Inter Italia - International Property Consultants

What do we do?

Our company specializes only in Puglia properties and due to the fact we are based in the heart of Puglia , we feel we can give our clients invaluable advice on buying in the area. If you decide to visit us and view properties you will need to fly to Brindisi Airport from where we will be happy to meet you if you wish, and bring you to your hotel.

For accommodation we recommend The Grand Hotel Tiziano, Lecce www.grandhoteltiziano.it where we can offer reduced rates of 80 Euros for a double room per night or 50 Euros for a single, breakfast included. This is a 4 star hotel offering all luxuries including an excellent restaurant and outdoor swimming pool. It is located just outside the old walls of Lecce and its stunning “Centro Storico”.

During your stay we will bring you to the properties you have chosen to view as well as ones we believe will be of interest as we get to know you better and understand more about what it is exactly which would be your perfect property in Puglia .

Apart from just showing you houses we show you the region itself which can be fundamental in choosing your property as Puglia has varying landscapes and coastlines. Through experience we know that something different can appeal to every client.

Whilst we show you Puglia and properties we answer any questions you may have on the procedure of a property purchase. In the event that you wished to proceed and buy a property we help you all the way through the procedure so you will never have any problems due to language or lack of knowledge of the Italian system. We help arrange surveys, lawyers, house insurance, phone contracts, electricity contracts if required.

We also are directly linked with various first class builders. Those who specialize in the restoration of older properties and those to work on modern properties. Either way you are assured of getting the job done at the right price and with a guarantee of quality.

Below you will find a simple description on the procedure “Inter Italia” recommends of buying a property in Italy . Virtually all of our clients have used this procedure and have found it easier than buying a property in many other countries.

We strongly recommend you be aware of English law firms pushing their services to assist you in buying abroad. They can use scare tactics to make you employ them but have to use Italian based lawyers to do what we describe below. In other words you are paying two lawyers to do one’s work.

1) You travel to Puglia and find the property you wish to purchase. You agree a price through us with the owners. We have direct contracts with all properties owners and there are no local agencies involved.

2) With the price agreed, we obtain a fiscal code for you, bring you to our recommended bank “Banca San Paolo IMI” to open your Italian bank account which will be necessary to purchase a property in Italy . This bank account is described by the bank as an account for non Italian residents. It is purely for moving funds. The only way you can withdraw funds is in person (cash, Bank Draft) or perform money transfers. You will not be given a cheque book, credit card, or cash card etc. You cannot make direct debit payments from it either. Of course if you are moving permanently to Italy you obtain residency and thereby will have a normal bank account with all above services provided.

3) We introduce you to lawyers who charge 2% of purchase price and who will perform all the necessary searches on the property and its owner(s) to make sure that you can buy the property without any worries of debts on or attached to the property etc. Your lawyer will assist you, like us, up to the day of closure. A written survey can also be carried out at this stage which we can arrange. Please note that no money/deposit should ever be paid before this point unless there is a contract subject to the above mentioned searches and survey.

4) After 7 days approx. the lawyer will inform us of the results of the searches he has performed. If, as in most cases there are no problems he will go ahead and draw up a preliminary contract. This will be sent to you and you will sign wherever you live. You will then send the deposit (usually 10% of total purchase price) which will be paid to the seller upon signing of the above mentioned contract. A copy is then given to both parties. Note: If you wish to travel to Italy and perform a traditional compromesso you may but there is no direct advantage and it costs an extra trip.

5) On the preliminary contract a date for closure will be stated. On this date you should be in Italy to withdraw bankers drafts with which to go in front of the notary official with the selling party, your representing lawyer, Inter Italia representatives and a translator present where and when the closing procedure will occur and the property and it’s keys will become yours.

6) Stamp duty is paid, in a simplified term, on the governments valuation of the property. This is usually far inferior to the actual price being paid, in other words the real market value of the property. If you are buying the property as a holiday home, stamp duty will be 10% of this government valuation. If however you wish to move to Italy and apply for residency within 18 months of the closure then the stamp duty becomes 3%.

We hope you find our properties of interest and the above information useful. If you wish to visit Puglia to view properties or have any queries on the above information please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail: interitalia@libero.it or by telephone where you can contact us on 00 39 328 7445847. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Inter Italia