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.

MADE EXPO Milano Architettura Design Edilizia

MADE is the international event for Projects Architecture and Building which takes place at the Milan Rho exhibition centre from 3rd – 6th February 2010 in Italy.

How to get to Milan Rho exhibition centre ? : Rho is here NW Milan centre. Nearest airport is Milan Malpensa MXP, though unless you are travelling by taxi or car (40 minutes) its a little difficult to get from MXP to Rho. I would advise Milan Linate (LIN) if your travelling by foot, as from here you can easily travel into Milan central railway station(30 mins) and then get the MM1 (red) tube line directly to “Rho-Fiera” (40 mins-last stop). Follow this link to the official Rho exhibition centre Milan Italy website for further details. You could also travel to Bergamo airport (BGY), hire a car in Italy and then take the A4 into Milan and then the A8(E62) and then you will see signs for FieraMilano and Rho-Fiera (1.5hrs).

Italian Property Consultant MIPC is actively involved in property restorations in Italy and collaborates with Italian Architects, Geometras (an Italian hybrid of project managers) and Italian construction firms. MIPC will be visiting MADE in Milan Italy for networking and to keep up to date with new building techniques, ecological products and the latest bio-architecture designs. We are also particularly interested in the “Borghi & Centri Storici” which focuses on the restoration and the improvement of Italian historical centres, like Salemi, as a new “made in Italy” product, within a framework of sustainable development.

If you too are considering to build a house in Italy or a restoration project in Italy then maybe you should consider a visit to MADE and we can meet up, if so contact MIPC your Italian property consultant.

Serpentara Sardegna Italian Island for Sale Italy 600,000 euros

island for sale sardegna

Serpentara 2 miles off the South East coast of Sardegna is for sale. Located in the province of Cagliari in the far south east corner near the town of Villasimius, see google maps.  South of Villasimius heading towards the Punta Santa Caterina is the island of Isola dei Cavoli, further east and a little north is the island of Serpentera, 2 miles off the coast of Sardegna see google maps , which translated means Serpent named after the shape of the island coast line.  134 hectares of land in Italy with 1 old building known as the La Torre di San Luigi (circa 1700), that’s Saint Luigi’s old tower / lighthouse in Italy and a 2^nd world war buncker on the coast. There is no planning permission to build your luxury Italian beachside property, nor a lovely villa set Read the rest of this entry »

Italian Property Consultant would like to extend warm seasonal greetings to all our readers.

Whether you’re in the sun in the southern hemisphere or enjoying the snow in the northern hemisphere we wish you all a happy xmas.

Wishing you all a prosperous New Year in 2010 and home to see you in Italy…..Ciao David

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. Read the rest of this entry »

Italian property – 66% rise for a property investment in Italy.

Close Tresury report that property prices in Italy increased by 30% since 2005. Together with the rise in value of the euro against sterling in the same perio of 27% makes a combined increase in the value of italian property of nearly 66% for UK sterling property investors in Italy.

This 66% rise in value of property in Italy (based on a sterling investment portfolio) only applies if you bought a house in Italy without a sterling mortgage. If you took out a  mortgage in Italy in Euros to finance your italian property investment and managed to pay your monthly italian mortgage installments from your Euro rental  income in Italy then the calculation is still valid.

Mark Taylor, head of foreign exchange with Close Treasury said: ““Even though overseas property prices tend to have fallen in the last year, in many cases the fall in the value of Sterling will have offset this, and many people may still have seen the value of their homes increase in Sterling terms.”

If you are an italian property owner and wish to liquidate your earnings please contact MIPC to sell your property in Italy, we have clients whom wish to buy a house in Italy and we are currently looking for quality italian property.

Buy property abroad Italy : Nice article in the UK Guardian analysing the italian property market for those who want to buy a house in Italy. Pity the article doesn’t discuss the booming sicilian property market where great italian property bargains are still largely available.   Click through to Italian Property to read.

Italy is in a lot better situation than many other countries, the bank system has held the financial tsunami and not a single bank has been recorded to be gone bankrupt. This s not only due to the tight method to issue mortgages hat Italian banks have always adopted but it’s mainly due to the good habit of the Italians of not getting into debt. The average debt value of Italians has increased in the last years but still doesn’t reach 50% of the available income whereas in the rest of Europe is about 100% with peaks in the UK of 160%.

Property prices in Italy haven’t drastically dropped and experts say that the prices will hold but still in this tough period you could easily find a really good deal from some seller who needs to sell his house quickly and this can only make Italy even more attractive for property investors.

Now you know the answer, buying a property in Italy is the best choice if you want to invest in a home overseas and this without even mentioning the climate, the food, the landscape and that you would love to use your investment to enjoy your holidays.

Announced by the Italian national retail services association, Confesercenti, in a report “Crimes hold on business” the 4 main mafia organisations turnover 130 billion euros. Mafia Inc. has net profits of 70 B Euros, and turns over more than the Italian company Eni.
Ex mafia boss, Riina’s house, near Corleone in Sicily was recently sequestered by the Italian anti-racket federation and has been turned into an agriturismo.
In the current economic climate as banks squeeze on credit, businesses are turning to loan sharks. Italian Finance Minister, Tramonti, recently announced that though Italian banks have not suffered from the subprime crisis the Italian government will be pumping financial support into the economy prior to Christmas. The Italian bank Unicredit today announced profits of 551M euros, 150M more than financial analysts expected.

As the Beckhams start their search to buy a property in Italy, the market is expected to hold strong, as international investors follow the celebrities.
Visit Italian property for investment opportunities in Italy.