For buyers outside Italy
Buy in Italywithout guessing.
The property is the easy part. What stops foreign buyers is a paper trail in a language they don't read, signed in front of people whose job they misunderstand. We run that part for you, start to keys.
See what's includedNo commission on the purchase price. Fixed fee, agreed up front.
Where it goes wrong
Four things nobody tells you until it's too late
These aren't edge cases. They're the standard ways a purchase from abroad turns into a loss, and each one is preventable in the week before you sign.
Your offer is a contract
Once the seller accepts, you are bound. There is no cooling-off period. Buyers routinely sign this believing it's an expression of interest.
The notary isn't your lawyer
A notaio is a neutral public official who certifies the deed. They do not negotiate for you, and they are not obliged to tell you a price is bad.
The floor plan must match the building
If the registered plan doesn't match what's actually built, the deed can be challenged and mortgage lending refused. Unpermitted verandas are everywhere.
Deposits are not all the same
A caparra and an acconto look identical on a bank transfer and behave completely differently if the deal collapses. Only one gets you double back.
Il percorso
Every step, who does it, how long it takes
This is the actual sequence of an Italian purchase. Steps marked in gold are where money is most often lost.
Your Italian tax identity. Nothing — no offer, no bank account, no utility contract — happens without it. We obtain it through the consulate or Agenzia delle Entrate.
1–3 daysWe pull the ownership chain, mortgages, liens and seizures registered against the property, plus the cadastral plan. Done before you offer, not after.
3–5 daysDrafted with the conditions that protect you — mortgage clause, conformity clause, deadline. Binding on acceptance, so the wording is the whole game.
Same weekThe real contract. We register it at the Agenzia delle Entrate and, where your deposit warrants it, transcribe it at the Conservatoria so no one can sell the property twice.
2–6 weeksRequired to issue the assegni circolari used at completion. Opening one as a non-resident is slower than you expect; we start it in parallel at step 01.
2–5 weeksSigned before the notaio. If you can't attend, we arrange a procura speciale so someone signs on your behalf — legalised and apostilled in your country first.
30–90 daysCadastral transfer, electricity, gas, water, waste tax and the condominium register moved into your name. The unglamorous part where foreign owners get stuck for months.
2–4 weeksWhat it costs
Fixed fees. Agreed before we start.
Third-party costs — notary, taxes, cadastral fees, translations — are passed through at cost with the receipt attached. We don't mark them up.
Verifica
Before you commit
€290
+ IVA 22% · per property
- Title, mortgage and lien search
- Cadastral plan vs. reality check
- Condominium arrears and minutes
- Written report in your language
Acquisto Assistito
Offer through to deed
€1,490
+ IVA 22% · per purchase
- Everything in Verifica
- Codice fiscale and bank introduction
- Offer and compromesso drafted with you
- Independent lawyer review included
- Notary selection and coordination
- Named contact through completion
Trasferimento
If you're moving, not visiting
€2,900
+ IVA 22% · per household
- Everything in Acquisto Assistito
- Residency registration and permesso support
- All utilities and waste tax activated
- Healthcare enrolment and school guidance
- First-home tax relief eligibility review
On commission
What a €300,000 purchase actually costs you
Italian agencies conventionally charge a percentage to both sides of the same transaction. We charge the buyer a fixed fee and take nothing from the seller, so nobody on our side is paid more when you pay more.
Customary agency rate · buyer's side
€10,980
3% + IVA. The seller is customarily charged the same again on the same sale.
EasyCasa · Acquisto Assistito
€1,818
Fixed fee incl. IVA. Identical on a €300,000 flat or a €900,000 villa.
Paid to us by the seller
€0
Always. It's the reason we can tell you to walk away from a property.
Where 3% comes from. No Italian law sets a minimum commission — the Antitrust authority confirmed in 2004 that tariffs do not apply to this sector, and art. 6 of L. 39/1989 leaves the rate to agreement between the parties. The 3% figure is the customary rate recorded in Chamber of Commerce usage tables, which apply only where the parties agreed nothing in writing. That is the trap: an unsigned or silent mandate can be back-filled at the local customary rate. Ours states the fee before work starts.
Questions
Before you book
Can I buy in Italy if I'm not an EU citizen?
Usually yes, but it depends on your nationality. Italy applies a reciprocity condition — you can buy if an Italian could buy in your country, or if a treaty covers it. Buyers from the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and most of Latin America are covered. We confirm your position in writing before you pay anything.
Do I have to be in Italy to complete?
No. You can grant a procura speciale — a specific power of attorney — allowing someone to sign the deed for you. It has to be executed in front of a notary in your country and then legalised or apostilled, which takes two to three weeks. We start that early so it never becomes the reason completion slips.
Are you the estate agent?
No. We're paid a fixed fee by you and nothing by the seller, which means we have no stake in whether a particular property sells. If the survey comes back badly, our advice is to walk, and it costs us nothing to say so.
What isn't included?
Notary fees, registration and cadastral taxes, translation and apostille costs, and any technical survey by a geometra. These are passed through at cost with the invoice attached. On a €300,000 second home, budget roughly €9,000–13,000 in taxes and notary fees depending on the region and whether you buy from a private seller or a company.
An agent told me 3% is fixed by law. Is it?
No. There is no legal minimum commission in Italy. Rates are freely negotiable and have been since the sector was liberalised. The 3% you'll hear quoted is the customary figure recorded by local Chambers of Commerce, and it applies as a fallback only when the parties never agreed anything in writing — which is exactly why you should never sign a mandate that leaves the rate blank.
Which languages do you work in?
Italian, English and Spanish, with every document you sign accompanied by a plain translation. We won't put a contract in front of you that you can only read in Italian.
Start here
Send us the listing. We'll tell you what's wrong with it.
A 30-minute call, no charge. Bring a property you're considering and we'll go through the title, the plan and the taxes you'd actually pay.
Book a callOr write to acquisti@easycasaita.com