Guide to buying homes in Italy and Lake Maggiore, for foreign customers

Italy is increasingly becoming a destination of interest for foreign customers to buy a villa, a farmhouse or an apartment.

The reasons are easy to understand, in Italy there are all the available panoramas such as lakes, the sea, the countryside and the mountains.

Food and wine are a flagship of the entire peninsula, Italy has 75% of the world's artistic heritage.

This trend is also confirmed for requests to purchase prestigious villas on Lake Maggiore and in Stresa, whether for use as a holiday home or as a primary residence in Italy.

Who can buy

Real estate in Italy can be purchased by both individuals and companies with the same rights as Italian citizens.

All foreigners can purchase, where there is reciprocity between the country of origin and Italy.

Checks to be carried out

Before proceeding with the purchase, after having identified the area of ​​interest, it is necessary to check all the technical-legal aspects related to the property itself.

The checks carried out by Stresa Luxury Real Estate are carried out before the marketing phase of the property on the market.

They consist of verifying that the home was built with regular permits and that during the period of ownership no works requiring authorizations have been carried out.

In the event that there are unauthorized works, it is necessary to ascertain that the works have been regularized, and that the owner is in possession of the regularization concession issued by the Municipality.

In the case of purchase from a builder, our agency requests from the latter a copy of the building permit and the project approved by the Municipality.

The steps

The first step to finalize a purchase is the signature of a purchase proposal by the buyer, where all the main terms of the transaction are included: the price, the payment methods and the timing.

If the seller gives a positive response, a sum of approximately 5-10% must be sent to the notary who will follow the transfer of ownership, as a deposit. This sum will be received in a dedicated "escrow" account.
The second step will be the signing of the preliminary purchase contract (compromise). It consists of the payment by the buyer of a deposit of 20-30%, with the same methods as the purchase proposal. In the preliminary contract, all the agreements made in the purchase proposal are indicated in more detail. The preliminary contract can be signed in the form of a private deed or at the notary who will register and transcribe it at the Land Registry. In this way, the buyer is protected against any transcriptions prejudicial to the seller.

The third and final phase is the signing of the final contract (notarial deed) which must be stipulated before the notary. The notary will have previously verified what has already been checked by the Stresa Luxury Real Estate agency, to ensure the regularity and the lack of mortgages or debts burdening the property. If the buyer does not speak Italian, the notarial deed will be translated into the main languages. At this stage the entire price of the property is paid.

Taxes on purchases

The taxation on real estate is essentially divided into two categories:

Properties where you want to establish your residence in Italy (first non-luxury home) where you pay the 2% Registration Tax;

Properties as a secondary or luxury home where you pay the 9% Registration Tax.

In both cases, you must add €100.00 of Mortgage and Land Registry tax.

The percentages shown are not calculated on the sale price but on the cadastral income, which is the value attributed to the property in the Land Registry. These values ​​are much lower than the real value of the property.

Foreign citizens who meet the requirements can also benefit from the “first home” concessions.

These requirements consist of transferring residence within 18 months of the notarial deed, not owning another property for residential use in the Municipality where you are purchasing and not owning other properties on Italian territory where you have benefited from the concessions as a first home.

Stresa Luxury Real Estate in its Stresa office, with its presence since 1991 on the luxury real estate market on Lake Maggiore and the experience of its team is able to assist you in all phases of your purchase.

It also offers you assistance for any need for renovation and future management of your property, thanks to the support of specialized professionals.
In this way, purchasing a villa or a house for sale on Lake Maggiore will be a very simple process.