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Apartment in Villa in Panoramic Area – Florence

€1,550,000 $1,689,500
$
Location Florence, Tuscany

Ref #: 5904

ITALY, TUSCANY, FLORENCE

Amazing apartment in a villa dating back to 1900s, located at the beginning of via Bolognese, with a large common garden and area reserved for car parking. The apartment with access from the large main hall of the villa and a second independent entrance from the back is spread over two levels. The coffered ceilings are in excellent condition in the large living room, with large windows overlooking garden where is possible to admire the profile of old city.
A solution for demanding people who like to live in homes of great charm.

Location
Florence, cradle of the Italian Renaissance and therefore recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Protected in an embrace by surrounding hills, with the roads leading out of the city in different directions winding along their sides. Many spots from which it is possible to admire the beating heart of the city.
In the past these hills used to be open countryside, where noble families and wealthy merchants had homes where they could spend hot summer months, away from the noise of the city. Today these villas blend well with the urbanized fabric of the city, without being suffocated by it, but as a testimony of the rich and sumptuous past.

Description
The 20th century villa is surrounded by the large park and has been divided over the years into apartments, without having upset the nature, style and structure of the villa.

A beautiful driveway, flanked by tall cypress trees, leaves the road behind to reach the building. Some steps lead into the entrance hall, where a large common area is bordered by the entrances of the apartments located on the ground floor, while at the bottom a beautiful staircase leads to the upper floors.
Our apartment is about 358 sqm and located on the raised ground floor and spread over two levels. The entrance door leads into the corridor and through a beautiful door in white wood and glass you enter the huge living room, the real strength of the house, a fireplace on one side, marble floors with delightful geometric decorations, large windows overlooking the garden and allow you to admire the city in the distance, but above all the coffered ceiling, all in an excellent state of maintenance.

On the left side of the corridor is the master bedroom with a huge bathroom worthy of a “queen”, two double bedrooms with a shared bathroom and a living room with kitchen.

A beautiful and comfortable staircase allows us to go to the floor below, equipped also with an independent access, this level partially above ground, where a large room is illuminated by two large vaulted windows and a French vaulted door, which allow access to the gardens at the rear of the villa, then a bedroom with bathroom, a storage room and more multipurpose spaces. This level even with a reduced height has full habitability.

State and finishes
The villa, during its long life, has undergone numerous internal and external works and is currently in perfect condition, as is the garden that surrounds it. Our apartment was completely renovated in the 1990s, in a very careful and meticulous way. Some finishes, such as bathrooms, date back to that period, but with some works you can easily update it to modern technological and building standards.

Outdoor spaces
The villa is surrounded by a large fenced condominium garden, part kept as a meadow extends in the back, where some magnificent tall trees seem to protect villa with its inhabitants, while on the sides, in a reserved position the areas assigned to parking. The driveway flanked by tall cypress trees, rose and lavender bushes, offer a sensory journey for the sense of smell, while the view is satisfied by the dome of the Duomo and the nearby Giotto bell tower that rise above all terracotta roofs.

A part of the condominium garden, the one facing our apartment and located at the back of the villa, is for exclusive use of the apartment and therefore bordered by a wrought iron fence with entrance gate.

Potential use
If you are looking for the countryside with its tranquility and contact with nature, but literally staying a stone’s throw from the city, then this is the perfect solution. If you are looking for an elegant apartment, in a villa, surrounded by a large garden, this is the perfect solution for a house of great charm. If you are looking for a large apartment that can be divided into two real estate units, then this is the perfect solution.

Address: Florence, Tuscany

Location type: City

Condition: Restored

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 3

Property size: 358 sq meters

Land size: garden

Within 1 hour of an airport
Walking distance of amenities
Internet
Features
2 levels
coffered ceilings
Cypress trees
Duomo view
Fireplace
Garden
marble floors
Parking
rose and lavender bushes

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FAQs

What is a notary?

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.

What taxes are payable for a property purchase in Italy?

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.

If you buy directly an existing farm (ie a farming company with no other assets within the company), you just pay the fees for buying the shares in a company – ie an accountant, a notary and some small fixed taxes.
If you set up a farming company (the property must have all the requisites to be a farm) with a board of directors and an IAP (professional farmer) to buy the property and land you pay 1% on the sale price.
In both cases above, you are buying as a company so being a resident or non resident doesn’t come into it, you are not buying as a physical person.
So buying an existing farm, or setting one up, has tax advantages, compared to buying a property, especially as a non resident. However there are of course costs involved in running the company, so it’s best to seek the advice of an Italian accountant.

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.

What other purchase costs are there?

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.

What annual costs are there? How should I pay them?

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

Do I need an Italian bank account?

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.

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