Real Estate Agents! Who needs them?

Ciao, come state?

ready for our second tour in the exciting realm of real estate and the professionals in this sector? As anticipated, I shall focus on what you can expect from any focused professional consultant (I am proud to be called one but do put me to the test, I am here for you) vs what Italian real estate agents are as per the law and the Italian Civil Code so that you know what to expect and what can be expected of you.

Main laws on the sector have been addressing various aspects of the profession and real estate since the 60’s. A watershed was marked in 1989 and since then the main requirements HAVE NOT changed. Breaking news!!! tomorrow, 15 02 2018, a new set of sanctions against whomever offers real estate services without being duly enrolled become effective! it is good news for those of us who believe in qualified service legally provided  which is the main guarantee for our clients. Fimaa’s article on this in Italian available at http://www.fimaa.it/news/articoli/Dal_15_febbraio_inasprite_le_sanzioni_penali_contro_gli_abusivi/1598

This said, here are the backbones of this profession and service in real estate.

The main Civil Code articles for reference are Artt. 1754 to 1759, that I include in their original in Italian as are on the version provided by Luigi Tramontano Casa editrice la Tribuna. The English is mine and is offered as-is. All the information, suggestions and indications that you get through any of my articles including this one, are no substitutes for professional ad hoc advice which you will seek specifically on specific scenarios and feel free to ask. I am here for you.

Once again and as usual, any question that comes to mind or curiosity in real estate and the like is welcome!

I shall reply in the shortest possible time and when issues are relevant to understanding general problems in this sector they become the object of future articles.

You can send any question to info@welchome.net also through the contacts area in my website

https://www.welchome.net/contacts/

As for the main Italian Civil Code Articles on real estate agents, their role and tasks here we go!

• Art. 1754 Mediatore/ (Italian) Real Estate Agent/Broker

È mediatore colui che mette in relazione due o più parti per la conclusione di un affare, senza essere legato ad alcuna di esse da rapporti di collaborazione, di dipendenza o di rappresentanza.

Italian real estate agents or agents from now on agents (mediatori ie agenti di affari in mediazione is the exact wording but hardly ever used for being commonly substituted by agenti immobiliari) are so by definition at putting in contact two or more parties to reach a deal and are not linked to any of the parties by any relation that entails cooperation, subordinate work or representation.

• Art. 1755 Provvigione/ Agents’ fee

Il mediatore ha diritto alla provvigione da ciascuna delle parti, se l’affare è concluso per effetto del suo intervento.

Agents have a right to getting paid a fee by both parties when the deal is reached through the agents’ factual presence.

La misura della provvigione e la proporzione in cui questa deve gravare su ciascuna delle parti, in mancanza di patto, di tariffe professionali o di usi, sono determinate dal giudice secondo equità.

The fee amount and its percentage for each party, when it is not agreed, nor are there any indications from the professional category or common practice* that serve for reference, are established by a judge, equitably.

• Art. 1756 Rimborso delle spese/ on Refunds

Salvo patti o usi contrari, il mediatore ha diritto al rimborso delle spese nei confronti della persona per incarico della quale sono state eseguite anche se l’affare non è stato concluso.

Unless otherwise agreed and/or should common practice exclude the fact, agents have a right to seeing their costs refunded by the person or people that have summoned them, even when the deal is not reached.

• Art. 1757 Provvigione nei contratti condizionali o invalidi / Fee on contracts subject to conditions or invalid

Se il contratto è sottoposto a condizione sospensiva, il diritto alla provvigione sorge nel momento in cui si verifica la condizione.

If the contract is subject to a condition precedent, the right (for the agent) to be paid the fee emerges at the condition being fulfilled.

Se il contratto è sottoposto a condizione risolutiva, il diritto alla provvigione non viene meno col verificarsi della condizione.

If the contract is subject to a termination event clause, the right (for the agent) to be paid the fee remains even if the termination event takes place.

La disposizione del comma precedente si applica anche quando il contratto è annullabile o rescindibile, se il mediatore non conosceva la causa d’invalidità.

The provisions of the clause above apply also to those contracts that are voidable or subject to cancellation IF the agent was not aware of the causes that would lead to invalidating them.

• Art. 1758 Pluralità di mediatori/ Multiple agents

Se l’affare è concluso per l’intervento di più mediatori, ciascuno di essi ha diritto a una quota della provvigione.

Should the deal be reached through the acts of more than one agent, each agent has a right to get a quota of the fee.

• Art. 1759 Responsabilità del mediatore/ Agents’responsibilities

Il mediatore deve comunicare alle parti le circostanze a lui note, relative alla valutazione e alla sicurezza dell’affare, che possono influire sulla conclusione di esso.

Agents must disclose to the parties any fact and information that may influence the deal (ie its reaching, that they are aware of and that are relevant for the evaluation and to the safety of the deal itself.

Il mediatore risponde dell’autenticità della sottoscrizione delle scritture e dell’ultima girata dei titoli trasmessi per il suo tramite.

Agents are responsible (for the law) for the authenticity of signatures on documents and for the latest endorsement on securities released through them.

*As for fees and common practice!

My services, assistance, and advice at reaching a deal are covered by a 3% fee (+vat) of the sale/purchase price and this is the percentage each party pays when the conditions, briefly covered by the above articles, apply. This is what is normally charged by the vast majority of agents through common practice but do always check with your agent and be aware that with certain deals when prices stand at or under 150k eur, there are minimums that apply or may apply. Worth asking your consultant specifically.

Refunds are excluded unless specifically agreed and you should be ready to pay for services that you get and not for the agent sharing the facts re properties nor on initial viewings and not with me.

This article and the one under PART I  (at https://www.welchome.net/real-estate-agents-who-needs-them-part-1/) would give you a clearer perception of what agents are over here and what to expect from us and what we can expect from you and when and for what.

None of us is ever shy about discussing the technicalities of the service and assistance we provide so see us for what we are: the technical key to opening the door of your Italian Home in total relaxation for you. The consultants you go to for any real estate need and question or problem you may have encountered. 

It is also always a question of mutual trust and more so from a distance but it is true at all levels and in all sectors. I always keep my expectations high when it comes to the information I ask and get from you, I have to ask certain basic questions from the very beginning and all I ask from you is being open about the 3 facts that make the difference: your preferences, needs, and ideal budget as well as your details i.e. an address for reference, a telephone number at which you can be reached, as further proof that you are seriously considering evaluating opportunities through a professional in this sector.

Selling or buying is the ideal outcome of our business relation and it is a journey we make together and I am here for you and with you. If you can see that it is you and me together that make things happen easily, safely and happily for you.

Rest assured that all the sensitive information that we share is subject to a confidentiality clause as per the law. Be aware that I am your initial guarantee towards the sellers and I am your initial guarantee towards the buyers hence my being specific about few basic info.

Hope once again that this is helpful and that I get your comments and questions so that we can build on any of this or any other questions you may have. Feel free to ask any question you have re files, taxes and so on !you are welcome and I ma here for you!

 Do come to Umbria when in Italy and you’ll never regret it.

Grazie del vostro tempo.

A presto. Regards

Linda Cesari

Real Estate Agents! Who needs them?

First things first… on how agents become agents in this country…

Regulations in Europe and indeed in the world vary greatly when it comes to real estate.

Very briefly, I shall start by highlighting that Italian real estate agents, agenti di affari in mediazione or more simply agenti immobiliari or mediatori, HERE, have to get a license to offer services in real estate.

HENCE we are the professionals you go to for advice and assistance to selling and buying in ITALY because we specialize in real estate transactions and all that precedes and follows transferring and acquiring titles to properties for the parties and we are the only professionals that do!

• The laws and regulations for us to become real estate agents require that we attend specializing courses which are ‘open’ to those with, at least, a diploma, and I have a degree, and a spotless criminal record, as pre-requisites!

• For the best part of a year we train on evaluations, estimates, study taxation on real estate, laws and regulations, negotiations to reconcile opposite interests! contracts and so on.

• A certificate is released at the end of the classes proving our having attended them and, with that in hand, we can sit for exams to get the license at passing the exams and not everybody does!

• Once the exams part is successfully over, we get ‘the licence’ that has to go on record with the Chamber of Commerce of the province where you reside, it is Perugia’s for me, to be able to work as mediatore or agente or agente immobiliare

• This excludes any other profession while we work as real estate agents irrespective of our being possibly trained for other professions. We cannot work as translators, accountants, barristers, land surveyors, architects and so on, we cannot exert any other profession when opting for this profession! If we do other jobs too, we end up losing our licenses as we do at not keeping our criminal record spotless!

• Last but not least, all agents have to set up an insurance covering for professional risks.

OK than, but how does all this serve you i.e. why will it make a difference to have an agent by your side?

• Over time, you will be the ones to face the problems and costs of UN-professionally handled sales/purchases! It is evident that some of your time devoted to selecting a reliable agent is time and money saved now and in the future.

• Being aware that no one can work as a real estate agent and combine this profession with any other legally, unless renouncing the other! enables you to exclude those who illegally offer their services and for this are unaccountable!

• Having explained that we are not amateurs in the sector should be a good starting point! We have the know how and skills to reach a good and safe deal for you which will remain good and safe over the years. This is what counts in real estate and in such an important move in your life.
  

• Did you know that real estate agents services and their fees are recorded on sale/purchase contracts and that you make statements re this? If no agent is involved in a sale/purchase, you declare that you acted without the professional advice of a real estate agent and this stays on record as well. As further proof that agents are the professionals you go to for advise and help in real estate in this country.

• As for notaries they are the officers that guarantee titles origins and transfer titles in Italy. They do not carry out any search nor evaluations on properties. They warn the parties of the consequences of false declarations in notarized contracts, get copies of building licenses and habitation certificates and plans from the owners who are responsible for providing those but NO  Notary in Italy has to check on building licenses and cadastral plans or files and what is actually on record ie no notary ever verifies that what is physically there is in line with what has been authorized!it It is not their responsibility to do so.

• Real Estate Agents know what files to collect and check and get these well before you enter any deal. Be aware that professional agents should not and CANNOT tie you to contracts ie written agreements  you undersign, that are called preliminary contract of sale/purchase but are legally binding and with money involved anyway! without making you aware before you decide to progress of any relevant fact that may affect your decision re selling/buying or the agreed price.

PLEASE question and report of ANYONE who tries to do this! It is either not an agent or an agent, alas it happens in all professions, that is not paying tribute to what we have to do for clients also to abide by what is required of us legally.

• We agents can and do make the difference for our clients because we have the know-how, the skills and commitment to meet our clients’ needs. We agents may make mistakes, we are human beings and some of us are not that smart either!! BUT we do have an insurance to cover for these unlikely events, as a further guarantee that our clients are safer with us.

Please note that the main Agents Associations  in Italy are F.I.M.A.A. and F.I.A.I.P so spotting the associations’ logo in an agent’s office or ad is also a further guarantee that you are in the right place/hands for professional advice…

I am with F.I.M.A.A. http://www.fimaa.it  as you can see form their logo featured on my home page.!

The subject is inevitably technical but hey, this is how to get the basics right and this will always come in handy whatever your approach to selling and buying is.

Any question that comes to mind or curiosity in real estate is welcome! You can send it to info@welchome.net also through the contacts area in this website

https://www.welchome.net/contacts/

Hopefully this is informative rather than boring, gosh boring defeats the object 😉

Ciao

Linda Cesari

*The SECOND PART of this article on Real Estate Agents, who needs them! ie the civil code on what to expect from agents and give in exchange, fees and who pays them and so on is published next week. Hope this helps! At the end of the day this all comes to offering qualified help and support for your real estate needs.