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Traditional Farmhouse for sale near Cortona
€1,100,000
$1,199,000
€
$
Cortona, Tuscany
4
3
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Ref #: V622324-X
Cortona, TuscanyRef #: V622324-X
It is also close to the border with Umbria offering access to Lago Trasimeno with Arezzo and Perugia within a 40min drive. The airports of Rome and Pisa are within a 2 ½ hour drive and accessible by train from the station in Camucia.
This property is characteristic of a Tuscan farmhouse built from stone with terracotta floors and exposed wooden ceiling beams.
The indoor spaces are well finished, light with good proportions. Most of the rooms have air-conditioning.
The outdoor space offers a large, shaded terrace with outdoor dining area, a pool, a mature garden and olive grove. The property is in excellent condition.
Interiors
The main entrance to the property is into a large functional kitchen / dining area. The kitchen offers a central island with gas hob, separate built-in oven and microwave, Quooker tap, dishwasher and large fridge/freezer.
To the rear of the kitchen a door opens out onto the olive grove and convenient access to the raised vegetable beds. The kitchen has an area suitable for a large kitchen table. From the kitchen you can access either the living area or upstairs via a stone stairway to the upper floor.
Upstairs there are two double bedrooms, beautifully finished with whitewashed ceiling beams adding to the feeling of light and space. One of the bedrooms opens onto a terracotta terrace offering views across the Val di Chiana. It is a perfect space to soak up the evening sun whilst admiring the view.
There is a small room which can be used as a single bedroom or study, it could also be converted into an additional shower room. The bathroom which supports the upstairs bedrooms has a WC, bidet, bath and separate shower. The upstairs is heated by radiators that is controlled separately from the downstairs areas.
Downstairs after the kitchen is a small laundry room with WC, sink and washing machine. Further along the small passageway is a large living room which offers plenty of space for comfortable seating and relaxation. The room has a beautiful stone fireplace with wood burning stove, a brick archway and skylight making the room light even when the external shutters are closed. There are several windows which open with views of the garden and olive grove and a door which opens onto the outdoor terraced space. The room has underfloor heating.
The main living room leads to a smaller living room. This quieter space has large double folding doors offering additional access to the terrace and pool area. This room has underfloor heating. Beyond this room is a further double bedroom with ensuite modern style shower room. This is currently used as the main bedroom; it is light and airy with beautiful wooden ceiling beams. There is a built-in wardrobe/storage space. Both the bedroom and bathroom have underfloor heating.
Finally, there is a basement consisting of two rooms. The larger room has additional built in storage and could be used as a gym, games or cinema room. The smaller room is a cellar offering additional storage space.
Swimming Pool
The rectangular swimming pool, 10m x 5m, is located a few meters from the property and is secluded by mature hedging. The pool has an automatic dosing and pump/filtration system. There is a sunbathing area and wooden gazebo for shade. There is an option to fit an outdoor shower.
Garden area
The front garden is mostly grassed with a lawn. Two borders with rosemary, lavender and gaura frame the main access to the property. The lawn and borders are supported by an automatic irrigation system.
Along the front of the property is an extensive terrace that is accessed from the living rooms and kitchen. The terrace is partially shaded with a metal framed gazebo, mature wisteria and jasmine offer summer shade and it is an ideal outdoor dining area.
The back of the property is a mature olive grove with approximately 55 olive trees. There is also a fig, cherry and apricot tree and two raised vegetable beds. At the top of the olive grove is a water well which supplies the water for the house and garden via an underground cistern. The entire property is fenced.
The property has a large parking area in front of the house along with a car port. Additionally, there is a general services / boiler room / storage room positioned at the end of the property.
Address: Cortona, Tuscany
Location type: Rural
Condition: Restored
Bedrooms: 3 +
Bathrooms: 3 +
Property size: 220 sqm
Land size: approx 2,500 sqm
A notary is a qualified lawyer who is employed by the Italian government. When you are buying Italian property, it is a notary who conducts the legal transfer of a property from vendor to buyer, and prepares the deed of sale, checks there are no charges on the property, title issues and with the assistance of a technician such as a geometra or architect, checks the property conforms to all planning issues.
It is always the buyer and not the vendor who pays the purchase taxes due and who pays the notary fees also. This means that it is up to the buyer which notary is used. In practice it is usually one of the local notaries and we can recommend which one to use and which one is cheapest, as notary prices do vary.
We provide a detailed list of all fees and taxes (including the notary’s quote) before you sign any contracts.
Translator – if you do not speak fluent, enough to understand detailed legal contracts, you will need to have a translator at the notary deed. Your agent or the notary will usually arrange this so you don’t need to worry about it. The cost varies but is often 200-300 euros. This can sometimes be shared with the vendor if they are also non fluent in Italian.
This depends firstly on two things.
A. Are you buying as a resident or a non resident?
B. Are you buying from private individuals or from a company?
If you are buying from private individuals, then the taxes you pay are based on the cadastral value – a nominal value which each property has and which depends on its size, location, standard etc – nothing to do with the market value.
Example 1:
House price agreed €100,000.
Property belongs to private sellers.
Cadastral value of the property €32,000.
Let’s say you intend buying the house as a non resident (.ie. you do not intend moving to Italy permanently and applying for residency).
Taxes payable are 9% on cadastral value €32,000 so €2,880 plus a few smaller fixed taxes.
Or, if you intend moving to live in the house permanently, applying for Italian residency, then as long as you don’t already own another property in Italy;
Taxes payable are 2% on cadastral value €32,000 so €640 plus a few smaller fixed taxes. A minimum figure may be payable.
Please note, you could buy the house as a resident and pay the lower rate of tax if you intend moving there and obtaining residency within the next 18 months. Don’t be tempted to do this unless you are definitely sure you will become a resident. If you then do not, you need to pay the difference in taxes plus a penalty of around 30%.
If there is substantial land (not just a garden) with the property, then 15% is payable on the value attributed to the land, which can be quite low, eg a value of €15,000 could be attributed to the land so 15% of 15,000 = €2,250 would be the tax on the land.
Example 2:
House price €100,000
Property is being sold by a company
Cadastral value of the property is €32,000
Let’s say you intend buying the house as a non resident (i.e. you do not intend moving to Italy permanently and applying for residency).
Taxes payable are 10% VAT on full market price €100,000 so €10,000 plus a few smaller fixed taxes.
Or, if you intend moving to live in the house permanently, applying for Italian residency, then as long as you don’t already own another property in Italy,
Taxes payable are 4% VAT on €100,000 so €4,000 plus a few smaller fixed taxes.
Once we know
– which house you want to buy, its cadastral value and who owns it (company/individual)
– whether you intend to buy as a resident/non resident and if it’s your first property in Italy
only then can we ask the notary to provide a quote for the precise taxes payable.
Other circumstances
Then of course there are other scenarios.
If the value of the property you want to buy is very low (eg €50,000) then purchase costs are likely to be a higher percentage as there are set minimums to pay for all fees and taxes. So on a €50,000 house, you are likely to pay 12-15% instead of 10% (non resident).
You might want to buy a property (being sold by private individuals) with your company. Taxes are considerably higher in this case, as they would be 9% on the sale price (not on the cadastral value). So it’s cheaper to buy a privately owned property as a private individual, not as a company.
But, in the case of a country property which is a farm/winery/agriturismo, these are often owned by a farming company (azienda agricola) , which has considerable tax advantages as you can buy the farm and pay just 0-1% (depending on the circumstances) on the purchase price in tax.
Taxes would be different for a commercial purchase, eg if your company is buying an Italian company (ie a farm or other company). Buying the shares of a company usually meets zero taxes, just a few fixed fees, and notary and accountancy fees.
The above is a guide, and once you have found a property you are interested in buying, we can obtain a notary quote for you, with a full breakdown of the taxes and fees due.
Notary fees – approx 1-2%, more for a lower priced property due to some fixed taxes.
Agency fees – in Italy both buyer and seller pay the agent. These are payable to the Italian agent (one of our partners) you view the house with at compromesso (preliminary contract) stage and for each party are usually 3% plus VAT. VAT is 22% in Italy. Minimums apply. Nothing is payable to Casa Tuscany so you will not pay double the fees, you will just have double the assistance!
Compromesso registration fees – approx €380 plus a part payment of taxes which is deducted from the total taxes due at completion.
Translator for the deed signing at the notary’s office. Required if you do not speak Italian well enough to understand legal deeds. Approx cost €250 – €350 depending on the notary.
Technical report for the notary. Checks all the planning issues of the property, making sure it matches the official plans, no works have been carried out without permission, gathers all previous permits, checks the house is sellable and not illegal in any way. Carried out by a geometra, architect or engineer and costs vary considerably, a minimum of €761 including VAT/ Please note this report is NOT a structural survey, that is an optional additional report you may wish to instruct.
Local council tax – IMU (formerly ICI) – payable only by non residents. This needs to be paid twice a year at the post office – no bill is sent. Most people use a local accountant or property manager to calculate it.
Refuse tax (TARI)
In some areas, mountain community tax.
If you buy a property which is part of a condominium, e.g. with shared pool and grounds, lighting etc, then there will be annual condominium fees to pay which usually range from about €200 to €1000/year unless it is a particularly luxurious property with many amenities in which case costs could be higher.
Utilities
You don’t really need an Italian bank account for buying a property in Italy any more as money is usually sent by bank transfer, although some notaries insist the funds are sent from an Italian account set up by you.
You could of course open an account to handle bills but bear in mind that some utilities companies refuse to arrange direct debits for non resident accounts, and some bills cannot be paid by direct debit.
You could always pay your bills online or if you have a property manager then send them the funds for settling all the bills.
If you do intend opening an Italian bank account, bear in mind that Italian bank charges are high . Usually there is a monthly fee to pay, plus charges for receiving money, paying bills, sending statements, etc etc.
