Buying a home, in Caltanissetta and across Italy

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For most people, buying a home is the most important contract of their life — and yet almost no one signs it more than twice. This guide sets out the whole journey in order, from the first calculations to the keys in your hand. (Do you need to sell your own home first? There's the guide for sellers.)

Before you search: budget and mortgage

The first step isn't browsing the listings: it's knowing how much you can really spend. On top of the price of the property come the additional costs (you'll find them below) and, if you need a mortgage, it's worth starting with a preliminary feasibility check: talking to the bank before choosing the property tells you straight away what figure you can commit to — and it makes you a credible buyer when the time comes to make an offer. We stay alongside you throughout, with the support of our banking partners.

The search and the viewings

Set your real priorities — area, space, floor, condominium fees — and view the property calmly, twice if need be, at different times of day. During a viewing don't just look at the rooms: ask about the building systems, the windows and doors, the condominium fees and any works already approved. And remember that negotiations are won on paper: land registry records (catasto), building compliance and the property's chain of title must be checked before you make an offer. With us those checks are part of the job, not an extra.

The purchase offer and the caparra (deposit)

Once you've found the right home, you sign the purchase proposal: a written commitment, accompanied by a deposit (caparra). If the seller accepts, the proposal binds both parties: whoever pulls out loses the deposit (or has to return it doubled). That's why it must be drafted properly — amount, deadlines, conditions precedent such as obtaining the mortgage — and never signed on impulse. We prepare it together, line by line.

From compromesso (preliminary contract) to rogito (final deed)

Next comes the preliminary contract (compromesso), which sets out price, timings and conditions in black and white, and finally the final deed of sale (rogito) before the notary — traditionally chosen and paid for by the buyer — with the balance, the transfer of ownership and the handover of the keys. In between there's the mortgage process, the notary's searches and the last checks: we're with you right up to the signing, and afterwards too.

What buying a home really costs

Besides the price, budget for:

• registration tax (imposta di registro): 2% of the cadastral value if this is your first home, 9% in all other cases (minimum 1.000 €); if you buy from the developer you pay VAT instead (4% first home, 10% otherwise);
• notary (notaio): fee plus the fixed duties;
• if there's a mortgage: valuation, arrangement fee and substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva);
• agency: with us you know the figure in advance, in writing — we explain how it works in the guide "How much does an estate agency cost?";
• the move and any small works: put them in the budget from the start.

Prima casa tax benefits (first home)

If it's your first home (and it isn't in a luxury category) you pay far less: registration tax at 2% — or VAT at 4% if you buy from the developer. The main conditions: transfer your residence to the municipality within 18 months and not already own another property bought with the same relief. We'll tell you straight away, figures in hand, whether your case qualifies.

The buyer's mistakes

• falling in love and making an offer before checking the paperwork;
• ignoring the condominium fees and the works about to start in the building;
• signing the proposal without knowing whether the bank will grant the mortgage;
• counting the price alone and discovering the additional costs at the deed signing;
• being in a hurry: a home is bought with your head — your heart comes right after.

A guide by the team at Danesi Immobiliare — FIAIP-certified estate agents, in Caltanissetta since 2008.