Property Finders: How to buy property in Italy quickly

Many potential buyers who wants tu buy property in Italy quickly believe that working with a large number of agencies is the best solution. But they soon find out that searching for properties is a time-consuming and complex process, and that it is not easy to find the “right option” from the many offers on the market. Imagine how many pointless viewings you will end up going to if you select properties simply by going through advertisements on the various portals. Inevitably, you will end up falling for pretty pictures, which often do not correspond to reality, or for properties in dubious locations (on a noisy street, near tram tracks, etc.). Both of these issues you can identify only having viewed the property in question.

Therefore, busy people, either businessmen or foreigners who value their time, today’s most valuable resource, prefer to use Property Finders.

Let’s consider what are the main differences between the services you can get from a traditional Real estate agent versus a Property Finder?

A Real estate agent (Agente immobiliare) is an independent intermediary between two parties, a buyer and a seller, who works on the basis of a mandate to sell a property given to him by the owner for a certain period of time. He or she is responsible for advertising, organizing viewings, checking documentation for the property and for other activities related to the purchase and sale.

Property Finder is professional real estate agent who, in addition to carrying out classic sale mandate activities, is also responsible for finding suitable properties for his or her clients. Property Finders must also be registered in the register of intermediary agents with the Italian Chamber of Commerce. This gives the Property Finder clients legal protection. Plus Property Finders must carry professional liability insurance.

What qualities should a Property Finder have?

• It is necessary to know the characteristics of the real estate market, its dynamics, and to have reputable partners who specialize in working in specific locations. Choosing an apartment in an area where you know every street and every house is very different from when you dream of buying a house in a place or city where you have never lived. This is why the opinion of a specialist is so important.
• Be able to listen to the client and thoroughly understand his or her needs and preferences.
• Be able to communicate clearly, build business relationships, be able to negotiate, and actively engage in networking.
• Have a reliable network of local property agents and various types of technical experts.
• Be able to cooperate with reliable and proven specialists, such as cadastral technicians, architects, lawyers, notaries, and bank intermediaries, some or all of whom may need to be involved in the real estate registration process.

Main stages of the Property Finder work

1. Defining the search parameters for a “dream home”, including location / transport links
2. Knowing what must a property have (for example, a terrace, balcony, garden, view, garage, swimming pool, etc.) or vice versa what issues a property should not have.
3. Working to an agreed budget and assisting with a mortgage are important aspects that will optimize the selection process.
   Ability to provide a client with related services – re-registration with utility providers, provision of renovation specialists, selection of tenants, etc.
4. Carefully studying the chosen area, starting with the main portals, private advertisements, developers, own network – anyone who can lead to finding the right property. Find out what is sold on portals in the open market and, possibly, identify properties which are off the market.
5. Having selected suitable properties, Property Finder personally inspects the properties and sends the client a property search report, collects and checks documentation, especially legal aspects of the property and technical cadastral compliance.
6. Assists the client in preparing the Purchase Offer, participates in negotiations to achieve the best result for the client.
7. Assists the client in all stages of the property purchase until the issuance of keys and receipt of the registered act of sale.
8. If necessary, organizes after-sale services, for example, relocation, re-registration with utility providers, opening of personal bank accounts for the new owner, rental and management of the purchased property, application for tax refunds, calculation of real estate taxes, interaction with other property owners in large buildings. All these nuances must be spelt out in the contract.

A Property Finder fee is a separate buyer-side fee, agreed in the contract in advance. It comes on top of the commission the buyer usually also owes the agent holding the sale mandate, typically 3% to 5% plus VAT.

An upfront fee is agreed at the first meeting, usually 10% to 20% of the total commission and never less than €2,500 plus VAT; it is deducted from the total commission and is non-refundable. The commission is on average 2 to 3% + VAT of the property price, regardless of the amount of the commission that will need to be paid to the intermediary agent who has the sale mandate.
Our Trevi Elite agency has been working in the real estate market since 2006 and has extensive professional experience in the selection, legal support and assistance at all stages.

It is safe to say that for those who engage us as their Property Finder in 90% of cases the purchase and sale transaction takes place within 6 months, and our client becomes the owner of his or her “dream” home in Italy!