VFI Briefing:Purchasing Overseas real estate

Purchasing Italian real estate

Once a property has been located, the first step is an agreement between the buyer and the seller, known as a Proposal to Purchase. This offer contains a specific timeframe in which the seller can accept the offer. The buyer pays a minimum deposit of 10 percent of the purchase price. The deposit can be higher than this, and it is not uncommon for the deposits to run up to 50 percent, according to Property-Abroad.com. The Proposal to Purchase is legally binding, according to “Investment in International Real Estate,” a Pirola Pennuto Zei & Associati publication. If the seller accepts, the buyer is obligated to complete the transaction and the deposit will be forfeit if the buyer withdraws.

“An alternative and recommended approach is to incorporate the terms of the Proposal to Purchase directly into the purchase and sales contract ensuring to allow a period in which the buyer has the right to carry out a full due diligence on the property and/or entity(ies) holding the property and the possibility of the buyer backing out should the due diligence point to there being some legal or tax problem associated with the property,” according to the publication.

Focusing on improving one property may be wise

The Preliminary Contract of Sale formalizes the buyer’s and seller’s agreement. This document provides details about the property, the buyer, the seller, the price, and any other terms of the transaction.

The entire process is overseen by a notary. In addition to the typical duties associated with a notary, this person will conduct the title search to ensure that the property is clear of liens and other problems, according to Property-Abroad.com. The notary witnesses the closing of the sale.

Investors should, of course, carry out proper due diligence before agreeing to purchase any property. This is especially important when purchasing property in a country with unfamiliar laws and regulations.

“Italian laws are complex [and] there are important concerns that go beyond clean title,” Carroll said. “For instance, a buyer needs to be certain that prior works carried out on a property have been done with proper permits and are in compliance with zoning regulations and that rights of neighboring landowners are respected....[S]evere penalties exist for failure to fulfill the obligation to purchase once the P&S is entered in to."

After purchasing a home in Italy, investors can either try to sell for a profit, rent the property to some of the many tourists visiting Italy every year and/or use the property themselves as a vacation home. Many websites are available on which property owners can advertise foreign homes for sale or rent.

VFI Briefing:Purchasing Overseas real estate

The Italian real estate market

“After 10 years of significant run-up in prices in major markets and sought-after country properties, prices now have leveled,” according to Carroll. Properties in both rural and urban areas can prove profitable, though Property-Abroad.com states that properties in rural regions of Italy have been especially popular in recent years.

Apartments are a popular choice when purchasing property in one of the larger cities, such as Rome or Milan. Apartments in areas such as Sardinia, Venice, Sicily, Milan and Florence are all popular among foreign investors, according to Property-Abroad.com. For those looking to cash in on the tourist industry, Carroll said that areas such as Sicily, Puglia and Campania are particularly attractive for investment.

Cost varies by location. Prices in Milan range anywhere from €8,000 per square meter for a city apartment to €24,000 per square meter for a penthouse with luxuries such as a terrace and swimming pool, according to a report from real estate agents Immobiliare Terelli & Partners. In Sicily “[p]rices, which have been rising as much as 20 percent a year, still seem reasonable, especially to north Europeans but even to Italians from Milan and Turin,” according to The International Herald Tribune. “Country and town properties are available for as little as €60,000, though for a building of particular architectural interest the starting price is nearer €250,000.”

In upcoming years, “[f]ocus will be on adding value—refurbishing, renegotiation of lease contracts, etc.—to existing portfolios rather than on new investments as these will make more economic sense,” according to Carroll. Pessi, on the other hand, believes that the future of the property market is still too hard to predict in the wake of the subprime crisis. Investors would be wise to proceed with caution, keeping an eye on the market, and perhaps put more energy into upgrading and renting a few properties rather than purchasing an abundance of homes.

VFI Italian History Links

Here are some great links to find out more about Calabria and Its unique history.

Calabria
History of Calabria starting from palaeolithic age. Not too long and well written

The Complete History Of Calabria
Calabria From Prehistoric to Modern Day.

THE ROMANS Ancient, Medieval and Modern
For the real history buff. Page after page, of Roman and medevil history, pictures and text.

MEDITERRANEAN ARCHAEOLOGY RESOURCES
This site contains some of the best Archeology links on the internet.

Maps of Italy (It)
Here you will find city maps as well as regional and provincia... On Line!

Historical Map Web Sites
Access hundreds of Historical maps on line. Here too, are some great ancient Italian maps.
Italy Maps

The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection The University of Texas at Austin and produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, unless otherwise indicated.

VFI - INCALABRIA: Italian Magazine Article (Part 2)

PERFECT PASTA

The food of Calabria, despite the abundance of fish, is primarily a diet of simple fresh pasta and homegrown vegetables cooked in fascinatingly different ways. Although pasta is important to all Italians, in Calabria it is almost treated with reverence. Each city or town has its own specialities, from chewy fusilli, to various types of lasagne.

Calabrians seem to know by instinct, the best sauce to pair with each pasta to create the most delicious dishes. Piero caused me to sample many varieties of homemade pasta, such as macaroni alla pastora (with ricotta cheese) and other sauces, fusilli (curly pasta), vermicelli in soup and tortellini in brodo. His own favourite was pollo alla cacciatore (‘hunter’s chicken’), to say nothing of uove alla purgatorio (‘eggs from purgatory’). You can imagine how I gradually became drawn into a cuisine far removed from my own by this expert young cook, backed up by total single-minded enthusiasm for his subject. With youthful exuberance I once suggested fish and chips to him and he returned to Italy with a craving even for that. It fitted the Calabrian palette perfectly – good, simple but tasty basic fare. As it happened, I visited Piero and his family on several occasions in the years that followed. His family welcomed me with incredible warmth and I felt part of that corner of Italy. We would visit Piero’s mum, who made all sorts of typical Calabrian dishes for anyone lucky enough to visit. Like highland hospitality in my own country, Calabrians regard it as a sacred duty to welcome guests and I was ushered into many a happy gathering under the gaze of Padre Pio, whose caring picture adorned the rooms. I learned that Piero also had another passion: he was an avid stamp collector and his passionate nature had an outlet here too. Lovingly organized albums of stamps surrounded him in his room. As I met the local folk I discovered the famously proud Calabrian dialect. Its weird and resonant words made me swim as I struggled to understand, equipped only with average Italian, a language I had come to love. Calabrian is an Italian dialect and a descendant of Vulgar Latin, but it has plenty of Greek influence too from the Magna Graecia period. I remember being sent home on one occasion with a bag of cuddaraci (Easter buns), one of many words of Greek origin.

I was favoured this year by being able to return to see my old friend after a gap of 25 years. In that time, with family and professional matters intervening for both of us, I had never forgotten the pull of this land. Piero welcomed me back to a country that I now think of as my second home. It was the little things that jumped out at me – zuppa Inglese ice-cream, spaghetti alla vongole, seeing the wonderful way Calabrians use their hands when they speak, young Italians going to school, walks along the beach and meeting folk I had not seen for years. If this evocation persuades you to consider a visit, you should know that I have not even mentioned the archaeological areas of Sibari and Locri Epizefiri, the towns of Gerace and Stilo, to say nothing of the forests of Sila, dubbed the Yellowstone of Calabria. All the more reason to investigate further. Unusual destination it may be but, like a real life pearl,Calabria hides its beauty.

VFI - INCALABRIA: Italian Magazine Article

Bill Kean heads off the tourist map and explores the wild, untamed and spectacular region
of Calabria to discover whether it deserves its tough reputation.

THE LAND THAT ITALY FORGOT Part 1.

Unusual destinations, it seems, are the thing these days and these occasional forays of the mind can be seen as fashion statements as much as what you wear. On Italy’s southern tip, contained by the Tyrrhenian and lonian Seas, lies such a place – a region of Italy that offers great riches of a unique kind.

It is, of course, Calabria, a little known Italian haven for those with an adventurous nature. It is situated in the heart of the Mezzogiorno, named in reference to the unremitting midday sun
which bakes this area of Italy’s deep south. Its rugged, essentially mountainous terrain hosts the densely wooded Apennine range,acting as a seemingly never ending link to the rest of Italy.
But Calabria could almost be another country compared to the provinces further north. Explore its valleys and you discover a culture apparently untouched by recent centuries. Its effect on
the visitor is quite distinct and, offering extremely good value
for the euro, a little goes a long way in this wonderful land.

VFI Brochure: Italian Travel Advice.

Visitors

Travel insurance for visitors to Italy should include personal liability and repatriation expenses. If your travel insurance expires while you’re visiting Italy, you can buy further insurance from a local insurance agent, although this won’t include repatriation expenses. Flight and comprehensive travel insurance are available from insurance desks at most airports, including travel accident, personal accident, world-wide medical expenses and in-transit baggage.

Cost

The cost of travel insurance varies considerably according to where you buy it, how long you intend to stay in Italy and your age. Generally the longer the period covered, the cheaper the daily cost, although the maximum period covered is usually limited, e.g. to six months. With some policies, an excess must be paid for each claim; with others, the excess applies only to certain items, such as luggage, money and medical expenses. As a rough guide, travel insurance for Italy (and most other European countries) costs from around €35 for one week, €50 for two weeks and €80 for a month for a family of four (two adults and two children under 16). Premiums may be higher for those aged over 65 or 70.

Annual Policies

For people who travel abroad frequently, whether on business or pleasure, an annual travel policy usually provides the best value, but carefully check exactly what it includes. Many insurance companies offer annual travel policies for around €150 to €250 per year for an individual (the equivalent of around two to three months’ insurance with a standard travel insurance policy), which are excellent value for frequent travellers. Some insurance companies also offer an ‘emergency travel policy’ for holiday homeowners who need to travel abroad at short notice to inspect a property, e.g. after a severe storm or burglary. The cost of an annual policy may depend on the area covered, e.g. Europe, world-wide (excluding North America) and world-wide (including North America), although it doesn’t usually cover travel within your country of residence. There’s also a limit on the number of trips per year and the duration of each trip, e.g. 90 or 120 days. An annual policy is usually a good choice for owners of a holiday home in Italy who travel there frequently for relatively short periods.

Carefully check exactly what’s covered (or omitted), as an annual holiday and travel insurance policy may not provide adequate cover.

Claims

If you need to make a claim, you should provide as much documentary evidence as possible to support it. Travel insurance companies gladly take your money, but they aren’t always so keen to pay claims and you may need to persevere before they pay up. Always be persistent and make a claim irrespective of any small print, as this may be unreasonable and therefore invalid in law. Insurance companies usually require you to report a loss (or any incident for which you intend to make a claim) to the local police or carriers within 24 hours and obtain a written report. Failure to do so may mean that a claim won’t be considered.

VFI Brochure: Italian Travel Advice.

Holiday and travel insurance (assicurazione sul viaggio) are recommended for all who don’t wish to risk having their holiday or travel ruined by financial problems or to arrive home broke. As you probably know, anything can and often does go wrong with a holiday, sometimes before you even get started (particularly when you don’t have insurance). The following information applies equally to residents and non-residents, whether you’re travelling to or from Italy or within Italy. Nobody should visit Italy without travel (and health) insurance.

Travel insurance is available from many sources, including travel agents, insurance companies and brokers, banks, motoring organisations and transport companies (airline, rail and bus). Package holiday companies and tour operators also offer insurance policies, some of which are compulsory, overpriced and don’t provide adequate cover. You can also buy 24-hour accident and flight insurance at major airports, although it’s expensive and doesn’t offer the best cover. Before taking out travel insurance, you should carefully consider the range and level of cover you require and compare policies. Short-term holiday and travel insurance policies may include cover for holiday cancellation or interruption, missed flights, departure delay at both the start and end of a holiday (a common occurrence), delayed, lost or damaged baggage, lost belongings and money, medical expenses and accidents (including evacuation home), personal liability and legal expenses, and default or bankruptcy, e.g. a tour operator or airline going bust. You may also need cover for transport strikes in Italy!

Always check any exclusion clauses in contracts by obtaining a copy of the full policy document, as all relevant information won’t be included in an insurance leaflet. High risk sports and pursuits should be specifically covered and listed in a policy (there’s usually an additional premium). Special winter sports policies are available and more expensive than normal holiday insurance (‘dangerous’ sports are excluded from most standard policies). Third party liability cover should be €3 million in North America and €1.5 million in the rest of the world. However, this doesn’t usually cover you when you’re driving a car or other mechanically propelled vehicle.