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Hello everyone, from a continually rainy and cool Liguria. It is now official – we have had the wettest April in 30 years, and I think we are probably in the middle of the coolest, wettest May too. However the lawns are looking distinctly British and green, so there is an upside, I suppose. It is almost June and Italy holds its breath to see if the local council tax on main residences – known as ICI, pronounced ‘itchy’ - will be abolished before the annual June payment is up. That ICI will be abolished is almost certain: it was Berlusconi’s main promise during the election campaign (along with the abolition of income tax on overtime). Italians are also holding their breath, waiting to see where councils will find the 2 billion euro shortfall, almost certainly by upping already existing taxes (such as the rubbish tax TARSU) or by inventing new taxes instead (poll tax, window tax?) Or perhaps by increasing the ICI on second homes ie holiday homes. We shall see. The other news this month is that new regulations are coming into force. The first involves declaring the state of wiring, plumbing and heating of a house in an act of purchase. The law states that these should be ‘a norma’ ie to regulation standards and a simple electrician or plumber can issue a statement saying as much. However, a buyer and a seller of a house can agree to state in a deed of purchase that the wiring and plumbing are not to regulation levels and leave it at that. So no need to panic if you are buying an old house with picturesque networks of old wires flying about – the act of purchase will state that you will undertake to have the wiring updated at your own cost. Perhaps you are still in time to ask for a small discount on the purchase price of the house to pay for that … The second lot of new regulations involves energy efficiency. From the 1st July 2008 all buildings, when bought and sold, will have to have an energy certificate stating the energy efficiency of the building. This only applies when an entire building is sold in the deed ie an entire block of flats or a detached house. From the 1st July 2009, all sales will require this certificate. When the sale involves a new property, the developers must issue this certificate. When a sale involves an existing property, these certificates will be issued by people known as ‘certificatori’ and websites offering the services of these professionals are starting to spring up. New buildings are now also required to have solar panels that can heat 30% (some reports say 50%) of a building’s hot water requirements. These are necessary changes. Non-nuclear Italy buys its electricity from nuclear France and its natural gas from Kazakhstan, via Russia, and since it signed the Kyoto agreement, greenhouse gas emissions in Italy have gone up, instead of down, to the point that Italy will have to cut its emissions by 41% if it wants to hit the target agreed for 2010. The figures haven’t been helped by last summer’s craze for air conditioning systems – though if the weather continues as it is, I don’t think anyone will get the chance to use them this summer! Have a great month…and if you haven’t done so already please purchase the Italy Buying Guide to ensure you know everything there is to know about buying in Italy! Just go to: http://www.ItalyBuyingGuide.com/guide.htm Kind regards, Gianna Gianna Williams |
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Legal Section - Married couples in ItalyEconomic relationship between foreign married couples resident in Italy When a couple decides to buy a house in Italy, they will be asked the question: are you in joint-ownership – comunione - or separation of goods? It seems an odd question, but it is fundamentally important for the notary who is preparing the deed of purchase to know. In the first few lines of every deed of purchase, a notary will list who is buying, who is selling and whether they are in joint-ownership or separation of goods. In Italy, all married couples are automatically in ‘comunione dei beni’ ie they jointly own all properties in their names. If they want separation of goods, which is handy for example in the case where one partner runs a small business, they must apply formally to a notary to register their relationship as such. When couples have separation of goods, they can register a property in the name of just one partner and when that partner sells the property, he or she will not require the permission of their spouse. Should a British
married couple decide to regulate their economic affairs according to
Italian law, they will have to do it with a public deed in the presence
of an Italian notary. In such a case they will have also have a choice
of choosing either the communion, or the separation of their goods,
or even a trust in terms of the ownership of their properties. Italian law offers a further opportunity: the two partners may agree in writing that their economic affairs will be regulated by the law of the state in which at least one of them is a citizen. Such a choice has to occur not only in written form but also at the presence of an Italian notary. Avv. Giandomenico De Tullio If you have any legal questions, concerns please fill out our resource form at: |
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Opportunities when you least expect themby Smart Currency’s Charles Purdy.The normal reaction when times get hard is to keep your head down and minimise any risks you may have - a sensible thought process. But why is Abranovich so wealthy? And when did the Rothschild dynasty make their money? The answer is they made their money when times were very tough and they had the courage to buy top class assets at reduced prices. How does this logic apply to buying your overseas property? The key principle to understand here is that there will be some “keen” sellers who will accept much lower prices than a year ago. It is now a buyers market rather than a sellers market. This “keenness” can arise for a number of reasons which to be honest shouldn’t really interest you. The key is to identify quickly who are “keen” sellers: they will want cash right now and so then you start negotiating hard. Even though sterling has been weak you may find that, with the right opportunity, you pay less in sterling terms for your property purchase than a year ago. Clearly you will need to have a good reason for buying the property, for example you are retiring in a year and will be emigrating. A lot could happen in that year and the opportunity may evaporate. The credit crunch could be resolved, confidence could return to the market and lo and behold: it is a sellers’ market again! To read the latest on Currency go to: http://www.ItalyBuyingGuide.com/Currency220508.htm Why
overseas property buyers lose money... This 10-page educational report outlines:
And just a couple remarks about the report from our readers...
To get a copy of the report at no charge go to: http://www.smartcurrencyexchange.com/freereport.htm To get a Better-than-Bank
rate go to: http://www.smartCurrencyExchange.com/smartsquotation.htm
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Working towards the dream……..As the proverb says ‘work will win where wishy washy wishes won’t! Truth is, dreams have to be worked at… and worked out! We dream great dreams, recurring dreams, day dreams, dream of a new life or some particular hobby or interest; we dream of achieving great things, dream of the future and sometimes our dreams even turn to nightmares! However, dreams and work are two sides of the same coin: the dream is the engine, but work is the fuel to drive that engine forward. The dream usually reveals the final destination and the perfect scenario; but without working to make it happen, the dream often remains just that – a dream! The good news is that dreams can come true and nightmares can be avoided if we apply ourselves. We need to think about things like Investments, Pensions, Employment and Estate Planning – and the great news is that the financial planners that we work with have already done the HARD WORK FOR US!! They can simply and easily work with us to make the very best decisions for living our chosen dream in the UK and beyond by considering areas such as: Income requirements: Current
investments: Pension
review and Advice: Estate Planning: I really think this could be of tremendous help to you – yes, you may have worked out your sums as to the property but there is SO much more you could be doing, as I am learning. If you would like me to introduce you to my recommended IFA, please go to: http://www.ItalyBuyingGuide.com/resources.htm |
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The most popular places in April 2008Property in emerging markets, particularly across Central America, was popular with UK investors in April. Also Egypt has moved into one of the top 10 countries.
But here is the really interesting news: Italy won the battle for top spot in April – the first time since August 2007!
With Silvio Berlusconi
recently elected as Italy’s new Prime Minister, things could also
be looking up for the Italian economy. During his five-year term, Berlusconi
wants to lower the fiscal burden - the amount of taxes paid as a percentage
of gross domestic product - from 43% to less than 40%. He has also pledged
to reduce the highest tax bracket of 43%, which kicks in at €75,000,
to 33%. | ||
ClosingI hope you have
enjoyed reading this month’s newsletter.
Gianna Williams |
However,
some of the biggest movers and shakers were from Central and South America.
Italy’s
popularity continues to be underpinned by emerging markets such as Sicily,
Abbruzzo and Italy’s ‘jewel of the sun’, Calabria.