garda's activity

 intasure do earthquake cover

 echo what Sabs said.Use google translate for a free translation by all means but inaccuracies may lead to misunderstandings that cost you many times the cost of a professional translation. I am a professional translator working in the combination Italian to English but I'm afraid I can't work for free. My agency rate is 6 cents per source word (which is about half the rate of a UK-based pro translator with my qualifications - despite the fact the cost of living is about the same, Italian based translators are among the lowest paid in Europe) - any less and I simply wouldn't be able to make a living. My private client rate is 10 cents per word but I'd be willing to do it at my agency rate for you.If you go through a translation company/agency the rate will probably be around 12 cents per word at least (if it's much lower then you need to question the quality of the translation).If you post a job on proz.com you could probably get rates as low as 2 cents per word, but the result you'll get will probably be only marginally better than google translate.

 this is not the certificato di agibilità, it is the dichiarazione di agibilità sismica, which is to do with earthquakes and is something different. After the earthquake someone would have come to check out the house as you say and give it a grading. If it is declared inagibile it means you can't live in it until the damage is sorted.You need to go to the comune and tell them you need a copy of the dichiarazione with the grading for insurance purposes.

 excellent point about the cronyism... 

 Before you hire any lawyer, find out how qualified they are. The reason I say this is because it has become very popular in Italy for those having trouble passing the bar exam to go "la via spagnola" (the Spanish route). In Italy, to become a practicing lawyer, like in the UK, a law degree is only the beginning: after the degree the aspiring avvocato must do two years of internship (usually for free), and must take part in at least twenty cases every six months. Then they need to pass a very difficult public exam (the bar) to become an avvocato. Depending on the area, the fail rate is usually very high and it can take years and years to pass it. There is a way around it though. In Spain, there is no bar exam and no internship, and thanks to EU laws, all the aspiring avvocato has to do is get their degree recognised in Spain, then enroll in the register of abogado in that country. Then thanks to the free movement of attorneys in Europe, they can then register in Italy as a full-fledged avvocato. No internship, no bar exam.Many new Italian lawyers have gone this route, if you do a search on the internet for "diventare avvocato senza esame di abilitazione" you'll see there are websites set up doing this for people as a business, the aspiring lawyer doesn't even have to visit Spain. Going "la via spagnola" (the Spanish route) is becoming more and more popular, and there is a rush to do it now before 2011 when Spain will have to introduce a bar exam to align itself with Europe. 

 rlj72, very often a property won't show up on the "catasto" land registry because it is not updated. That is a flaw of the catasto, not the notary. It makes no difference to the legality of the sale - the catasto records are not "probatorio" - it does not provide proof of ownership. What is important is that the atto di compravendita (deed of sale) was registered at the Conservatoria dei registri immobiliari. If the notary failed to do that, (which I very much doubt) then the vendor should sue and the notary be struck off - it's that big a mistake.If the lawyer is telling you that the transfer of ownership not showing up in the catasto is a problem, I suspect he or she is trying to justify their fee by making out there are problems.

 I haven't really got much to add, but I agree with ram in that this is the responsibility of the vendor, not the buyer, to clear. So you shouldn't any a large legal bill in my opinion.According to telemutuo.it, only a judge can remove the ipoteca as long as the creditor declares that any outstanding sums have been paid. It can become more complicated if the money needed to pay the debt will come from the sale of the property. In this case, the creditor/s should be present at the rogito and sign something at the time to say all debts have been paid in full. This document, which the notary can draft and prepare, can then be used to obtain an order from the judge for cancellation of the ipoteca, usually with the help of a lawyer. Then the site says "tutte le spese relative alle procedure, piuttosto salate, resteranno a carico del debitore" - all related costs, which will be fairly high, will remain the responsibility of the debtor.Personally, I think that your lawyer could be used to draft a watertight preliminary contract which states that all ipoteche must be cleared, at the responsibility and expense of the vendor, at least one week prior to completion. Any deposits paid as caparre should come with a bank guarantee, which the vendor should also have to pay for, and in the event that the ipoteche are not removed as agreed within the deadline agreed, then the buyer has full right to withdraw and receive all sums paid back (possibly also double as per laws on the caparra, which would cover any legal costs you had to sustain to draft the watertight preliminary etc).Chances are the vendor wouldn't agree to this, in which case I'd walk away.Maybe I'm being naive but I think the lawyer could be used here to force the vendor to sort out the ipoteche rather than have her take care of it...

 I really, really, didn't think this was a slanging match! If it came across that way I apologise. I am fascinated by all these aspects and hidden nuances, it's one of the passions in my life and actually hope we both were helping.I have great respect for ram and everyone else on this forum/community, in fact I just sent him, before, reading your message gromit, an invitation to join the property law group as I enjoy his contributions and picking over the details with him.I have obviously been in Italy for far too long - we love a debate over dinner.Never once I have I been disrespectful to any one on either this community or the previous forums, in four solid years of posting and hours of my time spent trying to help others, hopefully.I know Ram is intelligent to realise that this was no slanging match. If not, again, I apologise.

self-certification works fine. You don't need a piece of paper from the comune. Self-certification does however have to be backed up by reality. With utilities, to get residence discounts you have to be registered at the property in the anagrafe. So make sure this is so before you make the self-certification.

the above refers to property sold by companies, where VAT is payable on the purchase price.