is impossible to be clear on this until you've seen lots of houses.

I know you have been looking for a long time but I'm pretty sure I remember you saying you weren't going to buy for a while. Maybe the agents got the impression you weren't an imminent sale (so for them not serious) so didn't treat you very seriously. One of my estate agent friends said to me once "You British buy houses like you do shoes - try on lots and then buy the first one you saw". It did make me laugh but she was correct. We do a lot more browsing and chopping and changing with agents than Italians.

I would suggest you find an agent you like and trust and let them find you something. 99% of the time even if something is for sale via a different agent, they all know each other and will commission share to get the sale. At least then you are dealing with someone you like and trust. Don't, however, expect them to behave like a US realtor because they really, really won't. You will have to adjust your expectations accordingly (rather like the rest of life in Italy!) rather than the other way round or spend your whole house-hunt being disappointed.

I don't know exactly where in Marche you are looking but I can reccomend AEG Immobiliare in Amandola. Gildo is also the regional head of FIAIP and sells property in the US so is more internationaly minded. On top of that he is very, very nice and completely straight.

Thanks so much for your wise words.  We are at the point where we would like to move over next year, now that we have recently sold our business.  The dollar is also much better, so we are able to buy a bit more house than before.  We will contact AEG again. We had tried once, years ago, but they did not respond until we had gone to and returned from Italy.  We have not really met a realtor whom we trusted so hopefully he will fit the bill.  I also had a few others to ask you about as they have houses that look interesting, but I will send you a pm for your opinion.  We are interested in the Val D'Aso area, Offida, Ripatransone.  We are also considering Curetta/Servigliano.  We like Montelparo, Petritoli, Monte Rinaldo, Ortezzano, Montottone, Carassai, Monte Rubbiano in particular.

Lisa - sent you another pm re the areas of interest - I live in one of the towns you mention.

Nothing like getting direct information from someone living in the area. You are very lucky Lisa! 

Lisa, I too can recommend AEG Immoliliare Amandola, Gildo and Alessia have been very helpful and professional on our behalf.  Good luck with your search.

Angela Fuller wrote:Lisa, I too can recommend AEG Immoliliare Amandola, Gildo and Alessia have been very helpful and professional on our behalf.  Good luck with your search.

Thanks so much!  We really appreciate everyone's help with this.