Having identified the property to buy, the real estate agent submits to the future buyer the offer to purchase. This document is a “reservation” which enables the buyer to conclude the preliminary contract with the proprietor of the building. Often caution money is asked to guarantee the buyer’s actual contract will to purchase the property. In case the seller refuses the offer, the intermediary must return the caution money received. In the offer to purchase is clearly indicated that the buyer commits himself to buy the property, provided that it is in compliance with the town-planning rules and free from encumbrances, or else the offer would automatically be null and the agency returns the entire sum paid as caution money to the buyer.
Once the seller has accepted the offer to purchase in the time given, the following phase is the preliminary deed of sale. It is a private act in which the parts establish, declare and reciprocally undersign their will, respectively to sell and buy on the terms indicated in the deed. For this reason the writing of this contract is very important and it has to be written by a professional in the field, who will safeguard the reciprocal rights of the parts, without leaving dark zones. The main elements of a preliminary deed of sale are:description of the property, price of the property, methods of payment, Caution money amount, date of the deed. All notes and clarifications, considered as appropriate, may be inserted in the deed.
The notarial deed is the real act of sale, by means of which the change of ownership takes places, according to the dispositions stated in the preliminary act of sale. It is important to know in advance the documents needed for the notarial act of sale, the essential ones are the following:
Besides all the documents concerning the property, previously mentioned in the chapter: necessary documents.
N.B.: It is not always necessary to have all these documents, some of them can be contained in a single document. Our agency will assist you to simplify as much as possible the attainment of the necessary documents.The agency Sviluppo Casa33 also offers the possibility of stipulating the notarial deeds in-house, inside our notary’s office, guaranteeing maximum privacy.
The taxable base to apply real estate sale taxes is the price of purchase when the property is not suitable for housing, or when it is suitable for housing, but at least one of the parts involved in the sale, is not a natural person. N.b. Following the recent laws (the 2006 financial bill and 2006 law n°248) on real estate for housing between natural persons(natural persons who do not act as commercial, artistic or professional associations) the taxable base for the registry, mortgage and cadastral taxes is the cadastral value of the property, instead of the amount paid. This tax reduction can be applied provided that the act indicates the effective amount agreed for the sale.
The following are the expenses and taxes in which you will incur, with an indication of the different tax rates, paid according to the type of purchase (first home, holiday house, luxury house).
> FIRST HOME PURCHASE from a natural person or from a company, in which real estate sale is not the exclusive or main activity.
> FIRST HOME PURCHASE from a company which builds and renovates houses or in which real estate sale is the exclusive or main activity.
> HOLIDAY HOUSE OR LUXURY HOUSE PURCHASE from a natural person or from a company in which real estate sale is not the exclusive or main activity:
> HOLIDAY HOUSE OR LUXURY HOUSE PURCHASE from a company, which builds or renovates houses in which real estate sale is the exclusive or main activity.
> PURCHASE OF LAND
The taxable base for non-farmland is the value indicated in the deed.
> FARMLAND
The taxable base for farmland is the value indicated in the deed.
> To these taxes we have to add:
Requirements needed to obtain the first home tax reduction
The following are the essential requirements to take advantage of the tax reduction. The buyer must be a natural person. The real estate must be for the buyer the only house of property in the town of residence, or has to declare it as his residence within 18 months from the date of purchase. The property purchased has to be housing, but not a luxury house The buyer must attest in the deed, the existence of the abovementioned requirements and ask for the application of the reduction.
The house can not be sold or donated for five years, or the tax reduction is lost and the buyer has to pay the difference on the registry, cadastral, and mortgage, taxes, which had been previously saved, plus 30% surtax and the interests from the date of the contract stipulation. But if, within 12 months of the early resale, the buyer purchases another main house, the sanctions will not be applied. The tax reductions in exam are also due for the purchase, also with separate act, of some appurtenances of the main houses, and for not more than one of the following: cellar or attic cat.C/2, lock up garage cat. C/6 or parking place cat. C/7.
Finally, we need to point out that the buyer can take advantage of this tax reduction as many times as wished, without limitations, provided that the aforementioned conditions apply, but above all, as long as the buyer does not own other houses (in the Italian territory) bought taking advantage of the first home tax reductions. It is therefore possible to sell a house and buy another, always taking advantage of the tax reduction, provided that it happens at a later date and respecting the rules provided.
Residence for tax purposes
When changing your house, remember to notify your new residence for tax purposes to the Direct Tax Office of your province. If you do not know where it’s located in your town, you can look it up in the telephone guide, under the heading: Financial Offices, on Ministry of Finance’s website or call the Ministry’s call centre at the number 147 800 444.
The notification can be done by going to the office in person (remember to take with you your id card and a residence certificate), or by sending a recorded delivery letter with advice of delivery (enclose photocopies of the ID card and the certificate of residence. You will have to indicate in the provided form, the change of residence for tax purpose. This change will be made official within 60 days from your communication.
Change of residence
The change of residence in the same town, must be asked personally by the concerned citizen; if an entire family is changing their residence, just one family member is needed, who must be full of age, with a valid id card, and must indicate the new address exactly, including the stairs and apartment numbers.
Since 1 October 1995, the address on the driving licences (and since 1 March 1997 the car registration documents as well), is directly updated by the registry office, which releases a provisional receipt, to be kept with the driving license and the car registration documents until the traffic control authority in Rome makes the definitive update. Within 180 days from the date of the request, the definitive tickets will be received at home, replacing the provisional receipt. These tickets must be appended on the documents to update. If the tickets have not been received within 180 days, the applicant will have to call the free number 800232323.
Transfer of subscriptions
the transfer or (taking over) of the household subscriptions is the transfer of the supply contracts (gas, power, water, telephone) from the previous owner, or tenant, to the new one. By taking over an existing contract, the new owner, on one hand, saves the expenses necessary to disconnect and reconnect the telephone meter, on the other hand receives a more favourable tax treatment. On the whole, taking into account all subscriptions, the new owner can save several hundred euros. Because of these advantages if is preferable to take over an old contract than stipulate a new one whenever possible. But beware: when taking over, the new owner is not starting a new contract; he’s continuing the old one. Therefore, if the previous bills have not been paid by the old owner, the new user will be responsible for the missing payments. When taking over a contract it is important to check that all previous bills have been paid, and there are no balances of arrears pending: this information can be obtained contacting directly the supplying institution or company.