The mortgage

When purchasing a property, the buyer usually needs to take out a loan (mutuo). To secure this loan, it is also possible in Italy to encumber the purchased property with mortgages (ipoteche). These have a term (decorrenza) of 20 years and expire automatically after that period. If the obligations are not met as agreed, foreclosure (asta giudiziaria) may also occur in Italy.

If you want to secure a loan with a mortgage, the bank usually requires a rough appraisal (valutazione) of the property to ensure that the value (valore) of the property is sufficient for the requested loan. Make sure that you can withdraw from the purchase (rescindere dal contratto) if the mortgage is not approved, without incurring contractual penalties (penale) or even losing the down payment (caparra).

The mortgage is created by registration in the land registry (registro immobiliare). For this, either notarization (certificazione notarile) or at least a private written declaration (scrittura privata) is mandatory.

The mortgage clause

Whether you need to take out a mortgage or not, you should always include a so-called mortgage clause in the preliminary contract. This states that you as the buyer are released from the purchase if you do not receive mortgage approval from the bank. If this happens, you can withdraw from the purchase without losing your down payment. If this condition clause is not included in the preliminary contract, you risk losing your down payment and in the worst case may even be forced to complete the purchase.