THERE are three stages in buying a piece of real estate in Italy – the proposal, the preliminaries and the finale. In each of these stages, there are certain legalities that must be observed but don’t worry because they are just so smooth to follow.

The first rationale to do when going to Italy is to seek a member of the Italian bar whom you can trust. It is necessary for an Italian lawyer to help you out because he or she is already adept with the real estate laws of your country. And if you don’t speak Italian or your fluency in that language is not that adequate, your Italian lawyer can readily assist you in case you’re about to be conned by either or both the seller and the real estate broker. That’s why one should outline first what kind of property he or she wants to buy and who does he intend to live in that property. Does the potential buyer intend to live alone in the property or does he or she has a spouse and children to tag along? Does the potential buyer only use the property about two months each year during summertime as a retreat house? Or does he or she want the property to be leased out to prospective renters in a period of one year and renewals after that. All of these must already be clear to the property seeker’s mind before he or she embarks on real estate hunting and consequently hiring a lawyer. You must explicitly tell your lawyer what kind of property you want – from the landscaping to the availability of an outdoor pool. That’s it because your lawyer will always accompany your real estate broker every time there’s a potential property to check out on your behalf. The lawyer must see to it that the property is free of debt and if it does have debt associated to it, the debt will be carried on by the previous owner and not the new one. If the debt burden is to be carried on by the new owner, the real estate lawyer must make sure that the potential buyer acknowledges this scheme. In short, the lawyer will always represent the interest of the real estate seeker. Lawyers must also educate their clients all the relevant real estate laws in Italy like the realty tax law where income from your property rented by other entities will be deducted for tax. Don’t worry about this too because the income tax in Italy is quite reasonable.

If you don’t intend to hire a lawyer, then your real estate broker can serve as your faux lawyer. But make sure to hire a professional Realtor who has a degree in realty from any Italian college or university and who is accredited by the Italian association of Realtors. This is to ensure that your realtor is not bogus. Any professional Realtor with a college degree must have comprehensively studied real estate tax laws in Italy during his or her four years in school.