tommyd1888

Hi Everyone

I am moving to Torino at the end of January for a great new job opportunity. I have been in contact with estate agents about some properties I am interested in and when I asked about a security deposit they are quoting usually 2 months rent as well as another 2 months rent + IVA for themselves. Is this right? Do I cover this cost alone or should the owners not pay their commission.

I have also asked about additional costs and for the apartment that is top of my list, I am being told the only additional cost is heating which is independent. This particular property is a 2 bedroom loft conversion over the house in which the owners live just outside Chieri. Does this sound right or is something getting lost in translation as my Italian is not that good. Does anyone have any idea how much an average monthly heating bill would cost for such a property?

The woman who owns the house is originally from Ipswich and it would really help if I could talk to her but I am afraid I will not get the chance to do that until I come over to Italy to view the property.

Cheers
Tommy

37100

2 months + iva is normal. You can sometimes get it down to 1 month depending on how easy the property is to shift. Owners do not pay anything. By additional costs, the agency means shared costs. i.e garden mantenience. Apart from gas and leccy, your water should also be metered. You will also get a rubbish bill from the town hall. Turin is cold in winter so you are looking at about €1.200/€1.400 depending on how much you turn the heating on. Be careful or you will end up spending a lot more. Of course, if you are willing to shiver a bit you can spend a little less, but heating and electricity is very dear.

tommyd1888

Hi 37100

Thanks for the reply. I take it that, that is for the year and not per month lol. I am young and by myself so I would go cold and walk around in the dark to save some money. How much are broadband prices as I will need to work from home occasionally. If I take into account gas, electricity, broadband and refuse collection would it be possible to get by on 300 euros a month or am I deluding myself.

Cheers
Tommy

37100

Yes, it's for the winter. Heating in Turin is officially from the 15th of Oct until 15th of April. €300 seems fine to me. We spend €250 + heating + building charges which you won't pay, but we are a family of 4. Toted up our annual bills for Verona last Sunday. I still have to do Turin. Adsl cost us €20 a month, but we also have a phone connection. Without that it costs around €30/35 p.m. The best providers in Turin are Telecom or Fastweb (at least on our side). They all cost more or less the same.

indiebird

Hi Tommy I'm on the other side of Torino from Chieri but I know that we paid two months rent plus other mystery money to the agent whom we rented the property through.... it's a right swizz imho but it was very standard when we were looking. Not sure how much we pay in heating but it's quite a bit but then there are four of us and my kids are kids so not possible to have a cold house... We probably pay about €1500 a year for gas. I have a gas hob too and my hot water is heated by gas...

We rent the telephone line through Telecom Italia for €15 per month (we get free landline calls both here and abroad for this) and get our broadband through Tiscali for about €20 a month. We've never had many problems with this arrangment.

tommyd1888

Thanks for the replies and the advice

Has anyone ever successfully negotiated the estate agents fee down to 1 month? Has anyone got any advice on how I should go about it because they have been the only estate agent that has been helpful to me so far and I really like the apartment but I think that 2 months rent + IVA for commission is ridiculous. Has anyone ever come to an agreement with the owners of the property to share the cost?

Cheers
Tommy

indiebird

Hi Tommy,
We didn't try negotiating down as my OH's company was paying the deposit but it was pretty standard with all the agents we approached around here. I could be wrong, but I think the owners normally pay commission too.... we're in the wrong business eh??!! You wait til it comes to renewing contracts etc. We had to pay over €100 just for a new contract and the our landlord had to pay about the same too!!

tommyd1888

Hi Indiebird

Unfortunately the company I work for are not going to pay any relocation costs as I pushed for the move. The owner of the house is from Ipswich would it be possible to approach her about renting the apartment and cut the estate agents out all together. I know I am clutching at straws now. The director of the company I work for is from Ipswich and could provide references and proof of permanent employment.

Cheers
Tommy

indiebird

You could definitely try but the owner might have already paid commission. IMHO (and I live in a verrry small town so maybe it's different) I would try and speak to the owner first without the Agent and see what they say (especially if they are English) but it's easy to annoy agents here and then they are not so helpful after that and, funnily enough, neither is anyone else, but that might not hold true down in Chieri where there always seems to be a fair few foreigners renting and always quite a bit of choice over what to rent as the community can be pretty transient.

tommyd1888

Thanks I think I will definitely try that.

Does anyone know a woman from Ipswich that lives in Strada Madonna della Scalla? I have tried to get their contact details from the estate agents but they wouldn't pass them on.

37100

We successfully negotiated down to 1 month's rent, or rather, hubby did, but he is a master at it and the apartment came with a very hefty price tag which we didn't pay. Owners don't usually pay anything except the contract registration fee which is 2% of the annual rent divided between them and the tenant. Some owners make the tenant pay 100%. It is a yearly fee. You can try asking the owner instead of going through the agency because they only rent out properties here and don't usually manage them so if you don't pay the rent it's the owners problem. However, it depends on whether what sort of contract she has with them.

chris120

I have rented many properties all over Italy, 1 month rent as the agent's fee is the norm, I have never been asked for 2 months. The agent will then disappear and play no further role in the let. I would not rent without seeing the property first, you might get a nasty surprise! If you have been introduced via an agent you cannot then just cut him out and there is no advantage to the owner to aid and abet you on this. Also in a small place like Chieri he could make a lot of trouble for you.