Buying property in Italy

If you are an investor in the UK real estate market, you may have thought about buying property in other countries as well. There is a real market for buying property in Italy and many UK investors are deciding they want to venture down this path. If you’re considering it you may think the process is difficult or confusing.

However, once you learn how, you will see that buying property in Italy doesn’t have to be that difficult. The more you learn about the buying process, taxes, estate agent fees, land taxes and other details, the better able you will be to decide to invest for yourself.

Here are some things you need to consider when buying property in Italy:

• The current state of the Italian market-Remember that it can fluctuate and it’s important to do your research before buying into a property to see where the current market stands.
• How to view the property- you want to see what you’re buying, right? So will you travel there to view the property yourself or will you view it online or have an agent or representative inspect the property for you?
• Consider your down payment- When you find the Italian property you want to invest in, you can usually secure it with a deposit of 1500-5000 Euros. Few properties will have a higher down payment than this.
• Taxes- Remember that there will be annual taxes involved. Currently, the property taxes are pretty low in Italy which makes it a good time to get in. To avoid forgetting to pay them, you may consider setting up automatic payments.
• Understand the paperwork- There will be things such as a Proposal to Purchase and other documents involved in many your investing purchase in Italy. If you are confused with any of the paperwork, seek the advice of a professional in oversees property contracts.

Remember the fees involved:

Anytime you purchase property, there is going to be costs. It’s important that you have a proper understanding of what types of fees are associated with buying property in Italy. In addition to taxes, you may also have to pay land taxes, estate agent fees and more.

While we all like to find a good deal and getting discount property in real estate investing is key to being successful with your investments, this doesn’t mean that you should scrimp and pinch pennies when it comes to something truly important. As any good investor will tell you, sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Know when it is a good idea to pay the fees or expenses in order to make more profit later.

The Players and the market:

The more you know about the Italian property market, the more success you will see as an investor. It’s important to note that the Italian residential property market is driving the real estate market at this time. Figures show over 80% of the buying and selling of property in Italy is derived from the residential section. This is much higher than the UK and other European markets.

Because tourism and commerce is very popular in Italy at this time, it makes investing in the residential property market a profitable choice. For the most part, the retail market of Italy is considered to be underdeveloped and not worth the costs involved in investing.

When you do your research, you will likely see that there are four major players in the real estate development team. These are Aedes, Beni Stabili, Pirelli Re and Risanamento. You will likely see these names in your market search for investment properties in Italy. Many foreign players are becoming involved in the Italian property market now and if you play your cards right, you can see successes doing the same.

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The Millionaire Mindset

You’ve probably heard it said before but success truly starts in the mind. If you want to make it as a millionaire, you need a millionaire mindset. No one ever got rich thinking and acting like a poor person, right? This can be an especially tricky concept for the modest person who has aspirations to do well but doesn’t want to come across as cocky. Let me first say you don’t have to have a ego the size of the UK to have a millionaire mindset.

Have you ever dreamed of being a millionaire? You’re not alone but it doesn’t take a genius to know that not everyone who wants to be a millionaire will actually become one. So what factors set the “wanna-be’s” apart from the success stories?

It’s all about the millionaire mindset. You don’t have to be a millionaire to think like one and you don’t have to come from a long line of millionaires to see financial success yourself. So what do you need? You need to think like a millionaire. In your mind and in your heart, you need to act like you already are a millionaire.

It’s a fact that if you think you will only reach £100,000 that is all you will achieve. You have to aim higher to reach higher goals. You have to take your dreams of becoming a millionaire seriously so they will be more than just dreams.

Tips for a Millionaire Mindset

So now that you understand the importance of the millionaire mindset, what steps can you take to try to achieve this goal for yourself? Here are some tips:

• Recognize that just like becoming a millionaire, it’s a process. You can’t expect to make major changes overnight. The process of changing your thinking will take time to become a habit. The most important thing is that each and every day you continue to try. Soon, it will just start to feel natural (even if you aren’t a millionaire yet).
• Don’t buy into “get-rich-quick-schemes”- It’s sad we have to say it but there are people out there who get rich off a trying to convince people like you and me that they can be a millionaire if they just buy into their product/service/etc. Don’t waste your time, effort or money on these scams. It’s ok to dream but don’t lose your footing on reality.
• Remember that hard work is required. While it’s one thing to think like a millionaire and to want to be successful, you also have to put some old-fashioned hard work into it.  Unless you’re an heir to a millionaire, you will also have to work toward your goals.
• Don’t allow “haters” to get you down. There are many names for them – haters, trolls, etc- but we all know who they are; those people who hate to see other people trying to be successful. They will put you down, insult you, laugh at you and criticize you for wanting to be a millionaire. Get these people out of your life immediately. Pay them no mind.
• Focus on the goal. Be sure to keep your “eye on the prize” as they often say. Focus on your goals at hand and the money will fall into place.
• Keep positive- We all see setbacks from time to time. The only true failure is in giving up. The millionaire mindset will look at every situation, regardless of the outcome, as a learning experience and will remain positive no matter what happens.

With these tips in mind, set out to create your own millionaire mindset; only you have the power to control your own financial destiny. Expect riches in all that you do. Have you spent too long thinking that you can’t achieve your goal of becoming a millionaire or that you somehow don’t deserve it?

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In “advice on Buying property abroad – Part 1” we looked at questions you should be asking yourself if you are buying property for investment. In this part we will be looking at questions you should be asking yourself if you are buying property to use as a holiday home.

What is your budget?
You’d think this was very obvious but a lot of people fall into the trap of buying with their hearts and getting themselves into trouble financially, they borrow more than they can afford and don’t have the income to support that luxury home abroad.

Once you’ve established a budget and done your sums properly you are more likely to find a bargain as you can get the foreign estate agents working for you telling them exactly what your budget is.

Is the property going to be available for let?
This is not so obvious. If you are buying property for yourself as a holiday home abroad it would be useful to think of buying as if you were going to let the property out as you have a different head on. You have an investors head on even though you are not buying for investment. However, this tactic is useful is things start to go wrong or you lose your job etc you can always let your property out to keep it going. A lot of people have hit problems and the first thing they do is sell that property abroad, often at a loss in their panic to sell and get some cash in.

If you buy like an investor you can be safe in the knowledge that you have more options should things go wrong in the future.

Do you have an area of a country in mind?
A lot of buyers choose a country to buy in but don’t do enough research into the different areas of the country. So the first thing to do is choose a country you would like to stay in, do a little research and find out the economic climate of that country and what their views on foreign investors are, are they welcomed, are they penalised in any way?

Once you have chosen your country, look at the different areas of the country and do some more research. It’s just like buying in your own country however when you buy in your own country you tend to know the area you are buying in which is a bonus for you as it means less research. However when buying in another country we don’t have this insight and more research is called for. You can speak to people who have been there, you can visit forums on the internet and ask advice, you can check out property magazines, there are hundreds of ways to do your research but do not overlook the importance of researching your area.

Are there good transport links to and from your property?
Once you have chosen your areas it is now time to look at the transport links in the area. Ask yourself how far away the airport is, what are the bus routes like?, how much do taxis cost in that area? Is there a good railway network and are they reliable? (nothing could be worse that the British rail network J). This is another area which is often overlooked but nevertheless an important area to look at.

What are the buying costs?
Buying property abroad sometimes has hidden costs that you might not be aware of. There are solicitors fees, estate agents fees, notariy fees, taxes, investment fees. These all vary from country to country so it is necessary to get a good solicitor on your side, preferably one that has been recommended.

How are you going to finance your property?
It is a good idea to shop around as some countries can offer some great rates when you buy from them. I have seen some mortgages for as low as 3.5% over 30 years in some countries and it can save you a fortune in the long run. It will require more work to do some investigation in mortgage laws in your particular country but the payoff is it can save you thousands.

Are you willing to learn the language?
Always learn the language of the country you would like to move to, I think it is rude not to and pretty arrogant. We Brits are the world worst for not learning foreign language, we expect everyone to speak English. It maybe the case that the natives can speak English but refuse to on the count of your arrogance. Absorb the country, absorb it’s people and absorb the language.

Where are you going drink the champaign?
Owning a holiday is an amazing feeling especially when you’ve done the research and bought the right home for the right price. The only thing left to do is enjoy it and be prepared to soak up the atmosphere.

In the next article we will look at buying a home for making a permanent move to another country.

Read Part 1 - Advice on buying property abroad - Part 1

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