The procedure for purchasing real estate in Italy consists of three stages.

1 stage
   Offer to purchase 

1. Purchase offer, which specifies parameters, location and price
the selected property, terms and time of payment, additional conditions, as well as dates for signing the preliminary and main agreement.
To confirm the seriousness of his intentions, the buyer must pay a deposit of
means of bank transfer to a special account of the Notary, who will conduct the transaction (the Notary is a public person and guarantees the reliability of the transaction).
Typically, the deposit is 5% of the total offer amount.
The offer to purchase is presented to the owner along with confirmation of the amount for
Notary's deposit account.
If the offer is accepted, the Notary will keep this amount in a deposit account until
the moment of signing the preliminary agreement;
In case of refusal of the offer, the Notary returns the amount to the buyer within 5
working days.
Once the offer is accepted, the deposit takes the form of a security deposit.

                                                                             2 stage
                                                          Preliminary agreement

2. Preliminary agreement. As a rule, it is prescribed a few days after
acceptance of an offer to purchase. When signing the preliminary agreement you
pay the seller about 20% of the transaction value (the amount is transferred in advance to
deposit account of the Notary), 0,5% of the amount of tax fees for the purchase and sale (the estimate from the Notary is provided by us in advance).
Also, when signing the preliminary agreement, in accordance with the Italian
Agency fees are paid by law. Upon signing
of the preliminary agreement, all details of ownership, rights, etc. are checked.
Between the preliminary and the main agreement, as a rule, 1-2 months pass (maybe less or more, depending on the conditions, necessary checks, etc.) the time required to prepare all the documents.

                                                                           3 stage
                                                                 Primary agreement

3. Main agreement. At the time of signing which the remaining amount is paid and all
necessary taxes. When the main agreement is signed, rights are transferred
ownership of the property.

                                                          Transaction costs

Transaction costs:
1. Taxes on purchase and sale:
if the buyer is an INDIVIDUAL - 9% of the cadastral value + 100 euros
state fee. + notary costs approximately 15 euros + technical report (prices vary from 000 to 2 thousand euros).
2. Agency fee – 4% of the transaction value + VAT.
3. Technical conclusion - cost varies depending on the object and issues.
(from 2 to 5 thousand euros).