Negotiating the price
One of the first questions we get asked by people who find a property they like is 'How much should I offer?' or 'Is the price negotiable? Sometimes the owner/agent tells us that the price is negotiable and we mention that on the web page.
As a starting point an offer of about 10% less than the asking price is pretty realistic. The owner expects a little haggling, a little discussion, and may have increased the price a little to allow for this anyway.
However, in Italy it is worth trying to understand the owner's situation if you can. Often they have been persuaded by the family to sell and really don't need the money, either because they have enough of the stuff anyway or because they have a simple lifestyle and don't want to change it. And sometimes the owner is desperate to sell and will accept almost any price! It's the same anywhere.
When an estate agent takes on a property to sell they will usually have asked the owner what the lowest price he or she will accept is. Sometimes we are party to that and can advise you if your offer is likely to be accepted, but more often we are not. You cannot upset the owner by offering too little because the agents will not put pen to paper for an offer that they know it will not be accepted.
You will need to complete an offer form, called a proposta d'acquisto , which states the amount of the offer, any conditions, the latest date by which you will pay the deposit and the latest date of the final contract. You will need to sign the form and put down a small deposit of €5,000 to €10,000, depending on the size of the property. This is done by cheque, which is held by the agent until a price is agreed and the seller has signed the proposta d'acquisto. You will also state how long you give the seller to decide whether your offer is acceptable or not, usually a week. This cheque for the deposit is returned if the offer is not accepted or an agreed price is not reached. Remember that making an offer should not be taken lightly, as once accepted it is a binding contract. The seller has to pay you double if he then backs out.
Conditions can be included in the offer, such as the inclusion of furniture, etc. and, if these conditions are not met but the price is, then the deposit is refunded. If accepted then the owner signs too and a contract is made. Remember though that the more conditions you put on the purchase the less likely your offer is to be accepted. So think carefully about them. Will small things like 'all light bulbs must be replaced with new ones' stop you buying the house if the owner refuses to do it? Likewise really big things, like 'the land must be completely landscaped' will not help an offer to be accepted. Also you cannot put conditions on a seller that he or she cannot control, for example 'the next door neighbour must get rid of his dog' or 'subject to selling my house in England'. You can add a condition saying 'subject to getting a mortgage' but we are finding more and more owners not accepting this as a condition due to the long time, usually four months, that it takes to get a mortgage in Italy.
When we bought our house the price was really low - there were four pigs living in the ground floor and it hadn't been lived in for thirty years. I offered a slightly lower price and the owner's face dropped. Realising the situation I told him I was only joking and said I would pay the full asking price. The effect of this was quite dramatic. Benito rotavated the garden for me, found someone to remove a huge fig tree, helped me buy my chickens and showed me how to operate the wine press he gave me. Most of all he became a very dear friend. He called me 'Robeen Oodah', the only two words he knew in English ('cos he'd seen the film) and all the villagers believed him when he told them what wonderful neighbours they had down the road! So, think hard before you beat someone down on price, but likewise don't appear to be gullible or very wealthy or they'll fleece you!