by FSBO 
This guide to selling property in Italy will be incomplete without a detailed look into the political situation in the country. Let’s begin with how the business friendly Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was forced to resign in December 2016 because of the rise of euro-sceptic forces in the country, such as the Five Star Movement.
Since then nobody really knows who is in charge in Italy. Everyone seems to be waiting for the new elections to be held which will decide if the anti-establishment forces led by the Five Star Movement will come to power or not.
The Five Star Movement has substantial support in the country, but not enough to form a government by itself. This political uncertainty comes at a time there is a recession in the country and the banks are struggling to stay afloat. Banks are in urgent need of fresh capital, and bank bonds are at their historical lows.
The Italian GDP rate is shrinking every year and there seems to be no end in sight to the country’s troubles. What about the Italian property market?
The Italian property market has held its own, despite the serious issues in the rest of the economy. The reason for this is that Italy has always been a popular overseas property destination.
There are a lot of wealthy individuals around the world who dream of owning a home in Italy. Italy is famous for its beautiful people, fast cars, high fashion, great cuisine and relaxed lifestyle. That is not likely to go away anytime soon.
That’s why you will still get a good price for your Italian property should you choose to put it on the market. Your best chances are to sell your house to wealthy, cash rich Germans, Scandinavians, Irish, Chinese or Russian buyers, who would be willing to pay all cash for the property.
That would require you to hire an overseas property specialist, a UK estate agent who is experienced at buying and selling Italian properties. That is a much better option compared to hiring a local estate agent, as local estate agents lack the international network and online marketing skills that an overseas property specialist would have. An International estate agent is more likely to get cash-rich buyers from Russia, China, Germany, Ireland, and Scandinavia to take a look at your property.
You will need to present the following paperwork to the Land Registry when selling your property: The Purchase Deed, the registered Italian Inheritance Tax Return, the Technical Report of Sale (Relazion Tecnica di compravendita), the Energy Performance Certificate (Attestato di Certificazione Energetica), and a Certificate of Habitability (Certificato di agibilita).
A word on the capital gains tax – you won’t have to pay capital gains tax on your property in Italy if you have held it for a period of at least 5 years. Otherwise, you may be asked to pay capital gains tax on the sale of the property. This varies from year to year and depends on a number of factors such as the size of the property, built-up area, location, etc. Contact us to know more.
