Buy property in Italy: what to ask during the viewing!

If you follow my channels or read my articles, you already know many aspects concerning the correct procedure to search for a property (if you have not done so, here is the link) a list of the preliminary documentation to obtain from the owner of the property you are interested in purchasing.

However, in the web, there is little content that addresses a topic that, in its simplicity, is extremely important to master to get the best possible price in a negotiation concerning the purchase of a property.

Buy a property in Italy: what to ask when viewing houses being sold!

Many people believe that the negotiation starts the moment you get to know your counterpart or an intermediary, and you make our first written offer.

From a formal point of view, that’s correct!

But from a practical point of view, it’s not!!

Why is that?

It’s useful from the very first visit, or even already by phone or email, when you contact the person who published the ad, to ask the right questions that can give you a negotiating advantage.

Question n. 1 – Why does the owner sell?

This is the first question to ask those who are showing the house for which you have booked the viewing.

If the property you are viewing has been proposed to you by a real estate agent, I suggest you ask this question first to him and , separately, if you have the opportunity, directly to the owner.

If the 2 answers do not match, you already understand that one of the two is lying. Be on your guard and try to understand the real reason for the property being put on the market.

Knowing the real motivation for which an owner has put the house up for sale is fundamental to also understand the emotional drive that leads him to detach himself from his home.

If he answers you, for example – “I’m selling because I’ve already committed to buying another house” – you understand that we are in front of an owner strongly motivated to sell, and that he will be ready to accept offers in line with market prices.

He could also say:

“We sell because our children are married, they now have their families and for us – me and my wife – this house is just too big”. This is also an answer that could make you understand that you are facing a situation in which the other party is motivated to change their condition.

These are just a few examples that will allow you to collect valuable elements that will surely help you to formulate your offer.

Question n. 2 – Who are the owners and where are they from?

If you want to buy a property in italy, his question should be asked if, of course, they are not present during your visit.

Why is it useful to collect some information about who the sellers are?

Let me give you an example:

Suppose the house you are visiting is a second home for the owner.

The geographical distance between the place where he usually lives and the place where his second home is located, compared to his age, could be an interesting element for you to know.
I can tell you that, for us Italians, 100-150 km is already an important distance.
Imagine if you are then in the presence of an owner who is old.
He will have more difficulty in using his second home with a certain frequency.

If you are viewing a property here in Tuscany in San Vincenzo, where my office is located, and the seller, who is an elderly person, lives an hour’s drive from here, is objectively different than if he lives a 4 hour journey.

Attention – I’m not saying that you should take advantage of the situation to make an excessively low offer, that it is not commensurate with the real market value and that it can be perceived as offensive by the seller.

I’m just saying that gathering some information about your counterpart, which is the seller, can make you understand if you are in front of people who really want to sell and not those who just TRY to sell and that make you only waste time.

Another question to ask when you go to see a property to buy is:

Question n. 3 – How long has the property been on sale for?

Ask this question to those who accompany you to visit the property and, if present, also directly to the seller.

In addition, it is also possible, in many cases, to independently verify the “age of the ad” on the real estate portals as the date of when it was published is reported.
(read the article on how to search on Italian real estate portals)

Keep in mind that a technique used by some agency is to remove the ad and create a new one for the same house, so that you believe that the property has just been introduced on the market.

When you know exactly how long the property you are visiting has been on the market, you can have 2 scenarios:

1 – the first scenario is the one of the seller who has recently launched the sale.
If on the one hand you are lucky enough to be one of the first visitors, and therefore have the privilege of viewing “fresh goods“, on the other hand you will have an owner who will be less keen to lower the price he requested.
Statistically, it is in the first period of the sale that the best and highest offers for a seller arrive, but he is led to think:

“I just started out with the sale.”
“I don’t want to take the first offer I get if it’s lower than my expectations.”
“If I wait a little longer, maybe I can get a little more.”

2 – the second scenario that may arise is that in which the property has been on sale for a long time.
In this case you know that you will probably have an owner willing to accommodate you on the price.

In any case, it is essential to understand whether the reasons why the property has been for sale for so long are just one matter of price, or if the reason is another.

Be very careful.
To protect you from any danger I have addressed the subject in detail in this article.

In most cases a property is not sold for price reasons.
At that point it would be useful to know how long it has been on sale at the price in which it was proposed to you, and what was the initial amount that the owner asked.

Question n. 4 – How many potential buyers have seen this property?

We will never be certain that those in front of us will tell us the truth.
This is not the topic I will discuss in this article, but there are some techniques that allow you to understand, through reading the body language of the speaker, if who you are facing, in all probability, is lying to you or is telling you the truth.

It is useful to know the “traffic” that has been on the property you are viewing.
If you are told that so many people have seen it, ask yourself “why has no one bought it yet?“.

On the contrary, if only a few people have seen it and maybe the property has been on sale for a long time, you will be asked “why do few people come to see it?

Question n. 5 – Have any other proposals been made yet? Are there other interested parties at this moment?

Has the owner received any offers on this property?

It is useful to ask the same question, perhaps at different times, both to the real estate agent and to the owners directly during the viewing of the place.

I remember once when I assisted a customer of mine who was a buyer.
We decided to go and see a property whose sale was managed by another real estate agent.
During the visit, there was a time when my clients were left alone with the other real estate agent and I was left alone with the owner of the property.

At the end of the appointment, when we greeted the owner and his real estate agent, we realized that the question we had asked them separately (“Have you already received other offers on this house from other buyers?”) the two versions they provided us did not match.
If you are in such a situation – it’s up to you to figure out who you think gave the correct version.

In case the owner has never received an offer for his property, you can draw several conclusions depending on the time that has passed since the property was put on the market.

If the house has just been put on sale, it is not the best scenario for you for the reasons I have described in the previous videos.
On the contrary, if the house has been on sale for a long time and the seller has never received any offers, then you will have greater bargaining power. If, on the other hand, you are told that there has been another offer, it is useful to ask in the order:

“What’s the offer amount?”
At least you have a reference amount

“Why didn’t the deal go through?”
..if it was due to a too low bid or for other reasons.

“How long ago was this offer made?”
Perhaps he got the offer a few months ago. He refused it, but now he’s ready to accept that price.

Question n. 6 – When did the current owner purchased the property? What year did he buy it?

It ‘s a question that is asked rarely, but that can often make you understand many things.

From the point of view of negotiation it is useful to understand at what time in the market the owner bought the house he is selling.

Let’s start with the worst scenario that can happen to you:
The owner bought the property in the 2000s, – after the currency swap from Lire to Euro – at the turn of the years 2004 and 2010, when the prices of houses in Italy have gone to the stars.

You will find yourself in front of a person who has paid for his property, probably, much more than what it is now worth.
The minimum objective he will have is to get back the same amount he spent, even if it will be almost impossible for him.

He’ll probably be less willing to accept your offer, but it also depends on how long the house he is selling has been on the market for.

It is important to know the year in which the current owner purchased it.
For what reason?

Let me give you an example:
If he bought only 2 years ago and now resells, it is essential to understand the reason that drives him to resell so quickly.
This can be a “wake-up call”.

Maybe the neighbors are awful?

Or, perhaps, is there a problem with the house that leads him to resell so quickly?

Be very careful and try to investigate thoroughly.

Question n. 7 – What is the bargaining margin?

We have said that some of the factors that determine the negotiability are:

– The time factor: “How long has the property been on the market for?”.

– The “motivational drive” of the owner to sell the property.

– How the sale is going: “How many people have seen the house and how many of them have made an offer? “

It is useful to ask directly – both to the owner and to the real estate agent – what is the negotiation margin of the house.

I would ask the real estate agent in particular:

“How much do you think it’s worth?

“If I buy this house and, the day after I sign the notarial deed, I give it to you to sell it , how much would you sell it for?”

Question n. 8 – Is the seller a private individual or a legal entity and, therefore, a company?

Knowing if the seller is a private individual or a company, is one of the very first things to know, because it can heavily affect your finances.

In the case of buying a property from a private individual, the cost of registering the property is calculated on the cadastral value which, in general, is much lower than the price that is agreed between the parties.

If the seller is a company, you will instead have VAT to pay that, if you buy as a second home, amounts to 10% of the agreed price.

You can understand that knowing whether the seller is a private individual or a company makes a great difference.
I fully explained this important detail in this article!

Question n. 9 – How many owners are selling?

“How many people will have to decide whether or not to accept my offer?”

“Are the sellers a couple – husband and wife?

“Is the buyer a single individual?”

“Is it an inherited property and will I have to deal with 10 heirs?”

A few years ago I happened to sell a villa where the owners were more than 20 heirs!

If, on the one hand, putting so many heads in agreement is a challenge, on the other hand it is also true that the margin of negotiation is divided between several heads that belong, most of the time, to several families.

If the selling party is made up of husband and wife, communication will be easier and quicker.
On the other hand, you should know that if you want to put forward, for example, a proposal for 20,000 euros less than the price they charge, you will have to deal with a single family unit.

If there are 10 heirs – each with their own family – it will be easier to get a discount of 20,000 euros if this affects each one for 2,000 euros, for each of the heirs.

In conclusion, I hope I have been useful to you!
Now that you know the questions to ask during /before a viewing to buy a property, you have perfectly understood that the negotiation starts from your home, even before you come here in Italy.

If you are willing to buy a property in Italy here on the Etruscan Coast, in Tuscany, get in touch and I will be honored to assist you during your search.

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