62 buying in puglia

Hi Marc,
We are hoping to buy in Puglia soon and whilst agree that the London lawyers do seem a bit pricey, we have opted for Nicola Gianinni of John Howell ( advertised in Mag.) to look at our contract for us. They offer a couple of options and prices , so they may be worth a look.
I am posting a seperate message about searches in a minute, which I think highlights the need for a bit of caution, without being negative.
Lyn

We used a lawyer based here in Italy. He was very professional and spoke excellent English (so could do the translations for us too).

The most important thing was that he has local connections and so could get information easily. I can't see how a lawyer based in the UK could have access to all the information held at the comune etc. that must be checked (rights of way and so on). If they do, it must by sheer geography slow things down.

It wasn't especially cheap when compared with UK conveyancing prices. I don't know how much UK based Italian lawyers charge for their service so I couldn't comment on the difference in cost.

We have used him since and would recommend using a local lawyer.

I happen to make a living here in England (unfortunately)largely from conveyancing and when we bought a house in Italy we signed the compromesso without legal advice as we had no time to get it and then consulted a specialist Italian property lawyer in London.It was a mistake.His advice was slow,over-technical,unhelpful and very expensive.Using an English lawyer also suggests you don't trust Italian lawyers and could be taken as showing you don't trust the seller which can be a problem. My opinion which not everyone will agree with is that usually you can manage without a lawyer especially if the property is a standard type of property,has clear public access and does not have much land but if you have any doubts you should consult a local lawyer (not one recommended by the agent) and certainly you should do some research to find out the sort of questions you should be asking-eg in particular about the right of neighbouring farmers to buy the land (known as prelazione) and about access,planning permissions and covenants (called vincoli). I could go on but you've probably had enough by now. Send me a pm if you really want more but don't expect an immediate reply as I will now be away for a few days in Italy

heartily agree with penny and robert ..... one thing about the italian house sales area which has lots of officialdom attached to it is the rigorous approach to the final act..... looked over by the notary.... i think the compromesso is where things can go more wrong as this apart from certain details like the identification of the property,buyer and seller and date of next signing is not something that by law has to follow a format..... there is scope within to check lots of things and tie certain areas such as neighbours agreeing to let you buy land and not make claims on it being all agreed and tied up before the final act..... i think if you use a uk based solicitor unless they actually travel to the property all they will check for you is the legal context of the document and any other relevant documents..... in general and there are always exceptions the legal context will be right.... the problems generally occur via the oddities of local problems.... and the buyer not requesting the right things are put in the compromesso.... where i differ in some respects with robert is that in general the house seller usually has their own geometra.... usually knowledgable about all the bits and pieces to do with the property and this person can act for you .... and write out the compromesso.... and this is where your agent either has to be trusted or not ..... he should represent and explain any problems he forsees and make sure that whatever you sign is to your benefit ... making sure all your requests are met within this diocument ..... if you feel you cannot trust the agent then get a local geometra or solicitor to help at this stage .... get them to look at all the legal documents of the property and also visit it.... and then advise you of any problems which appear to him need to be put in the compromesso to be resolved to your satisfaction by the date of signing...i am not advising anyone to save pennies here... but realistically would you look for an italian solicitor specialising in uk conveyancing...to advise you on a house sale in london....

I must say, I am beginning to agree with you about the solicitor. What you are saying about a local one makes perfect sense. I'll have to have a think about this.
I will say ,that so far I am impressed with my Estate Agent ( see my post in property section;to search or not to search)....... he does seem to be doing a very thorough job on the searches......OOOOOOOOh this is scary !!!!!

Got to agree with Robert and John. We bought our house without using a lawyer and it all went through in 3 months without a hitch. We signed the Compromesso in the estate agents office and handed over a small (500 euros ) deposit to secure the deal. Maybe we were just lucky, but from personal experience in the past, I find that the more people you get involved in these things, the more likely you are to have some kind of problem, particularly with lawyers....... ie the longer it drags on and the more problems they can generate, the more money they can squeeze out of you.......Also, we were very lucky to get our house in the first place as it had been under offer from another buyer....... BUT HER UK LAWYER WAS DRAGGING HIS HEELS SO MUCH AND LOOKING FOR PROBLEMS WHERE NONE EXISTED THAT THE SELLER PUT THE HOUSE BACK ON THE MARKET.........and we got it :D :lol:

Sorry, but I had to shout that last bit out so you could all hear it :wink:

I don't suppose you know which lawyer she was using do you ....the one who was dragging his heels........see I am listening !!! :wink: :D :?

Don't know I'm afraid. Thought they all did it as a matter of course LOL :twisted:

If the time it is taking the solicitors handling the sale of our UK house is anything to go by.......you are soooooooooo right !!! :mrgreen:
It would help if they actually picked the phone up now and again and spoke to us !!!!! :twisted:
Lyn

hi guys thanks for all the advice and tips we have decided that we are going to use a local solicitor for our purchase should it go through, i have been in contact with a lawyer in bari who speaks perfect english, and is considerably cheaper than the english firms i have looked at, he tells me that he has acted for english clients in the past, he also offers an after service property management if so required. if anyone is interest in his me i will get back to you, good luck all , ciao marco. :D :shock: