Italy Magazine Forums

elliven · #21 (**permalink**) 27-06-08, 03:42 PM

Ooh err all sounds a bit scary to me ,I think the FIRST thing to do is to employ an Italian lawyer working from the UK, paid for by the buyer. If he is any good he will give you a written estimate of costs before starting, accept no other arrangements - it aint cheap but peace of mind never was.

barn_elms · #22 (**permalink**) 27-06-08, 05:43 PM

Charlotte Oliver's advice is absolutely spot-on, as you'd expect from a competent UK-trained solicitor and exactly describes the situation and expectations I am experiencing with the second property that I bought here in Sulmona. Estherina may already be similarly committed. I am having simply, against all the odds, to hope for the best, while my architetto presents a progetto to the Comune.
As I've said before, the problem with buying through an estate agent who has a tame local lawyer in tow, where both are, shall we say, 'ethically challenged', is that in order to close a sale they can give you the firm impression that, as Ugo has said here already, there will be no problem in changing a classification when there may actually be 'not a hope in hell'.
It would be interesting to have a solicitor's opinion as to whether an Italian estate agent that advertises itself as UK based, simply through having registered offices in Scotland, is liable to comply with UK law as regards the Property Misdescriptions Act and any other similar legislation governing the ethical behaviour of estate agents.
I guess the next question is whether anyone knows what precise legal code of conduct Italian estate agents have to work to? Or isn't there one?!

anne2 · #23 (**permalink**) 27-06-08, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barn_elms

It would be interesting to have a solicitor's opinion as to whether an Italian estate agent that advertises itself as UK based, simply through having registered offices in Scotland, is liable to comply with UK law as regards the Property Misdescriptions Act and any other similar legislation governing the ethical behaviour of estate agents.
I guess the next question is whether anyone knows what precise legal code of conduct Italian estate agents have to work to? Or isn't there one?!

I cannot remember all the details but I do remember there was a case reported here on the forum a while back where someone had successfully taken an Italian (Umbrian I think) based estate agent to court in the UK - one of the partners being English and I think the company was also registered in UK. Someone else may be able to fill in all the details, or it might come up in the search section.

Sorry this is so vague - but it may trigger something in someone elses memory who could give you more info!

patch2277 · #24 (**permalink**) 27-06-08, 08:21 PM

http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/pro...us-agents.html

anne2 · #25 (**permalink**) 27-06-08, 09:26 PM

Thank you patch 2277, I knew I had not imagined it!

adriatica · #26 (**permalink**) 28-06-08, 07:21 AM

in a sense an Italian estate agent is governed by a very strict set of rules laid down in the civil code on how they behave or not... they are also required to be members of a professional body ... either FIMAA FIMAA - Federazione Italiana Mediatori Agenti d'Affari
or FiAIP F.I.A.I.P. - Federazione Italiana Agenti Immobiliari Professionali
... and there is another i do believe which also have standards of practice... also required is the fact that you have to be registered with the Chamber of Commerce... again standards of practice and all documentation in the sense of contracts used should be registered with them as well again with codes of conduct ...

well that's all the theory part out of the way... practice... if a problem does occur

first refer all paperwork to their professional body...

refer paperwork to chamber of commerce... especially if its to do with fees ... but just get it all in... also if a receipt has never been issued get the tax people on them too... well at least threaten to

finally do not use any of the above but prepare the documents as if you would and let them see a copy... if they believe they have been caught out and your not such an idiot they might well refund or sort out problems for free...

if that does not work... again refrain from submitting your case to the authorities ...get a law firm/solicitor to go through your work...and they will then take it forward hopefully settling long before courts

without a solicitor and any other registered body to approach there is a sort of arbitration method and a local justice of peace route... but am not completely familiar in how that works... luckily have never used it... but basically when doing contracts on building works a clause referring disputes to them is generally included as they are supposed to be quicker and less costly..

saying that it was good to see the earlier thread referred to... i remember it and i know all the rules here about naming but really believe that if a court case has been won... then it could easily be reported here... and i would love to read the whole story... so if anyone knows it would be nice to know where i could read some more...

finally there are these pseudo professional European wide estate agent bodies... often listed as giving you protection and having standards... the only standard they give in my mind is a very high standard fee to be able to display their logo on your web site... i even see some law firms recommending only using firms with this sort of Kite-mark... its all just another load of rubbish to make you lower your guard

if you are properly registered here you have to have insurance to protect clients... always issued for estate agents via the professional bodies mentioned above... the European wide bodies would be even more useless to approach than the Italian national ones and have no legal status anyway

there is heaps of info on here about what to look out for and i have often mentioned easiest ones to give you early clues... for websites...a VAT number and an Address have to be displayed... The chamber of commerce registration has to be displayed... all contracts have to be registered and carry all company details as well and can only be signed by the actual registered mediator... IE you can go and look at properties with anyone... but only the person registered and qualified as the estate agent...really its a mediator is allowed to negotiate or advice on the details of the sale and to sign the documents...and finally to charge a percentage of the sale price for the work...