Does anybody know if Brexit is

14dacapo Image
02/26/2019 - 05:30

Does anybody know if Brexit is affecting the sale of houses in Italy? As Brits seem to be the main house purchasers abroad has this affected the market? We have a pretty, fully restored mill near Lucca which is cheap but does not seem to be getting the interest I would have expected. see https://www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-property/property-63655319.html . Will the situation change when/if Brexit is resolved? I'm interested in peoples' views. 

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I’ve no doubt Brexit will have had some impact here, more so the nearer we get. However we know of a few places up for sale with many a visitor, albeit many not British, but still some. Being this close it might not be the best of times to start selling, but this time of year is never too good IMHO. Looking at the property it’s done to a very high standard and is in a lovely area, however for us and others we know who have bought in Italy it would not be what we were looking for. Saying that, there will be an “ideal buyer”. In my opinion it is well worth a try to sell privately via Rightmove, but the only other person I know who did this had no one look at the place from it. Finding a good agent and the cost is prohibitive, but perhaps needed. Some good advice from experience of others selling via an agent is to negotiate the fee. Hopefully you don’t need to sell quickly as that adds a lot of pressure to what is always a worrying time.

Lately, I see in the forum, many sales proposals, all well-restored properties, and I ask myself, for what reason, so many foreigners, who have invested considerable sums of money, to realize a dream, suddenly, decide, to throw the money and the dream to the wind. Is it possible that everyone suddenly needs to monetize? It will not be, by chance, that everyone has suddenly become too sensitive to the media, and they do not realize that the old saying of the stock market <when the stock exchange goes down is time to buy, when the stock exchange goes up is time to sell>, reaches its maximum value in real estate dreams?

Thanks for your comments which I appreciate. I do not need to sell urgently but I'm at an age when other issues become relevant. When I bought the mill in 2004 it was derelict and had been vacant since 1935. The chestnut mill was a vital,  intrinsic element of village life in earlier years and its ultimate restoration has been widely received in the village since. I spent some challenging years restoring the mill to its present glory, and we've since enjoyed many happy years making visits there.  I now find that I either sell it or leave it vacant for long periods as I am unable to visit as much as I would wish. I now feel it is time for others to have the opportunity of enjoying the mill. This building will still be here long after I've gone so deserves to be fully utilised.

Yes, 14 dacapo, but the fact remains, that this is not the right time to sell in Italy, I think you already do, but if you have not done so, why not rent the mill, to all those foreigners who want, to try, to live in Italy? , perhaps the future owner is hiding among these "guests".

Obviously it depends where you are, but it is a mistake to think that Brits are the biggest purchasers of property.  They aren't and havent been for years.  Brexit has only exacerbated this tendency.   What is common to all nationalities seems to be the desire to find a house for no money and then make it lovely, so your problem is more that you are selling a restored property, at a restored property price.   It's the same argument that you see with the 'houses for 1 euro' things - people want a wreck for 1 euro, they dont want to buy a restored wreck for 50.001 euros.   Ugo is right - its not the time to sell in Italy, it is definitely a buyers market, unless you're on the Gran Canal or in front of the Colisseum.   There is a lot of on the market, so as supply outstrips demand the pressure on prices is downward.   There was an article in this magazine a few days ago which showed a complete incomprehension of the Italian property market.  A writer saying that there were no home stagers here and agents didnt have the paperwork.   Sellers want to sell, they wont want to spend to sell - in many cases they wont even give the property a clean.  They are also responsible for all the paperwork, which in many cases an agent cannot get without a full power of attorney.   Here is where foreigners win on marketing a property, as they understand the need to present the property well, but unfortunately it doesnt mean a buyer will materialise.  I have lost count of the number of times sellers tell me that I need to find an 'amatore' for the house on sale - which is usually a coded way of saying 'find someone who will pay more than market price'.    If you bought for 50 and spent 50 but the value is now 80, you have to wait, or you have to take a loss.  Its really that simple.  

Hello, the house for sale is a very nice renovation job - well done! The price is very enticing also - only draw back is that most people want more than 1 bedroom.But the property market is very slow in more remote rural places due to lots of availability and not much demand. I think Brexit has certainly dented the demand, but if Brexit was not about to happen it would not make a huge difference. If the property was a small apartment in Milan or Rome it would received alot if interest and visits and if priced right woukld sell relatively quickly in the present market. But it is a completely different dynamic in rural areas. Also February is a dead month for selling property. Many Estate Agents in out of city areas go on holiday in February.Also I agree that most foreign buyers are not British. I would say that you might find someone to buy at that price within the year.  

The cost of maintaining a second home in Italy is a huge disincentive, what with the council tax , electric and security. We love Italy but sold our house at a big loss just to be free of all the outgoings as we were on a fixed income. Good luck with the sale I can empathise with your situation.

I am sorry that you have had bad advisers, with the elective residence, in Italy, you are not forced to pay your English taxes in Italy, there are excellent international treaties, to avoid these taxes.http://www.finanze.gov.it/opencms/it/fiscalita-comunitaria-e-internazionale/convenzioni-e-accordi/convenzioni-per-evitare-le-doppie-imposizioni/I have several clients, English citizens, who have taken up residence in Italy, and live happily, paying English taxes, in England