Buying property in Italy as a foreigner: the 12-point checklist

Before you offer

1. Right to buy: EU/EEA citizens buy freely. Non-EU non-residents depend on the reciprocity condition (art. 16 preleggi): Italians must be allowed to buy in your country. US, UK, Canadian and Australian citizens are fine; check your case with the notary.

2. Codice fiscale: the Italian tax code. You cannot sign the deed without one. Free, from an Italian consulate or the Agenzia delle Entrate.

3. Budget the real total: price + purchase taxes + notary (€2,000–4,000) + agency (usually 3–4% + VAT) + possible interpreter or bilingual deed if you don't read Italian (artt. 54-55 of the notarial law) + translations and travel.

Before you sign anything — even the 'offer'

4. Know that the proposta d'acquisto binds you: once the seller accepts, many proposal forms turn into a preliminary contract. Don't treat it as casual paperwork.

5. Visura catastale e ipotecaria: the official records. Who really owns the property, in what shares, and what mortgages, foreclosures or judicial claims sit on it. Never rely on the listing.

6. Building compliance: permits, condoni (amnesty applications — are they concluded?), unpermitted works, agibilità. Italy's regularization rules changed in 2024 ('Salva Casa', L. 105/2024), so have current status verified by a professional.

7. Provenance: if the seller received the property by donation or recent inheritance, check the position under the 2025 reform of artt. 561 and 563 c.c. — the risk to your title is largely gone, but financing practice and the transitional rules still deserve a question. See our dedicated guide.

In the preliminary contract (compromesso)

8. Deposit type: caparra confirmatoria means you lose it all if you can't complete. Know what you're signing.

9. Mortgage condition: if you need financing, the contract must say the purchase is conditional on the loan being approved. If it doesn't, your deposit is at your bank's mercy.

10. The notary is your choice: the buyer pays the notary and by custom picks them. Don't give this up — and involve the notary early, not just at the deed.

Before and at the deed (rogito)

11. Condominium and running costs: unpaid condo fees follow the property (the buyer can be liable for the current and previous year). Ask for the amministratore's statement.

12. Language: if you don't understand Italian, the deed needs a sworn interpreter or a bilingual text. Budget it, and use the occasion — the notary must explain the deed to you; ask every question you have.

Where most buyers actually need help

Points 5–9 all live inside documents written in Italian legalese. That's exactly what our service does: upload your compromesso, proposta or visura and get a plain-English report — what it says, what's risky, what's missing, what to ask — in about a minute, from $39. Start there; bring in a lawyer when the report tells you the stakes deserve one.

Related guides

• What is a compromesso? Italy's binding preliminary contract, explained
• Visura catastale explained: how to read Italy's property record (and what it won't tell you)
• Buying a property that was a gift: what the 2025 reform changed