shelly_ray

Advice needed! My mum retired to Sardinia, Italy a few years back, investing all her money in a big house there. All seemed well but she couldn't learn the language - I thought that was because most of her friends were expats but it turns out to have been the first symptom of neurological illness. In short, she has had to come home and I have to somehow sell her house (she is living with me at the moment, and I've already moved her stuff). I'm absolutely stumped: I talked to three agents there but they don't seem to be doing anything - I've been doing so for months now but they don't seem to be getting anywhere. I talked to the main London based estate agents that sell Italian property here, the problem is that they would only accept properties valued at 1 million Euros or more (it's a seven bedroom house with tons of garden in a great location, but no pool - when she first moved there her neighbour tried to buy it off her offering 700,000 euros so that's a rough indication to me of what it should be worth). I'm stumped and exhausted, I have three young children and Mum is not well. Is there something I should be doing that I simply haven't thought of? I would really appreciate any advice.

philat98

Pulaski

What does "talked to" mean? Has your mother instructed them to sell her house? I am not sure how estate agencies work in Italy, but generally agents are not going to be very motivated to find a buyer if their work may come to naught if your mother sells to someone else.

If your mother is not competent to instruct an agent herself, and to execute the sale documents to complete a sale then there is another level of complication to your problem in selling the house i.e. do you have authority to instruct an agent and complete a sale?

shelly_ray

We don't want to go down the path of holiday lets as a. she needs her money out really for future accommodation options, and b. I would worry about things like indemnity insurance if someone fell in the garden and doing Italian tax returns. She has capacity. We met with several local estate agents - first we instructed one, went through all the hoops of doing the energy ratings etc but nothing came of it, then we spoke to some other after that failed, I'm just worried about a repeat. It's competitively priced it's just they take forever to respond to emails etc, if that makes sense - I feel like it's hard for me to keep the 'wheels turning' from the UK?

Pulaski

Perhaps its just the way you're describing it (you're a bit vague), but I am sceptical that the agent(s) even think they have been fully instructed, especially the ones you "spoke to" after the first one apparently stalled.

That said, I suspect that the market for seven bedroom houses on Sardinia is probably pretty thin, so I would not be surprised if it will take some considerable time to sell, especially at a reasonable price.

Capo Boi

Where about actually are you? I say this because there is a world of difference between the property market in Costa Smeralda and say Santa Teresa Gallura. If you are outwith the Cala di Volpe to Porto Rotondo coastal area then I think that you really will have to go with a local agent and be prepared to wait. Try to find one that has relationships with agencies in Germany, France, Switzerland, the Low Countries and Scandinavia because that is where your likely buyer is going to come from. As you imply the International UK agencies are really only concerned with the Costa Smeralda. Also if you bought within the last 5 to 7 years you probably will really struggle to get back what your mother paid even in sterling terms. Is your neighbour no longer interested? Compare prices per square metre with similar properties for sale in your area to make sure that your price is still competitive. This is your key to finding out if your property will be seen as value to a buyer and is likely to spur on a local agent. Land I’m afraid, without the possibility of development does not add that much value. Good luck.

Geordieborn

What value did the agents put on it?

BRIAN 1

Add Russia to that list.They're spending big time round here.Could be the mafia connection though,lol.

modicasa

The Italian property market is not like the British one, (apart from in a few tiny hotspots). You are very unlikely to sell a house in a few weeks. You will be expected tonegotiate pretty heavily on price. A house by the sea anywhere is not top of anyones list at the moment - the house by theseais the first luxury to be ditched by Italians, so I guess there is alot on the market and that means downward pressure on price. The season for selling at the sea is pretty short, so you need to be ready, as does your agent. You say the agents arent doing very well - do they have a mandate, have they done photos, have they got the documentation? IS the house ready to be sold with all the documentation ready? It may seem that compared to the UK everything is slow, but you also need to be piling on the pressure. Where is the house?

philat98

Capo Boi

Pulaski

I spent some time looking at several web sites listing homes for sale in Sardinia, including one that appeared to have consolidated listings from several agents, and couldn't find one with 7 bedrooms without a pool and for under €1m, so I am wondering if the listing has actually been created, .... because if it has, it is rather hard to find, and either way, I am not surprised that it hasn't attracted much interest from potential buyers.

I did find quite a lot of listings in NE Sardinia in the €700k-€1m range, so there a lot of competition in that price range, many of them looking like they could be featured in Homes and Gardens magazine. Most have 3-5 bedrooms and a pool, so having 7 bedrooms might be a selling point, but only for the right buyer. If Shelley Ray isn't lucky enough to find someone who is looking for a property with 7 bedrooms and/or the property isn't in perfect ready-to-move-in condition, then I suspect that a hefty price cut may be required to attract a buyer.

philat98

They had to reduce the house prices to only 1Euro in Sambuca.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...s-at-1-auction

Jake.White

You don't mention whether or not you have Power of Attorney to legally act on your mums behalf. Do you have it..? Because if not I would suggest that before you make a move of any kind you need to get it sorted out. That might be complicated in Italian law - I honestly don't know - but even more so if your mum no longer has mental capacity as it has to come from her..... I know there's a bit of a rigmarole involved in UK law if you try to get POA for someone who no longer has mental competence but it IS possible. Under Italian law I suspect it will be more difficult and complicated by the fact that you are foreigners. Get some reliable legal advice. You certainly need it.

Good luck.

Edit : I see that you mention above in a later post that mum still has capacity to instruct agents etc. In that case get the POA sorted out asap in case she goes further downhill then you can take over for her without any hassles.

Good luck again. I'm currently trying to sell my own Italian poroperty on the mainland without any of the complications you have and it's a long and very slow business so you should expect it to take a while even in the best case scenario....

Zocco

From my experience in selling in Italy, the first thing you need to understand is that it is not like selling in UK. The market is awash with homes for sale and there are few buyers. The agents do not seem to want to spend money on any active promotion as they rarely expect a sale. I once suggested that my agent should contact other agents in the area and they could compare their buyers and sellers and share commission. They could not understand the concept and thought I was mad! That's exactly how my apartment sold but I did the work. A neighbour put me in touch with another agent who had someone interested in my area and I organised for my agent and the second agent to get together..
You do not say when the house was bought but from a few years ago you should be thinking of a 40% reduction in price. If you search in, say, Immobiliare.it and casa.it you can compare similar properties but these are only advertised prices and buyers will expect to negotiate hard. From this you can see the agents active in your area. Look at their website. Does it look professional. You will be amazed by blurred pictures and untidy rooms.
Your agent may not actively promote the property, especially if he thinks it is overpriced. If the agent is not happy giving you feedback, advise on price, setting out his sales strategy etc. then find another agent.