Medieval village in Gran Sasso national park in Abruzzo for sale £485,000 /  Euros 555,000 / $800,000

Valle Piola

The small abandoned mountain village of Valle Piola consists of a church, 11 stone delapidated stone houses and 2 farmers barns. Interesting proposal for the development of a boutique village/hotel.

View more photos here at Italian Property Valle Piola.

Estimated restoration fees at 1500euros/square metre would involve a development fund of at least 2 million+.

A similar business model has been developed at Santo Stefano di Sessanio and offers unique hotel accomodation in a medieval village. Meandering in the narrow village cobbled streets, history, luxury accomodation and restaurants around every corner. I visited Santo Stefano 4 years ago when it was in the stage of development. incredabile really that a mountain village can be refurbished and turn in a tourist destination. The weather here is great in summer with sun and fresh mountain air. In winter there are ski facilities nearby.

A similar business model is also been designed by the same architect of Santo Stefano in Salemi, Sicily. Here the ruins are for sale at 1 euro and registration for a property is open at Salemi.

In Italy there are many restoration properties available. You are advised to get a qualified surveyor and fixed price construction quotes for the restoration as many restoration projects heavily run over budget.

MIPC offers property restoration services in Sicily via our Italian construction firm.
Email MIPC for further details regarding any of the above projects.

Italian town in southern Italy is launching cheap italian property offers to attract inward investment. The mayor of the town of San Basile in North Calabria (the foot of Italy) has decided to offer the empty vacated properties to the open market. With prices starting at 5000 euros (circa 6000 dollars) you maybe tempted. San Basile is a cute village located in the Pollino national park. Local population has been decreasing as locals migrate to north Italy looking for employment. The San Basile mayor, Vincenzo Tamburini, has launched a website in Italian showing some of the properties in San BAsile. There are over 100 properties for sale. If you require further details please use the EMAIL tab above to conact us. MIPC is working in collaboration with San Basile to offer further information to international enquiries.

Here at MIPC we have proven experience of working in Southern Italy. We assist clients identify, buy and restore property in Italy. MIPC is also involved with the town of Salemi, in Sicily, where they are offering sicilian property from 1 euro. OK the property in salemi, sicily are in need of extensive work, but you do genuinally get the plot of land to build on.

Offering properties at a cheap price by the local italian council is an idea launched by the mayor of Salemi. With budget air travel into Sicily via Trapani TPS or into Calabria via Lamezia Terme  for San Basile (SUF) the south of Italy is experiencing a boom in tourism. Property prices are cheap, its a great time to pick up a holiday house in Italy. MIPC can advise accordingly.

In fact there are many towns in southern Italy where you can buy a bargain property to restore. MIPC run an Italian construction firm in southern Italy, where we restore italian property, build holiday villas in Italy, we speak English and Italian and have hands on local expereince. MIPC will offer you a free consultation for your restoration project in Italy.

For further details regarding San BAsile email MIPC using the EMAIL tab above. San Basile, Calabria property.

Italian Limited company SRL

Further to recent investigations regarding using a UK limited liability company with registered branches in Italy or setting up an independent Italian corporate identity i would like to further discuss the Italian limited liability company known in Italy as SRL (Società a responsabilità limitata), literally translated as “company with limited responsibility.” And similar to a UK ltd company.

For those of you considering DIY restoration of your Italian property, there are certain options. Forget just simply doing a DIY, unless you are a builder, because as soon as you require any trade to enter your property in Italy you need to “employ” them. You can do this as an individual (persona fisica) or as a self employed company (ditta individuale) or as a ltd company.  Simple DIY paying cash to your workers for serious restoration jobs in Italy is not simple in fact it is illegal. MIPC as Italian Property Consultants exist for this reason. I would advise you to set up an Italian limited company for that complex DIY project SIMPLY to protect your personnel assets from any unfortunate 3^rd party claims.

Beyond this article there is a further Italian corporate structure known as SPA (Società per Azioni) which is more like a UK PLC and is used by organisations to be quoted on the Italian stock exchange by large corporate businesses in Italy. The S.p.A. (similar to a Joint Stock Company) is the most regulated of the two major limited liability companies requiring a full-blown board of directors and board of auditors, as well as higher minimum capital requirements (i.e. 120.000,00 euros). The regulations set forth in the Italian Civil Code (“ICC”) for the S.p.A. also apply to the S.r.l., unless stated otherwise.

Here i will not go into the formalities but more the issues you should be aware of if you are in the phase of considering setting up and SRL in Italy.

Italian SRL:

An Italian SRL is similar to a small UK ltd company, the type of UK Ltd company you set up to have limited liability and when you are running the business yourself or with a few other shareholders/partners. In Italy the SRL does not actually have shareholders but you hold quotas, in the bigger picture the concept is the same, just its important to know that they are not shares. There are no requirements for management by a board of directors. Also in most cases, small S.r.l.’s can do without a board of auditors provided there be at least one director (Sole Director).

How to create an SRL in Italy:

In the UK there are many off the shelf ready made UK Ltd companies which for a small fee you can become the shareholder and sole director and company secretary. Personally i have always used  Hanover Company Services in the UK, cheap efficient and professional to either buy an off the shelf ltd company or create a new Ltd UK company. The memorandums of associations are very generic and basically you can use the corporate structure to trade in most activities.

In Italy it is different and not so easy.

You must follow the following steps and costs;

1: Determine the articles of association (statuto) and specify all the trades you wish to operate in. Add as many as you possibly can think of, in which your business in the future may wish to operate in, as any future changes involve a visit to the notary (minimum 2000 euros). Get a professional (normally your commercialista, that’s the Italian accountant that everyone has in this country !!) to check that your statuto covers every possible sub section of a trade that exists in Italy. There are more than you think !!!! … be specific in your requirements to ensure you cover that minor trading section that you assumed obviously was covered  but with the Italian law it isn’t. !!!!! You have been warned.

2: Obtain an Italian fiscal code for yourself. You need this as the person creating/owning the SRL.  You can use your non Italian address if you don’t have a house in Italy.

3: You need an Italian address for the future SRL in Italy. Either use your Italian property address, either owned or rented or ask a friend to use their address. I haven’t got around to studying virtual Italian PO boxes just yet or service companies offering this option at their address, but i will. If necessary use your Italian accountant’s/lawyer’s address with their approval.

4: Fix an appointment with a notary to create and register the new SRL and ask for a quote for the expenses. This can vary from 2000 euros  upwards.

5: Deposit the minimum nominal capital of the SRL 10,000 euros in the new “temporary” Italian company bank account at your preferred Italian bank. This is a strange concept in that you need to pay the nominal capital into the “temporary” company bank account, which actually doesn’t exist, as the bank cannot create the account until the notary has actually registered the company. But we are in Italy and the system works. Use a trusted Italian bank. I actually asked the bank but who has ownership of my nominal capital until the notary has registered the company and you, the bank,  have transferred the deposit into the then new company account…answer…”its in the system”….just accept it …..it’s official and works.

6: if you are a sole director & sole quoteholder and also the future company secretary (delegato amministrativo) then you must deposit 100% of the nominal capital. If there is more than 1 person involved then you only need to deposit 25%. Here’s some small personnel advice….In Italy the best small companies are made of an odd number of quoteholders and i would advise you to ensure that they are less then 3 share/quoteholders  J !!!! Is that clear !!!

7: With the relevant nominal capital paid to the bank, take the receipt to the notary. He will register the company in accordance with your statuto and then you have the act of registration, in Italian the atto di registrazione.  Deposit a copy of the atto with the bank to ensure your money is deposited in your new Italian company bank account.

8: Get your accountant to register the new company with the local chambers of commerce (camera di commercio) and with the REC registro ditte. Also get them to apply for your VAT (IVA)number (obligatrory for any Italian company indentity.)

9: With an SRL you will be obliged to follow the company accounts filing and tax returns. All Italian company accounts follow the calendar year to 31/12. Company corporation tax returns are due.  National and local company taxes will be due. Individual tax returns too.

10: The company must register with INPS and INAIL to pay employee taxes and social security taxes.

11: Your accountant with their services or their preferred wages burueau (consulente di lavoro) will also prepare wage slips (buste paghe).

Further SRL taxes and employee issues will be discussed in a separate article.

If you are considering a DIY Italian restoration in your house in italy or looking to buy Italian property MIPC are happy to advise as an Italian property consultant.

I am doing some research into opening an Italian branch of a UK Ltd business. The italian branch will operate locally and employ italians. A new SRL (italian limited company) is 1 obvious option but I am interested to hear if anyone has used ONLY their UK Ltd company corporate structure to operate in Italy and con share their experience about either of the following italian solutions a) opened a “sedi secondarie” a full secondary head office which should be registered in the “Registre Imprese” Camera di Commercio (Italian Chambers of Commerce) OR  b) opened a “unità locali” like a small office which only needs registering at the “REA Repertorio economico e amministrativo” (sub category of “Registre Imprese”).
Please outline :
A: Difference between a) or b).
B: Costs of solution a) or b).
C: Benefits : tax& operational of a) and/or b) compared to the SRL option
Please focus on the corporate structure and tax issues. This is not a question about employment in italy or INPS or INAIL in Italy.

Income Tax Italy IRPEF

I was just advising some clients about income tax on the rental income for thier italian property and thought you may wish to know the personal income tax rates in italy, locally know as IRPEF

There is no tax free income. The following is for income raised during the financial year 2009 upto 31/12/09. In Italy the tax year is the same as the calender year.Tax returns on the Mod 1 due 31.5.10.

First 15,000 euros taxed at 23%

Further income from 15000 – 28000 taxed at 27%

Further income from 28000 – 55,000 taxed at 38%

Further income from 55000 – 75000 taxed at 41%

Anything above 75000 taxed at 43%

So an income in Italy  of 100,000 euros would result in an italian tax bill of

15000@23%=3450

28000-15000=13000@27%=3510

55000-28000=27000@38%=10260

75000-55000=20000@41%=8200

100000-75000=25000@43%=10750

For a total tax bill of 3450+3510+10260+8200+10750=36170

Thats 36.1% italy income tax IRPEF on a 100,000 italian income…How does that rate to your countries income tax rate…post comments to let us know.

A property in Italy is given a rateable value by the Ufficio di Entrate (tax office) called valore catastale. It is important when you buy a house in Italy to be informed of the rateable value as some of the notary fee is based on this value. If you do a property search requesting the visure catastale the rentable value rendita catastale will be declared. Multiply the rendita catastale by 126 to calculate the valore catastale.

In some cases often in the south of Italy the valore catastale (rateable value) can be higher than the actual market value. Be careful as the notary will declare both values and any large difference may attract an italian finance police (la finanza) investigation. What you believe a bargain the finanza may believe you were purposely understating the value of the property thus tax avoidance by assisting the seller to avoid higher capital gains tax.

To avoid this you can request a perito quantity surveyor to officially value the property and produce a report called relazione di perito where the quantity surveyor swears in front of a judge his valuation of the property. Give this copy to the notary and ensure he makes reference to it in the atto di vendita final purchase deed.

This means you will pay lower notary fees “purchase taxes” and not be accused of tax avoidance.

Of course if the market value is higher than the catastal value then you don’t need to worry about this issue.

The above is an extract from the MIPC “Italian Property Consultant” ebook. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive similar italian property news.

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If you plan to buy a property in Italy always engage a professional Italian Property Consultant.

Italy Bank account

How to open a bank current account in Italy

About to buy a property in Italy and you are a non resident Italian then you will need to open an Italian bank current account in Euros.

Why do I need specifically an Italian bank account?

With an Italian current account you could obtain a mortgage to purchase the Italian property, pay the vendor and after the purchase pay bills and Italian taxes.

1) Current account and mortgage
Some Italian banks dedicate services to no resident citizens to help them to buy a property in Italy.

One of these services is the mortgage to buy or renovate their property in Italy. To obtain an Italian mortgage in Euros, a non resident person has to open an Italian current account.

2) Pay the purchase price

If the buyer already has the money to buy or renovate the property, an Italian current account could be useful to pay the vendor.

Often the purchase price has to be paid in different steps. The buyer could pay the deposit from his foreign current account.

In Italy the final purchase deed of the Italian property has to be made before an Italian notary with an official purchase deed registered in the public registrar. The buyer has to pay the balance of the purchase price to the vendor at the signature of the purchase deed, before the notary, when exchanging title ownership. The buyer cannot pay the purchase price in cash. With an Italian current account a non resident citizen could deposit the money in his Italian current account and then ask the bank to issue one or more bank drafts to pay the purchase price. It is a safe and legal way to pay the purchase price.

3) Pay bills and Italian taxes

The owner of an Italian property has to pay utility bills for electricity, sewage, phone, cleaning services, etc and some property taxes.

With an Italian current account the owner has only to deposit the related amount to his current account and the bank will pay bills and taxes by the due date by direct debit.

But I don’t speak Italian!!!

In Italy there are some banks that offer services to no resident citizens not all banks do.

These banks have:

1)    Employees that speak and write in English;

2)    Informative documents in English;

3)    Appropriate services for no resident citizens.

Where do I open an Italian current account ?

In Italy there are local banks that have offices exclusively in Italy and International banks with offices both nationally and internationally.

In the first case it is necessary to go in an Italian office to open an Italian bank account.

In the second case an Italian employee could open your Italian current account with the help of his foreign colleagues in your local international branch.

A no resident citizen should find the office of that International bank near his home and go to this office to sign the current bank account contract. The foreign and the Italian bank colleagues will work together to open the current account in Italy.

Retail banks in Italy

There are many regional local banks in Italy. MIPC would advise you to avoid these as they are very Italian and probably don’t have a good international department.

The best International banks include

• Barclays http://www.barclays.it/Welcome.aspx
• Monte dei Paschi di Siena http://english.mps.it/
• Banca Intesa SanPaolo http://group.intesasanpaolo.com/scriptIsir0/isInvestor/eng/home/eng_index.jsp

Documents to open an Italian current account

It is possible to open a current account with one or more holders. Every holder has to be identified before a bank employee.

To open an Italian current account it is necessary to provide the original version of:

• a passport
• an Italian tax code. Codice fiscale
• a recent utility bill as proof of address in your foreign country.

Current account services

A non resident person should ask for an Italian current account with the following services to check and manage the account from home:

1)    Internet banking

2)    Phone banking in English language (not every current account)

3)    Bank statements (Some banks offer the service of online bank statements).

4)    Internet transactions

5)    Paying utility bills

6)    Debit card (Bancomat)

7)    Credit card (separate application procedure)

8)    Bank cheques (yes they still write cheques in Italy !!)

Daily usage

As an international user your priorities are to ensure you receive the online log in instructions with security password device that most banks issue these days so you can manage your account and bills online and to ensure you get the debit Bancomat card for ATM cash withdrawals.

Costs of maintaining an Italian bank account.

Italian banking is not free banking. Some banks charge a fixed annual fee and also charges are incurred for all transactions. Some banks offer the first x transactions free.

Withdraw cash from your banks branches with your Italian debit card to reduce transaction costs.

Conclusion

1. Find a bank that has branches in both your home country and Italy.
2. Ensure that bank will issue an Italian mortgage to non Italian residents
3. Obtain your Italian tax code called codice fiscale in Italian
4. Request to open an Italian current account
5. Provide relevant documents.
6. Ensure to obtain your online account details
7. Pick up your debit card Bancomat

Happy banking in Italy !!

09.12.2009                                                                                                          Angela Nappi

Angela is Italian mortgage consultant, works in an Italian bank and is a new contributor to the team of MIPC Italian Property whom can help you buy a house in Italy.