we recently purchased part of a farmhouse in Umbria which we are currently restoring. our (Italian) neighbours have asked us if we would like to buy the rest of the house plus some adjacent land but they want to retain something called 'uso frutto'. This would end when either one of the two old people currently residing in the house dies. Does anyone have experience of this arrangement or know the best place to get some initial advice ?
Category
Legal
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/18/2008 - 09:59
Best place to get initial advice: a lawyer or notary who speaks English.
The closest translation of usufrutto is probably "life estate" but as they probably don't correspond fully due to the differences in the legal systems, you really need to have someone who understands Italian law and the effects it will have on you to explain the full implications, and also a valuation expert (probably a geometra specialising in valuing property) to fully assess the value of the "bare" ownership you would be purchasing from them.
Usufrutto is essentially the right to use an asset (in this case a property) and benefit from the fruits of said property, without altering its essential use or destination and without deteriorating it. It is regulated by articles 978+ of the Italian Civil Code.
You mentioned in your post that you would gain the full ownership once "one or other" of the people currently living there die, but I don't think that is correct. If they both have usufruct then you have to wait for both of them to die.
The benefit of such an arrangement for you is you get to buy a property at a lower than market value, with the disadvantage of not being able to occupy or use the property until they die. The advantage for them is the ability to free up some equity in the form of cash. Bear in mind that virtually nothing would change after your handing over the cash, until these people die.
Whether or not you want to do something like this entirely depends on your circumstances but if you are thinking of going for it, speak to an English-speaking lawyer first who can clearly explain your obligations while the usufruct is in place (for example, who pays taxes? Upkeep on the property? What is considered deterioration? What are the rights of the occupants? Can the life tenant sell or transfer their usufrutto to someone else? Can the life tenants let the property to someone else?)
AFAIK, the costs and taxes are shared between the nudo proprietario (bare owner) and usufruttario (life tenant), with costs for extraordinary repairs and taxes paid on the property being paid by the bare owner, and ordinary maintenance costs and taxes on income being paid by the life tenant. The bare owner can refuse to pay extraordinary costs, in which case the life tenant can choose to pay them themselves and expect to be reimbursed when the life tenancy ends.
The market value of the property is usually discounted by a sum that decreases with the age of the life tenant.
If notaio is still around and sees this, hopefully he can reply with some qualified advice, or try Charlotte Oliver at [url=http://www.studiopaoletti.com/]Studio Legale Paoletti[/url]. Hopefully the above will give you something to start with.
Best of luck.
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/18/2008 - 10:32
Best place to get initial advice: a lawyer or notary who speaks English.
The closest translation of usufrutto is probably "life estate" but as they probably don't correspond fully due to the differences in the legal systems, you really need to have someone who understands Italian law and the effects it will have on you to explain the full implications, and also a valuation expert (probably a geometra specialising in valuing property) to fully assess the value of the "bare" ownership you would be purchasing from them.
Usufrutto is essentially the right to use an asset (in this case a property) and benefit from the fruits of said property, without altering its essential use or destination and without deteriorating it. It is regulated by articles 978+ of the Italian Civil Code.
You mentioned in your post that you would gain the full ownership once "one or other" of the people currently living there die, but I don't think that is correct. If they both have usufruct then you have to wait for both of them to die.
The benefit of such an arrangement for you is you get to buy a property at a lower than market value, with the disadvantage of not being able to occupy or use the property until they die. The advantage for them is the ability to free up some equity in the form of cash. Bear in mind that virtually nothing would change after your handing over the cash, until these people die.
Whether or not you want to do something like this entirely depends on your circumstances but if you are thinking of going for it, speak to an English-speaking lawyer first who can clearly explain your obligations while the usufruct is in place (for example, who pays taxes? Upkeep on the property? What is considered deterioration? What are the rights of the occupants? Can the life tenant sell or transfer their usufrutto to someone else? Can the life tenants let the property to someone else?)
AFAIK, the costs and taxes are shared between the nudo proprietario (bare owner) and usufruttario (life tenant), with costs for extraordinary repairs and taxes paid on the property being paid by the bare owner, and ordinary maintenance costs and taxes on income being paid by the life tenant. The bare owner can refuse to pay extraordinary costs, in which case the life tenant can choose to pay them themselves and expect to be reimbursed when the life tenancy ends.
The market value of the property is usually discounted by a sum that decreases with the age of the life tenant.
If notaio is still around and sees this, hopefully he can reply with some qualified advice, or try Charlotte Oliver at [url=http://www.studiopaoletti.com/]Studio Legale Paoletti[/url]. Hopefully the above will give you something to start with.
Best of luck.