Real estate agents do not get paid unless a given property is sold, and this fact often strongly influences their impartiality. Equally, the seller of a property will only receive his money if the buyer purchases his property, and therefore will be unconcerned about what happens next. On the other hand, a lawyer is not only obliged to observe strict professional standards but his payment is not linked to where and from whom you make your purchase.
You should consider yourself and your transaction to be unique. Therefore, by all means listen to, but never rely on, anecdotal or other general advice – however well intentioned it may be – given by friends or other people who already own or are in the process of buying Italian properties. The saying goes that “the devil is in the detail” and here is just one of the countless examples where this is true. Italian town and country planning regulations can vary markedly from municipality to municipality, and this is also true for also other regulations affecting Italian properties. So, what is permitted for one property may not be allowed for an identical property in the same geographical area.
At the risk of sounding self-serving, from our experience we strongly urge that no-one should attempt to buy any Italian property by relying solely on the advice of a notary or an estate agent without having all documents checked by bilingual specialists. By all means, the liability of the real estate agent in Italy should be known to everyone who wish to acquire or sell a property in Italy.
At the risk of sounding self-serving, from our experience we strongly urge that no-one should attempt to buy any Italian property by relying solely on the advice of a notary or an estate agent without having all documents checked by bilingual specialists. By all means, the liability of the real estate agent in Italy should be known to everyone who wish to acquire or sell a property in Italy.
