The usual steps of buying a house with us:

- We look out for properties of interest that appeal to us and
other foreign buyers through our network of trusted agents
and private vendors.

- You get in touch and tell us about the type of place you are
looking for. We communicate via email about what we have at
that time and continue to look for other suitable properties.

- You organise a trip to Salento. The nearest airports are Brindisi
and Bari, both Ryan Air destinations. We recommend you hire a
car to fully explore the area.

- We have an initial meeting with you and take you to view as
many properties as we have that might be of interest to you.

- You fall in love with a property and decide to make an offer.

- We act on your behalf to get the best possible price for you.

- When your offer has been accepted a deposit needs to be
made on the property to take it off the market and fix the sale
price. This is usually E1000-5000 and is held by the agent.

- This offer can be made subject to survey. A standard survey
costs 400 euros. A registered ‘tecnico’ will visit the property
with us and give his professional opinion on the structural
state of the house. He will also gather all the documentation
together and write a report about the property which we will
email you with main points translated into English. If there are
any surprise problems you can take back your deposit in full.

- The next stage is the 'compromesso' which is a deposit of
usually 10-30% of the purchase price. This binds both you and
the vendor to the sale and sets a date for completion. If you pull out after this you are likely lose this deposit. The vendor is
liable to pay double if they withdraw.

- You do not have to be present for the Compromesso as we are
able to sign on your behalf, but if you do come it is a good
opportunity for us to help you open a local bank account and
get your fiscal code (necessary for the completion of the sale).

- If you don’t speak Italian it is complicated and costly to
complete without a ‘procura’ (power of attorney) given to
someone who does. When all the documentation is ready for
the sale this needs to take place either at a company in London
or over here. There are extra translation costs for this, usually
of around 250 euros.

- The final stage is the 'stipula' (completion). It is not necessary
for you to be present for this as you will have already have given
us power of attorney. The remainder of the sale price is paid, as
well our agreed fee and notary costs which include stamp duty.

- As is standard in Italy, both the buyer and seller pay a
percentage of the sale price to the agent. Our fee is 3% for
purchasers (minimum E4000). Our minimum is higher than
local agents usually charge (about 3%) because we offer a
more extensive and tailored service specifically to foreign
buyers and we specialize in cheap properties.