Given that purchasing a property in Italy without the help of an attorney can be stressful and difficult (check out our previous article here: https://italianrealestatelawyers.com/investment-news/do-you-need-a-real-estate-agent-when-buying-a-property-in-italy/ ), you should ask yourself the following question:
“How do I choose an attorney?”
In fact, as a foreigner, you may not know who to contact or what you need to know in order to avoid going through the whole process of buying a house in Italy in blind. Firstly, what you shouldn’t forget to seek while choosing who will represent and assist you throughout the process is the ability to speak your language, e.g. English, as well as the language used for the negotiations: Italian.
Why?
The language barrier may be challenging when buying a house in Italy, exposing you to difficulties that you would not experience in your home country.
You should keep in mind that a country’s language and culture are fundamental for a successful negotiation, and a lack of knowledge of every aspect and nuance can prevent you from fully understanding the process you are going through. Last but not least, you could incur in a number of misunderstandings due to the language barrier. Hiring an English-speaking Italian Real Estate attorney means avoiding unpleasant circumstances while making one of the most important investments of your life: your dream house in Italy.
Firstly, let’s see how an English-speaking Italian Real Estate attorney can assist you in the process.
The agreement represents the most important document in Real Estate transaction and being able to fully understand what is written on it is crucial. Standard printed forms can be useful to have a general idea of its content but simply “understanding what is written on it” is not enough. Relying on an expert in legal matters will be helpful in order to have a clear picture of the content of the agreement as well as of the process itself and of the laws involved.
Furthermore, buying a property often means that, occasionally, some kind of amendments will be made to the agreement. However, the changes that the buyer wishes to make to the agreement are not always possible, or legal. An experienced specialist can assist you with this as well. Let’s put this into context: for example, an attorney can check whether there are any problems related to co-owners/prior owners or whether there are legal restrictions on the property. The seller or the Real Estate agency might overlook some important legal issues as these could go against their interests.
Another factor that you should not dismiss is the role of the Notary Public who is in charge of ensuring that the whole process meets the legal requirements. However, the Notary only checks whether all the documents are legal but does not assure the absence of legal issues. Furthermore, in case the buyer is not fluent in Italian, the Notary will require the presence of an interpreter during the Final Deed of Sale.
During this phase, which is perhaps the most important phase during the purchase process, last minute issues or conflicts can arise, and relying on the assistance of a lawyer can be extremely important in order to make sure things proceed smoothly. Don’t forget that your Real Estate attorney acts exclusively in favor of your interests and makes sure that you reach the best deal.
If living in Italy is your dream, you should definitely rely on experts to make it come true.
