Property: Agency sale vs private sale

Property private sales are still quite popular in Italy; this is mainly due to the saving on agency fees.
Let’s see the main characteristics of agency sales and private sales.

Agency sale:
1. When a property is marketed 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.
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 with the help of an independent professional, with no links with the seller nor with the agent to avoid any conflict of interests.
The fact that not all documents are in order when a property is put on the market is the main reason a sale in Italy takes so long, it may even take months.

2. When a property is sold through an agent, both the buyer and the seller pay a commission to the agent.

3. The property price is usually higher, because the commission the seller must pay to the agent is usually included in the selling price, hence the buyer may end up unknowingly paying the commission twice.

Private sale:
1. When a property is sold directly by the owner, no checks are required to be carried out by the seller, therefore all the checks on the property compliance are on the buyer.

2. No agency fees to pay. 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.

3. Usually, property prices are lower, just because the seller doesn’t have to pay any commission to the agent.

All in all, private sales are usually more convenient for both the buyer and the seller.

If you are not familiar with the buying process in Italy, it is advisable to have a lawyer by your side to guide you (and usually the seller) step by step.

This article is not exhaustive and is a guidance only.
If you need assistance in the buying process please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Barbara De Benedittis Relocation and Legal in Italy