PRIVATE SALE OR AGENCY SALE?

Property private sales are still quite popular in Italy and this is mainly due to the saving on agency fees.

Let’s see the main characteristics of each one.

Agency sale:

1. When a property is advertised by an agent, the agent should carry out some checks on it to make sure that it is compliant and that all its documents are in order (ownership, floorplans, etc.).
However, it can happen that a property is put on the market despite not being fully compliant and therefore the fact that a property is marketed by an agency does not guarantee at all its full compliance.
Hence, it is highly recommended to carry out your own checks on the property (ownership, saleability, floorplans, …) with the help of an independent professional, who has no links with the seller nor with the agent to avoid any conflict of interests.

2. When a property is sold through an agent, both buyer and seller pay a commission to the agent: the higher the selling price, the lower the commission and vice versa; however, you can find fixed fees under a certain property price, and very high commission even on high property price.

3. You need a notary to make the deal official and have it properly registered.

Private sale:

1. When a property is sold directly by the owner, they do not usually carry out any checks, and, in fact, they may miss some important things, especially if the property has been in their ownership for a long time, if it’s been inherited, etc., therefore all the checks on the property are on the buyer. As per the agency sale, it is highly recommended to carry out your own checks on the property (ownership, saleability, floorplans) with the help of an independent professional, who has no links with the seller to avoid any conflict of interests.

2. No agency fees are involved. It could be that the property is advertised by someone on behalf of the seller, and that for this help the seller will pay them something, but this would be a private agreement between them, which wouldn’t affect you in any way and wouldn’t oblige you to pay anything to them.

3. Usually, property prices are lower.

4. You need a notary to make the deal official and have it properly registered

To recap: the main difference between a private sale and an agency sale is the payment of the fees to the agency; it goes without saying that private sales are more convenient than agency sales and for this reason are still very popular in Italy.
Hence, if you bump into a private sale, do not be afraid to find out more, this kind of sale is perfectly legit and could be a real bargain for you.

This article is not exhaustive and is a guidance only.

If you are not familiar with the buying process in Italy and need assistance, please contact us.

 

Barbara De Benedittis Relocation and Legal in Italy