03 Aug Buying real estate – risks
Buying real estate in Italy - risks
Falling into the trap
Buying real estate abroad involves special risks.
After we found our dream home – you can read the crazy story here – things got serious.
Of course, we didn’t want to take any risks when buying our first property in Italy.
But even though everyone who knows a thing or two about it had warned us, we fell into the most well-known trap: We bought an illegal house in Italy.
How did that happen?
During (!) the notary appointment and of course after we had transferred the full purchase price, it turned out that the notary had not yet received the expert opinion that was supposed to confirm the correctness of the property in question in terms of building law.
The notary said it was in the post and just a formality and that we could go ahead and sign the contract.
We didn’t ask any further questions because it was just a subordinate clause and she didn’t go into it any further.
We happily accepted the keys after the seller’s extended family and all of us had signed all 5 copies of the contract.
The purchase contract is not handed over on this date, but is merely transmitted digitally a few weeks later – this is common practice in Italy.
Where is the purchase contract?
When after a few – I think it was three – months there was still no purchase contract, we got a bit nervous and asked the notary. Yes, er, well, the building law report hadn’t arrived yet….
What???? The next time we asked, it turned out that the surveyor had written that everything was in order. However, when our architect wanted to submit the plans for the renovation of the house to the land registry, it turned out that the floor plans submitted to the land registry differed from the actual floor plans and the current structural condition was not only different, but completely illegal.
Yes, by now at the latest you should be thick-skinned. The situation was as follows: Our house is located in a protected geological zone where building rights are very restricted. That was clear to us. New buildings on the property would not be approved here. This zone also strictly regulates how much volume of enclosed space a house may have. Our newly purchased dream home had, among other things, an open, very high ceiling in the living room, so that you could really see the roof beams. However, the land registry office had building drawings showing that a false ceiling – which could not be walked on – was to be installed in the living room. WITH this false ceiling, the converted space was not exceeded. WITHOUT the false ceiling, the approved converted space was exceeded and the house was therefore in an illegal state.
The solution
I’ll spare you the details, but after another six months – during which we couldn’t start the renovation work because the municipality wouldn’t give us permission because the house was illegal – our estate agent, the architect and an employee of the municipality worked out a solution after lengthy negotiations (make sure you find an architect you can communicate well with!): If a false ceiling is subsequently installed, the house is subsequently declared legal and we can start renovating.
Okay, apart from the fact that we liked the house so much because of the open roof beams, there was also the question of who would bear the costs of installing the false ceiling. Fortunately, there was no discussion, the seller covered the costs without hesitation, commissioned a proper company and – whoosh – we had a false ceiling in the living room after another two months.
After these were installed and supporting documents submitted to the local authority, we finally received approval for the new structural changes and the start of the renovation work. In fact, the installation of larger windows, the replacement of the – no longer permitted – open fireplace with an efficient wood-burning stove and the relocation of interior walls are all subject to approval, at least in our geological zone.
Italian building law tops German building law
In our case, even the roof tiles and the outside color had to be approved by the local authority.
And here’s the thing: if we build solar panels on the planned new roof, we can increase the volume of the enclosed space by 25%. You guessed it: the ceiling can be removed again!
Okay, apart from the fact that I now have a phobia of building dust and really don ‘ t fancy ripping out the ceiling in our now beautifully renovated living room, we’ve got used to it. And painted in light grey as it is now, we like it quite a bit and it warms up faster in winter.
Well, the renovation was delayed by 12 months. Nevertheless, we moved in a few days after handing over the keys. With garden furniture and cardboard boxes.
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