Buying a property in a foreign country can be daunting. People who I have dealt with seem to lurch between being super cautious, to the point of paranoia, and getting completely carried away by their fantasy and ignoring red flags.
A case in point is a recent call I had where someone had been told by the estate agent that the house they were interested in had a room which had been added without planning permission and a pool which was the wrong shape. They were tempted to go ahead anyway as they liked the property and it was cheaper than others in the area. Just no (although at least they were told). A property with planning issues (and it turns out there was no planning for a pool whatsoever, of any shape) should not be saleable. Most notaries will ask you to sign floor plans and the description to say that they represent exactly what you are buying. If you do so, and this isn’t the case, you have perjured yourself and are liable for the ‘abusi’ as if you have committed them yourself. Other notaries will put in a clause saying that you know there are problems and are buying anyway. The same applies. Worse case here would be that the buyer would be obliged to fill in the pool and demolish the room without planning permission. It is absolutely certain they would not have been able to rent out the property, do any work to it, or easily sell to anyone else. Was it priced as if it was a smaller property with no pool? No. Would the buyer have been happy with a smaller property with no pool. Also no.
Historically planning permissions, or lack of them, were a free for all – you could even get a retrospective pardon and rules were quite loose. Many people still have that attitude but the situation now is very different, planning rules are strict, they are enforced and while some issues are fixable most aren’t. Where they are fixable it is the owners duty to put them right before sale unless they can be incorporated into a new request for planning which you will be drawing up. There has been a big clamp down on unauthorized holiday lets and, to get authorization, everything has to meet current regulations.
It is important to understand how the system works here and the respective roles of the people involved as I often find people are very confused. Language barriers don’t help.
The estate agent – works for both the buyer and the seller. They are not obliged to tell you stuff, to check the records, or look into planning issues (though good ones may). They are not, however, allowed to comment on any of these issues if they haven’t checked though – ie thay can’t tell you everything is ok if it isn’t or that you can extend properties, add a pool etc if they have not established this themselves or there is no existing planning permission. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen by any means but, if it does, it is grounds for legal action and, possibly, annulment of the sale. It goes without saying that it is not a great idea to use other professionals, listed below, recommended by the estate agent. It sounds blindingly obvious but the fact that someone speaks English and is smiley doesn’t make them trustworthy. I have been on viewings with clients, where I don’t know the estate agent and they have come up will all sorts of stuff which just isn’t true as well as reports from other people.
The Geometra – is a surveyor in the sense of quantity surveys and planning. They can tell you about planning issues. They do not do structural surveys or shouldn’t. Formal structural surveys do not exist here – if you have any doubts consult an engineer who is the only person qualified to comment
A Lawyer – is not usually used for property purchases here so you do not have lawyers who really know very much about property. They will check that the owners have clear title and that there are no charges or liens on the property but so will the Notary. By all means use a Lawyer if they double up as your interpreter but do not expect them to check planning issues or advise on them. You need to know what questions you want them to ask. Using a lawyer also often delays the purchase and sellers are very wary of them, not because they have done anything wrong, but because here lawyers are used for litigation not property purchase.
The Notary – is acting like a lawyer essentially. Some are more thorough than others. Again you need to know what they should be checking. They will also certainly not look into planning issues if the owner has signed a declaration saying there aren’t any (though some ask for building permits). Bear in mind owners do perjure themselves – it happened to me. It is grounds for annulling the purchase and taking legal action but who wants that? A Notary is a public employee and faces serious penalties if they do not look after both sides, but there is the burden of proof. It is vital you choose your own Notary -it is the buyer’s right.
If you would like some help with your property search do get in touch. Unlike Estate Agents or any other property related professionals I have no vested interest in a particular property or properties, other than trying to help people buy safely and happily. Unlike many ‘experts’ on the web who may simply have experience of buying one property I have been helping people do this for over 16 years now. See testimonials here
If you have already found a property you like, but have concerns, or want to be sure, email me and, depending on timing, I may be able to take you on as a due diligence client. I also offer consultancy on restoration projects. See here for services and costs
See below for links to a couple of relevant posts on the buying process, though there are many more
https://personalpuglia.com/2023/12/10/essential-things…buying-in-puglia/
https://personalpuglia.com/2016/05/22/read-this-before…operty-in-puglia/