The full catalogue
Everything that can go wrong
The calculator shows you the three that apply to your case. This is all nineteen, in the order they matter, with the signal that gives each one away and the person who can actually settle it. Nothing here is hypothetical: each entry is a rule, a decided case, or a mistake we have watched people make.
Grouped by when they reach you, not by how frightening they are. Most buyers only need the first group before they sign anything at all.
Before you sign the offer
These are decided in the days around the offer, and after acceptance every one of them costs money to fix.
- 01R09
Losing your deposit if the mortgage is refused
What gives it away. An offer signed without a mortgage condition written into it.
What it costs you. You lose 5–10% of the price and still owe the agency its fee.
What to do about it
Insist on a suspensive condition that names a deadline, the bank’s written refusal, full return of the deposit, and no agency fee.
Who settles it: You, with a lawyer
- 02R13
An agent who is not registered cannot charge you
What gives it away. No REA number on the paperwork, cash requested, a private individual, contact only through social media.
What it costs you. You have no protection and no insurance behind the deal — and they have no right to a commission at all.
What to do about it
Ask for their REA number and the company name once you are bound — at the preliminary contract, or when the invoice arrives. Not before: asking early gives them time to put a registered colleague’s name on the paperwork, and it buys you nothing, because a commission that was never owed stays not owed. If you have already paid one who is not registered, you can demand it back in full.
Who settles it: You, with the Chamber of Commerce
- 03R31
Cash payments above the legal limit
What gives it away. “Let’s pay part of it in cash.”
What it costs you. Fines, a false declaration in the deed, and money-laundering exposure.
What to do about it
Every euro must be traceable and declared in the deed.
Who settles it: You
- 04R10
Never let the agency hold your deposit cheque
What gives it away. “We’ll keep it” or “the seller will cash it in the meantime”.
What it costs you. Getting the money back becomes very hard if the deal collapses.
In the file. Who settles it: You
- 05R18
Signing a deed you cannot read
What gives it away. “It’s just a formality, sign here.”
What it costs you. You are bound by a document you did not understand, and challenging it later is very difficult.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary
Why three and not nineteen
Is the house in order, and really free?
Whether the house is in order with the town hall and the land registry, whether anyone else can claim rights over it, and what can still be registered against it — mortgages, seizures — while you wait for the deed.
- 06R40
In these regions the deed alone does not make you the owner
What gives it away. Property in Trentino-Alto Adige, or around Trieste and Gorizia.
What it costs you. These areas kept the Austrian land-book system. Ownership passes when the transfer is entered in the land book — not when you sign. Between the two, the house is not yet legally yours.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary
- 07R37
The property has no cadastral income
What gives it away. The visura shows no rendita, or a category starting with F: a ruin, or something still being built.
What it costs you. Tax is charged on the full price instead of the cadastral value, no bank will lend against it, and you cannot legally live there yet.
In the file. Who settles it: Surveyor, then the land registry
- 08R01
The building may not match its official plans
What gives it away. Verandas, converted attics, extensions, or an “update in progress” at the land registry.
What it costs you. You pay to legalise it, the sale can fall through, and banks may refuse the mortgage.
In the file. Who settles it: Surveyor or architect with access to municipal records
- 09R41
A new build without the guarantee that protects your money
What gives it away. The builder takes instalments and says the policy comes later, or the preliminary has no policy number in it.
What it costs you. If the builder goes under, every instalment you have already paid goes with it.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary
- 10R04
Mortgages, seizures or court claims on the property
What gives it away. Seller in financial difficulty, a company seller, or a divorce in progress.
What it costs you. You can lose the property or the money you paid.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary
- 11R06
A price cap you were never told about
What gives it away. The deed of provenance says piano di zona, PEEP, convenzione, or diritto di superficie. The asking price often sits below the street.
What it costs you. Built on council land under an agreement that caps its resale price for good. The cap follows the building from owner to owner, so anything paid above it was never owed — and the next buyer can come after the difference.
In the file. Who settles it: The council, then a notary
- 12R43
What can be registered against the house while you wait
What gives it away. A preliminary contract nobody registered, and months between signing and completion.
What it costs you. A creditor of the seller can register a charge in the meantime, and it binds you — not them.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary
Taxes that arrive after the purchase
None of these hurt on the day you sign. They arrive one to five years afterwards, which is exactly why nobody warns you about them at the table.
- 13R19
Losing the first-home tax rate you just claimed
What gives it away. Residence not moved within 18 months, or reselling within 5 years.
What it costs you. You repay the full tax, plus a 30% penalty, plus interest.
In the file. Who settles it: Accountant
- 14R47
The wrong VAT treatment on a sale by a company
What gives it away. The seller is a company or a sole trader, the building was finished less than five years ago, or the price is quoted “net”.
What it costs you. You are charged the wrong taxes now, and the tax office corrects it later — with you as the one who already paid.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary with an accountant
- 15R48
Two five-year deadlines, not one
What gives it away. Claiming the first-home rate, and any chance you might sell within five years.
What it costs you. Everyone knows selling early costs you the first-home discount plus a 30% penalty. Almost nobody knows a second, separate tax runs alongside it: 26% on whatever you made. The first-home paperwork does not protect you from it — only actually living there does.
In the file. Who settles it: Accountant, before the deed
- 16R29
Closing costs are larger than people tell you
What gives it away. “You only pay the notary.”
What it costs you. On a second home the real total runs 8–10% above the price.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary
If you are buying from abroad
Three things that would never occur to an Italian buyer, and that stop a purchase dead.
- 17R32
Moving your money into Italy takes longer than you think
What gives it away. International transfers and anti-money-laundering checks on a deadline.
What it costs you. The deed is postponed and your deposit is at risk.
In the file. Who settles it: You, with your bank
- 18R44
A power of attorney Italy will not accept
What gives it away. A general power signed at home with no apostille and no sworn translation — or one made out to the agency.
What it costs you. The deed is postponed, your deposit sits exposed, and someone else is deciding in your place.
In the file. Who settles it: Notary, and a lawyer who is yours
- 19R45
The declaration nobody remembers to file
What gives it away. You are not an EU citizen and you have just been handed the keys.
What it costs you. Whoever hands the property over has 48 hours to declare it to the police. The fine lands on them, and it sours a handover that had gone well.
In the file. Who settles it: The seller or the agent, but check it happened
If you want to let it
One risk, and it can remove the entire reason for buying.
- 20R49
The building’s own rules can forbid renting it out
What gives it away. A contractual condominium regulation, registered or referred to in the deed.
What it costs you. Your entire rental plan disappears on a document nobody showed you. This kind of regulation can ban short lets, B&Bs or any non-residential use, and it binds you the day you buy.
In the file. Who settles it: Lawyer
Which of these are yours
Most of this list will never touch you. Which ones do depends on where you are buying, who is selling, whether you need a mortgage, and whether you hold an EU passport — four answers, and the calculator narrows nineteen down to the three that actually apply.
Where these come from
None of it is legal or tax advice. Take your own case to a notary before you sign anything.
Knowing is not enough
Knowing a problem exists does not protect you from it
All nineteen are up there, with how to spot each one and what it costs you. That part is free and stays free: a warning you have to pay for is no use to anyone. But knowing that a house can come with a mortgage still on it does not tell you what to put in your offer so that it does not end up being yours.
Sixteen of those nineteen answers are not on this page. They are the exact sentence to have written on the paper, the document to get hold of before you sign, and who has to stand behind it.
And it is not the same sentence for everyone: it changes if you buy from a private seller or from a company, if you need a mortgage, if you are an EU citizen or not. That is why it comes already written for your case.
What you are signing when you make an offer →
The papers to ask for →
Checked on 22 Aug 2026