LEGALITIES - Easy steps to Italian property purchase
Once you have found a property that you would like to purchase be it in Tuscany, Calabria or any region of Italy then this is what you can expect to happen, in brief, with regard to the legalities:
The first written step in the negotiations is the offer to purchase, by which the buyer will bind himself 
irrevocably for the period of the validity of the offer to buy the property at a particular price. This offer is normally valid for 14 or 30 days. When the offer has been accepted by the buyer a 10% deposit is paid.
The next stage is the preliminary contract of sale (compromesso). This is the contract by which the interested parties agree in writing on the formalities of the sale, the date by which the completion (il rogito) must be entered into and the name of the Italian notary that will execute the deed. At this stage there is normally another payment of between 20/30%.
The completion ( il rogito) is the definitive passage of the title to the property from the vendor to the buyer by a public document, or by a private contract authenticated by a notary for the purpose of registration.
In the case of purchase of a property from a private citizen, the buyer must pay a registration impost and a land registry tax. If a property is bought from a company, instead of land registry tax IVA (VAT) is normally payable.
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