The short answer: the costly mistakes in Italy are about paperwork, not price. Buyers sign a binding contract and hand over a deposit before anyone has checked that the house matches the land registry and planning records, that the title is clear, and that no neighbor or heritage office has a right to buy it first. Hire your own surveyor (geometra) and lawyer before you sign anything, and most of this list goes away.
These are the mistakes we see most often, with the rules behind them checked for 2026.
Italy buying guide · Homes in Italy
Key numbers
| Number | What it means | Source (checked 22 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | Deadline to register a preliminary contract (compromesso) | Agenzia delle Entrate |
| €200 + 0.5% | Tax to register it: €200, plus 0.5% of deposits and advances (contracts from 1 Jan 2025) | Agenzia delle Entrate |
| 2x | If the seller backs out, you can claim double a confirmatory deposit; if you back out, you lose it | Civil Code art. 1385 |
| 2 years | A buyer shares liability for the seller's unpaid condo fees for the current and previous year | Civil Code implementing rules, art. 63 |
| €3,000 to €18,000 | Fine, shared by buyer and seller, if the energy certificate (APE) isn't in the deed | D.Lgs. 192/2005, art. 6 |
| 60 days | Time the State has to buy a listed heritage building at the agreed price | Ministero della Cultura, SABAP Parma |
| €500 to €5,000 | Fine for advertising a short-term rental without its national ID code (CIN) | Ministero del Turismo |
| 9% / 2% | Registration tax on a second home / main home, on the cadastral value, minimum €1,000 | Agenzia delle Entrate |
Before you look
1. Thinking the house comes with the right to live in it
Owning a home in Italy does not give you residence. Without a visa, Americans can spend 90 days in any 180 across the whole Schengen area, not just Italy. If you want to stay longer, look at the elective residence visa before you buy, because it needs a lease or deed in your name when you apply.
2. Buying sight unseen, or only in summer
Photos don't show the road in February, the neighbor's dogs, or how far the nearest open pharmacy is. Visit at least twice, once in the off season. If you can't travel, pay someone local to walk the house and the village on video before you make an offer.
3. Leaving the tax code and the money for the last week
You need a codice fiscale, the Italian tax code, to sign. Non-residents can ask someone in Italy to request it from the Agenzia delle Entrate, or apply through an Italian consulate in some cases. Sort it out early, along with how you'll move the money, so neither holds up the deed.
Before you sign
4. Signing an offer without knowing it's binding
In Italy the written offer (proposta) usually comes with a deposit, and once the seller accepts it you may already be bound. Then comes the preliminary contract (compromesso), with a bigger deposit. It must be registered within 30 days. The tax is €200, plus 0.5% of the deposits and advances, which is later credited against the tax on the deed.
Know what kind of deposit you're paying. With a confirmatory deposit (caparra confirmatoria), if you walk away the seller keeps it; if the seller walks away, you can claim double. Make the contract conditional on the checks in mistakes 5 to 7.
5. Trusting the listing instead of the records
Every home has a cadastral record and a floor plan on file, plus planning permits in the town's archive. The deed is void if it doesn't declare that the cadastral data and floor plans match the house as it stands. Extensions, closed-in porches and converted barns that were never declared are common in older Italian homes.
A geometra (surveyor) checks the house against the cadastral and planning records and tells you what it costs to fix any gaps. Ask for this before the compromesso, not after.
6. Not checking the title for debts
A mortgage or a court charge registered against the house stays with the house. Your lawyer or notary searches the property registers (ispezione ipotecaria) for mortgages and charges. Do it before you pay a deposit, and again just before the deed.
7. Forgetting the condo's unpaid bills
In an apartment building, the condo association can ask you, the new owner, for the seller's unpaid fees for the current year and the year before. You can then claim them back from the seller, which is slow. Ask the building administrator for a written statement of what the seller owes, and have it settled at the deed.
8. Treating the agent as your adviser
The agent is paid when the sale happens. In Italy buyers usually pay the agent too, often around 3% of the price plus 22% VAT, so ask the fee in writing on day one. The agent can be helpful, but the checks that protect you should come from your own geometra and lawyer.
9. Skipping your own lawyer and translator
The notary is a public official who makes sure the deed is legal and the taxes are paid. That is not the same as advising you. A lawyer who works for you reads the compromesso, negotiates conditions and explains what you're signing. If you don't speak Italian, arrange a translator for the deed, and read a draft in English a few days before.
Special cases
10. Buying farmland without checking the neighbor's rights
When agricultural land is sold, a neighboring farmer who works their own land, or a tenant farmer on it, can have a legal right to buy it first on the same terms (prelazione agraria). If they weren't offered it properly, they can sometimes take the sale over later. This matters for rural homes with land: 13 of the 56 Italian homes for sale on SOBA today list 1,000 m² of land or more, and 8 list a hectare or more. Ask your notary how the land is classified and whether anyone has this right.
11. Ignoring heritage protection
If a building is listed as cultural heritage, the sale must be reported to the Ministry of Culture, and the State has 60 days to buy it at the agreed price. Until then, the sale is on hold and the seller can't hand over the keys. Work on a listed building also needs extra permissions. Ask whether the building is listed before you fall for that frescoed ceiling.
12. Not checking landslide and flood risk
Many Italian villages sit on hillsides or near rivers. ISPRA, Italy's environment agency, runs a free public map, IdroGEO, where you can type in an address and see the landslide and flood hazard level. It takes five minutes. Do it for every house on your shortlist.
13. Planning holiday rentals without the rules
Every short-term rental in Italy needs a national ID code (CIN) from the Ministry of Tourism, shown in every listing. Advertising without it can cost €500 to €5,000 per home, and the listing is taken down. Regions and towns can add their own rules. If rental income is part of your plan, check the rules for that town before you buy.
Money
14. Budgeting only the asking price
From a private seller, a second home pays 9% registration tax on the cadastral value (2% for a main home, if you move your residence to the town within 18 months), minimum €1,000, plus €50 mortgage tax and €50 cadastral tax. Then add the notary, the agent, your lawyer and your geometra. A new build bought from a builder pays VAT instead.
15. Forgetting the annual costs
A second home pays IMU every year: 0.86% of the cadastral base, which towns can raise to 1.06%, or 1.14% in some. Add the TARI waste tax, insurance, utilities and condo fees. An empty house in a damp climate also needs someone to air it and check it.
16. Underestimating the work
The cheapest homes on any list, including ours, often need a new roof, wiring or plumbing. Get a builder's written estimate before you agree a price, not after. And make sure the seller provides the energy certificate (APE): it must be attached to the deed, and leaving it out can cost both of you a fine of €3,000 to €18,000.
17. Not checking who actually owns it
Older family homes are often owned by several heirs, sometimes living in different countries. Every owner must sign. A missing heir, an unfinished inheritance process, or someone with a lifetime right to live in the house (usufrutto) can stall a sale for months. Your notary's checks should list every owner and every right on the title.
How SOBA fits in
We are not an agency. We don't take commission, and you deal with the seller or their agent directly. What we do is find homes, check each one by hand, and send them to members every week, with notes on what to look at. We can't do your due diligence for you. A geometra and a lawyer working for you are still the best money you'll spend.
Homes in Italy under €100,000 · where to buy
FAQ
Is it safe to buy a house in Italy as a foreigner? Yes, if you do the checks. Americans can buy, the notary system is well regulated, and most problems come from skipped checks: paperwork that doesn't match the house, unpaid debts, or rights held by others.
What is the biggest mistake buyers make in Italy? Signing a binding offer or compromesso, with a deposit, before a geometra has checked the house against the cadastral and planning records. Make your deposit conditional on those checks.
Do I lose my deposit if I change my mind? With a confirmatory deposit (caparra confirmatoria), usually yes: the seller can keep it. If the seller pulls out, you can claim double what you paid. Read the contract to see which kind of deposit it is.
Do I need a lawyer to buy a house in Italy? It isn't required by law, because the notary handles the deed. But the notary doesn't act for you. A lawyer who does is worth it, especially if you don't read Italian.
Who pays the agent in Italy? Usually both buyer and seller pay the agent. For buyers it is often around 3% of the price plus 22% VAT. Agree the fee in writing before you view.
Can I rent out my Italian home to tourists? Yes, if you get the national ID code (CIN) and follow the region's and town's rules. Advertising without a CIN can be fined €500 to €5,000.
Sources
All checked 22 October 2026.
- Agenzia delle Entrate, Prima dell'acquisto è bene (preliminary contract registration and tax): https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/prima-dell-acquisto-e-bene
- Agenzia delle Entrate, L'acquisto di una casa: le imposte: https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/acquisto-di-una-casa-le-imposte
- Agenzia delle Entrate, L'acquisto con i benefici prima casa: https://www.agenziaentrate.gov.it/portale/l-acquisto-con-i-benefici-prima-casa
- Civil Code art. 1385, caparra confirmatoria (Brocardi): https://www.brocardi.it/codice-civile/libro-quarto/titolo-ii/capo-v/sezione-ii/art1385.html
- Civil Code implementing rules art. 63, condo fees (Brocardi): https://www.brocardi.it/disposizioni-per-attuazione-del-codice-civile/capo-i/sezione-iii/art63.html
- Federnotizie, cadastral conformity under Law 52/1985 art. 29, para. 1-bis: https://www.federnotizie.it/conformita-catastale-dopo-il-d-l-502017/
- D.Lgs. 192/2005 art. 6, energy certificate (BibLus): https://biblus.acca.it/art-6-dlgs-192-05/
- Ministero della Cultura, SABAP Parma, Alienazione e prelazione: https://sabap-pr.cultura.gov.it/alienazione-e-prelazione/
- Notaio Tassitani Farfaglia, La prelazione agraria: https://www.notaiotassitani.it/la-prelazione-agraria/
- ISPRA, IdroGEO landslide and flood hazard maps: https://idrogeo.isprambiente.it/app/
- Ministero del Turismo, FAQ Banca Dati Strutture Ricettive (CIN): https://www.ministeroturismo.gov.it/faq-banca-dati-strutture-ricettive-bdsr/
- Dipartimento delle Finanze, IMU rates: https://www.finanze.gov.it/it/fiscalita/fiscalita-regionale-e-locale/Imposta-municipale-propria-IMU/disciplina-del-tributo/aliquote/
- Consulate General of Italy in New York, Codice fiscale: https://consnewyork.esteri.it/en/servizi-consolari-e-visti/servizi-per-il-cittadino-italiano/codice-fiscale/
- Dove.it, agent commission in Italy: https://www.dove.it/guida/quanto-costa-unagenzia-immobiliare/ck022opngj05i0936zd88zz4u
- European Commission, Schengen short-stay calculator: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/border-crossing/short-stay-calculator_en
- SOBA catalog, Italian homes for sale, counted 22 October 2026: https://listings.soba.homes/homes?countries=Italy
This is a guide, not legal advice. A local lawyer or notary confirms the details for your purchase.
