L'Italo-Americano

LIFESTYLE ADVICE FOOD PLACES www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022 L'Italo-Americano H ave you ever been to Italy and had your heart stolen? A n d h a v e you ever wondered what it would be like to own your o w n p r o p e r t y i n I t a l y ? A piece of paradise with your name on it? I imagine the answer is a big fat "SI." You would be one of mil- lions of dreamers who think the same thing, but many do not take that first step to making their dream of own- ing a home in Italy a reality. Why? Fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of the bureaucracy, fear of ending up like one of the many horror stories that you read on the internet, or the expat forums and the list goes on. Let me tell you, buying a property in Italy is nothing l i k e w h a t y o u s e e i n t h e films. The Hollywood ver- sion of buying property in Italy is definitely a highlights reel! Since working in the real estate and holiday rentals industries in Italy for more than 7 years now, not really much surprises me anymore. But I can tell you now, in order to successfully and safely purchase property in Italy, you NEED to have a team of independent profes- sionals on your side. You also need to let go of any expectations that you might have, that things work in any way similar to how they do in your own country. Things in Italy take time… think of the phrase "piano, piano" but magnified. A l l o w m e t o e l i m i n a t e s o m e " m y t h s " t h a t m a n y a s s u m e w h e n i t c o m e s t o buying property in Italy and outline the first key step in which you will need to take to get the process started. Myth #1: If I buy a prop- erty in Italy, I automatically can have residency there. No. This is not correct. B u y i n g p r o p e r t y i n I t a l y does not give you the right to live in Italy unless you are an Italian citizen, have a special visa that allows you to stay in the country. Myth #2: If I am a dual citizen, I pay less property taxes when purchasing in Italy This is also incorrect. The property taxes when buying i n I t a l y a r e t h e s a m e f o r everyone, whether you are Italian, resident, non Italian, non resident. If you decide to utilize the property as your main resi- dence "prima casa" you pay 2% of the "cadastral" value of the property (land registry value). If you decide to utilize the property as a "second home" or a holiday home, you pay 9% of the cadastral value of the property. M y t h # 3 : T h e e s t a t e agent is your go-to person for everything related to the property purchase This is a big fat NO. In Italy, the estate agent gets paid by the buyer and the seller in the deal so they have no bias to either party. Their objective is to sell the property. Now, I am not saying that all estate agents in Italy are only driven by the sale, as there are many wonderful agents out there, however… having an independent team o n y o u r s i d e g u i d i n g y o u through the sale is crucial. M y t h # 4 : Y o u w i l l call/email an estate agent in Italy and get ALL the infor- mation you need on the first go. I hate to burst the bubble here, but since working in this industry I have had to turn myself almost into an A Grade stalker to get informa- t i o n o u t o f s o m e a g e n t s . T h e y d o n ' t a n s w e r t h e phone, texts, whatsapps or emails unless you HOUND them. It's quite baffling at times as it makes you won- der whether they really are interested in earning a com- mission! Myth #5: I'm buying in cash, so the process is going to be super quick In theory, if you are going to be a cash buyer in Italy a n d E V E N i f e v e r y t h i n g went super smooth sailing w i t h n o n a s t y s u r p r i s e s ( w h i c h I h a t e t o t e l l y o u , they crop up, A LOT) then y o u ' r e s t i l l l o o k i n g a t approximately 60 days plus to close. B u t w h e t h e r y o u a r e a cash buyer or not, this does not depend entirely on your c i r c u m s t a n c e s . Y o u a l s o need to take into considera- tion the seller, what their sit- uation is like and what their plans are. They might need time to find another proper- ty or have their own timeline in which they would like to close the sale. So, bear this in mind when making your offer and try to get an exact timeline from the seller as to when they will vacate the property. During this column I will be sharing various case studies that I have experi- enced first-hand with my c l i e n t s s o y o u c a n s e e E X A C T L Y w h a t g o e s o n behind the scenes here in Italy with property purchas- es. No sugar coating it from me, you will get the facts BUT also the solutions so that you are empowered to take the steps to make buy- ing property here a reality. First things first, you will need a "Codice Fiscale" which is a fiscal code. That is mandatory for purchasing p r o p e r t y i n I t a l y a n d f o r p r e t t y m u c h d o i n g A N Y - THING in Italy i.e. having a sim card, connecting inter- net, utilities, bank account etc. Getting a codice fiscale is not difficult. You can either apply online through your local Italian Consulate or in p e r s o n i n I t a l y a t t h e "comune" (municipality) in w h i c h y o u a r e l o o k i n g t o buy. Because of Covid, there have been delays in obtain- ing the Codice Fiscale from the Italian Consulate so if you are considering purchas- ing property in Italy in the future, you can ask a proper- ty lawyer to arrange this for y o u o n y o u r b e h a l f f o r a small fee. If you are interested in learning about how to buy property in Italy, stay tuned f o r m y m o n t h l y c o l u m n here, where I will be giving you the inside information; the good, the bad and the downright ugly on buying property in Italy but also action steps to take. It doesn't need to be hard. It can be smooth sailing, as long as you have the right advice. And as the old saying goes " n o t h i n g w o r t h h a v i n g comes easy" right? N i k k i T a y l o r i s a n Australian expat and real estate expert, specialising in Italian property purchase for foreigners. A 3 x Amazon bestselling author, Nikki's work has f e a t u r e d i n F o r b e s , E n t r e p r e n e u r a n d Millionaire magazines, and HGTV's Mediterranean Life TV program. Residing in Puglia, you'll find her enjoying "la dolce vita" with her husband and two Italo-Australiano bam- binos. To find out more about N i k k i ' s w o r k v i s i t www.italy-propertyconsult- ing.com NIKKI TAYLOR Dreaming of La Dolce Vita Dreaming of becoming a property owner on the Italian coast? Nikki Taylor will tell you how! (Photo: Freesurf69/Dreamstime)

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