How to pay down payment for property offer?

Hello ,  I'm traveling to Italy later the month for a holiday . I'm interested in seeing a flat I've seen on line with the idea of a possible purchase.  If is turns out to be something I want to put an offer in on how do I put down the necessary initial deposit if the owner accepts. My accounts are Canadian and i don't have an Italian account. I assume a check must be in Euro?  Do homeowners require 10% , otherwise I was thinking a smaller amount of cash might be possible? Thank you

When we bought our property there was no 'down payment'.  If I remember rightly once we had exchanged contracts the deal was:
If we pulled out we had to pay the vendor 10% of the purchase price or
If the vendor pulled out he/she had to pay us 20% of the purchase price

But that was a while back and things may have changed.

ghiro wrote:When we bought our property there was no 'down payment'.  If I remember rightly once we had exchanged contracts the deal was:If we pulled out we had to pay the vendor 10% of the purchase price orIf the vendor pulled out he/she had to pay us 20% of the purchase priceBut that was a while back and things may have changed.

    That makes sense though they would have to trust you to pay up if you backed out .

Is there an agent involved?
What you are talking about is a formal offer to buy.   If there is an agency, even 1000 euros will be enough to take the house off the market for a cople of weeks whileyou sort out your finances. If you are going to go straight to compromesso, then you need to sort out a codice fiscale.  The method of payment has to be agreed by the vendor, and 99% of the time it must be in euros and must be a traceable method of payment, cheque, bankers draft or bank transfer.   For a compromise you will usually pay 20% of the purchase price, though a seller can accept 10% - but you need to have the checks and blaances in place or you are not safeguarded.

modicasa wrote:Is there an agent involved?What you are talking about is a formal offer to buy.   If there is an agency, even 1000 euros will be enough to take the house off the market for a cople of weeks whileyou sort out your finances. If you are going to go straight to compromesso, then you need to sort out a codice fiscale.  The method of payment has to be agreed by the vendor, and 99% of the time it must be in euros and must be a traceable method of payment, cheque, bankers draft or bank transfer.   For a compromise you will usually pay 20% of the purchase price, though a seller can accept 10% - but you need to have the checks and blaances in place or you are not safeguarded.

Modicasa,

Who are you recommending for currency traders these days?  We plan on resuming our house search in Le Marche in September.  Also, what type of professional do you recommend to do a home inspection and is there some mechanism in the offer that states that it is subject to the result of the inspection?

modicasa wrote:Is there an agent involved?What you are talking about is a formal offer to buy.   If there is an agency, even 1000 euros will be enough to take the house off the market for a cople of weeks whileyou sort out your finances. If you are going to go straight to compromesso, then you need to sort out a codice fiscale.  The method of payment has to be agreed by the vendor, and 99% of the time it must be in euros and must be a traceable method of payment, cheque, bankers draft or bank transfer.   For a compromise you will usually pay 20% of the purchase price, though a seller can accept 10% - but you need to have the checks and blaances in place or you are not safeguarded.

Hello . There is the listing agent only , I have a codice fiscale already.  So just to secure it i could pay a small cash payment and return the 20% by bank draft in euro later? It's  a small property and I plan to purchase this one or another without a mortgage. Also would I have to attend the compromesso ,as well as the rogito?  Thanks for your help.

Pm me for currency traders, if you want recommendations. 

For the rest - you can put in a clause in the compromesso which sas the offer is subject to ....  butits better surely to do the inspection prior to the compromesso.  The compromesso is not to be taken lightly, its a legal document and it locks you into the sale.  I would ask an engineer to do it, but in Italy you buy as seen - so it will only help you up to a certain point. 

Lss - what do you mean there is a listing agent only.  In Italy the agent works for buyer and seller.   A formal offer can only be for a maximum of a few weeks, so you need to work out how to get the money here for the compromesso. Ideally to protect your interests you should be here for the compromesso, but its not legally necessary.  bear in mind that anything you dont understand, ie Iltalian - must be translated.  If you dont know what you are signing it's null, and if you sign it anyway its your fault if you end up in a mess.

modicasa wrote:Pm me for currency traders, if you want recommendations. For the rest - you can put in a clause in the compromesso which sas the offer is subject to ....  butits better surely to do the inspection prior to the compromesso.  The compromesso is not to be taken lightly, its a legal document and it locks you into the sale.  I would ask an engineer to do it, but in Italy you buy as seen - so it will only help you up to a certain point. Lss - what do you mean there is a listing agent only.  In Italy the agent works for buyer and seller.   A formal offer can only be for a maximum of a few weeks, so you need to work out how to get the money here for the compromesso. Ideally to protect your interests you should be here for the compromesso, but its not legally necessary.  bear in mind that anything you dont understand, ie Iltalian - must be translated.  If you dont know what you are signing it's null, and if you sign it anyway its your fault if you end up in a mess.

So, do we make an offer and if it accepted, then have a structural engineer inspect it?  Not sure of the mechanics of this and what this stage is called before the compromesso is signed. Is there a document that is signed along with the offer?  I will pm you for the currency traders.  Thanks so much.

modicasa wrote:Pm me for currency traders, if you want recommendations. For the rest - you can put in a clause in the compromesso which sas the offer is subject to ....  butits better surely to do the inspection prior to the compromesso.  The compromesso is not to be taken lightly, its a legal document and it locks you into the sale.  I would ask an engineer to do it, but in Italy you buy as seen - so it will only help you up to a certain point. Lss - what do you mean there is a listing agent only.  In Italy the agent works for buyer and seller.   A formal offer can only be for a maximum of a few weeks, so you need to work out how to get the money here for the compromesso. Ideally to protect your interests you should be here for the compromesso, but its not legally necessary.  bear in mind that anything you dont understand, ie Iltalian - must be translated.  If you dont know what you are signing it's null, and if you sign it anyway its your fault if you end up in a mess.

We would be dealing with the sellers agent and are not being helped by another agency. I was hoping to send a bank transfer for the compromesso and attend the rogito if it turns out to be something we would like to buy. Thanks again

In Itly an agent is independent and works for both parties and is paid by both parties.  Assuming that this is a legal agent they should be telling you this.  You will have to pay them their percentage, but by the same token they should be helping and safeguarding you through the process. 
The compromesso must be signed and you must know what you are signing - just sending money with nothing in return is like sending a present to a stranger.   You need to do some background work before you jump in

Lisa, you can make a written offer accompanied by a small amount of money (e.g. €500-1000). The written offer has an expiry date and in this you can say that any purchase is subject to a satisfactory engineer's report. Once the vendor has signed this you can have your inspection and then proceed to compromesso if it is satisfactory. The difficulty is whether you will get the inspection done and back to you prior to the expiry of your offer. I have never seen a written offer with an expiry date of more than a month and the majority were valid for 2 weeks.

isa - I second what Modicasa said. What if you send your 20% deposit and the vendor doesn't sign the compromesso? You can have someone you trust sign on your behalf and get your bank send the money "live" while your representative is in the room and both parties have signed. However, I would say that if you can't get back for the compromesso will you be able to get over often enough to use your purchase?

Admin wrote:Lisa, you can make a written offer accompanied by a small amount of money (e.g. €500-1000). The written offer has an expiry date and in this you can say that any purchase is subject to a satisfactory engineer's report. Once the vendor has signed this you can have your inspection and then proceed to compromesso if it is satisfactory. The difficulty is whether you will get the inspection done and back to you prior to the expiry of your offer. I have never seen a written offer with an expiry date of more than a month and the majority were valid for 2 weeks.

Thanks very much Admin.  It is a structural engineer that we look for, correct?  Do most people use their services to have a home inspection?  I wasn't sure how it worked in Italy.  The thought of buying without some sort of an inspection makes me very nervous.

Hi Lisa. Yes it would be a structural engineer. Most people do not have any kind of inspection unless it seems there may be a problem with the house. Generally speaking a house that has stood for a couple of hundred years or more will last another couple of hundred

Thank you modicasa and Admin for all the advice. I The property is  very small , part of a condo complex and fairly new. My husband has knowledge of what to look for as far as structural problems so I'm thinking to forgo the inspection. You are right of course I should attend the compromesso!

Admin wrote:Hi Lisa. Yes it would be a structural engineer. Most people do not have any kind of inspection unless it seems there may be a problem with the house. Generally speaking a house that has stood for a couple of hundred years or more will last another couple of hundred

Thanks very much.  It is truly appreciated.

Lisa C, this is one of the main problems both Admin and Modi have been mentioning and for which you need a structural engineer. Also, seismic compliance needs to be assessed http://construction.about.com/od/Warehouse-Remodeling/a/What-Is-Underpinning-Underpinning-Methods.htm
If there is a need for underpinning, costs can escalate very quickly. 
Good luck with the search!

Fairly new?  How new - if it is under 10 years old it is guaranteed by the builders.  Condo - are there any problems with other properties in the condo.  Who is the administrator - talk to them.  What are the condo conditions in the event of work being needed?

Gala Placidia wrote:Lisa C, this is one of the main problems both Admin and Modi have been mentioning and for which you need a structural engineer. Also, seismic compliance needs to be assessed http://construction.about.com/od/Warehouse-Remodeling/a/What-Is-Underpinning-Underpinning-Methods.htmIf there is a need for underpinning, costs can escalate very quickly. Good luck with the search!

Very nice to hear from you, Gala.  Thanks very much for your input.  I really appreciate it.  We just sold our business and will be coming in September to look more.  Fingers crossed!  Hope your husband is doing well.  A presto.