Buying property

If you believe the internet, the "Dream house on the Mediterranean" is right by the sea, has a large garden and, of course, a pool.

Sure, there is something like this in Sicily - but our sunny island has much more to offer. Here are just a few examples of properties for sale:

• House in mountain village
• House in fishing village
• Former farm with olive grove
• Developable plot
• Flat in small town
• Estate in the countryside
• Penthouse in Palermo
• Residence with holiday flats

A crisis often also harbours an opportunity. The coronavirus pandemic, for example, has made working from home the new normal. Can you work from home even for a longer period of time?

So why not leave the Nordic winter behind, buy a suitable property in sunny Sicily and move your home office there?

The two Sicilian towns of Bagheria and Santa Flavia are particularly interesting for this idea.

They are connected to Palermo airport by train every hour, offer cheap internet via fibre optics and are both by the sea. But the best is saved for last: there is a English-speaking property manager on site who will look after your home office if you are not there.

So, there is a wide range of property for sale in Sicily. And there are actually several English-language portals through which you can buy property.

But who actually offers the property? A real estate agent? The owner? And are there really local salespeople in Sicily who speak business fluent English and Italian? Can these sellers also handle the legal, bureaucratic and construction-related matters?

As you can see, what you need is someone who represents YOUR interests and not those of the seller. Someone who can mediate not only between languages, but also between the sometimes very different cultures.

Now the good news: there is a company in Santa Flavia whose team offers exactly that - Property in Sicily:

Buying property for just 1 Euro? Yes, there is such a thing in Sicily. Especially in small villages away from the coast. After more than 100 years of emigration, there are fewer and fewer inhabitants and, as a consequence, abandoned houses.

They are taken over by the municipal administrations and sold for a symbolic euro. However, a number of conditions must be considered. The aim is not to attract speculators, but to gain new citizens.

If you want to be independent of such requirements, it is better to look for properties in need of renovation for a few tens of thousands of Euros. Property in Sicily in Santa Flavia has some of these in its programme:

80% - this is the estimated percentage of properties in Italy with more or less major building law "irregularities". Some claim that this percentage is exaggerated.

But even 10% should be a warning to all those who want to buy a property in Sicily. The good news is that most of these "irregularities" can be corrected. However, this must be done before the purchase!

And another piece of good news: notaries can check the legal status of property. So you "only" need to find a good notary.

Once again, we recommend the team at Property in Sicily in Santa Flavia. It only handles projects that have been approved by experienced notaries.

You've probably already realised that buying a property in Sicily can be more complicated than finding one. In any case, it is different to other countries, where a property is transferred from one owner to another by entry in the land register. In Italy, however, this is done by signing a purchase contract. A notary is not required for this.

STOP! This is exactly how you should never buy a property in Sicily. Never!!!

A notary should not only check whether the property is in order in terms of building law, but also whether it is free of mortgages. And, of course, only a notary should draw up contracts. And certainly all parties involved must appear together before the notary to sign.

And again we recommend the team at Property in Sicily in Santa Flavia. Their notaries are very experienced in tracking down inherited burdens.

Your dream has come true - you are the happy owner of a sunny property in Sicily.

All you need now is water, gas and electricity. Oh yes - a fast internet connection wouldn't be bad either. And then there's that leaking tap and the fence that urgently needs a fresh coat of paint.

Is that exactly what you don't really want to do? And your Italian isn't good enough to organise tradesmen? No problem. There is a company in the Property in Sicily network in Santa Flavia that takes care of all these things:

It's January and the sun is shining through the window of your new home office in Santa Flavia. The decision to move your workplace to Sicily in winter was absolutely right.

Suddenly your mobile phone rings. An important customer is "threatening" to place an order. But that only works face-to-face. So book a flight quickly. Fortunately, there is a train to Palermo airport almost every hour.

But wait - who's going to water your plants and look after your post? That's right - you need an English-speaking house-sitter: