Off Plan Property Purchase in Sardinia, Italy – A Complete Client Service

We were engaged by a UK-based couple seeking to purchase an off-plan property in Sardinia, Italy. The purchase was structured, like most off-plan purchases, with various stage payments being made before completion. Typically, this means a large portion of the purchase price is paid to the Developer before a purchaser takes Title to the property.

This is clearly a potential risk to a purchaser, and to mitigate that risk, one should always insist upon a Bank Guarantee being provided by the Developer. This secures amounts paid in advance should a Developer fail to complete or enter Administration.

As part of our instruction, we ensured the Guarantee was in place and additionally, negotiated a penalty clause for late completion of the property.  This involved a reduction in the purchase price for every month that the property was late in being delivered to the client. Ultimately, this proved to be a beneficial clause as the construction was in fact delayed past the expected date set out in the contract.

Pre – Contract procedures

Our first responsibility was to manage the offer process and negotiate the contents of the purchase contract. Our work included:

• Searches to confirm the property had planning permission
• Confirmation the relevant building licenses were in place
• Searches at the local Town Hall to confirm if any issues or charges existed on the Title
• Assisting the clients with their Italian Tax Code (Codice Fiscali)
• Confirmation the Seller owned the property and had the legal right to sell

We also worked closely with the client to obtain a survey on the property. This is something we advise all clients to obtain when purchasing properties abroad.

Mid & Post – Contractual procedures

During the course of construction, we acted as liaison between the Developer and the clients regarding the stage payments and managed the process according to the terms of the contract.

The property was successfully completed, and after advising the clients on the contents of the Title Deed, the clients proceed and took clean Title to the property.

Completion & payment of Taxes

Following the completion of the property sale and the receipt of the Title Deed we assisted the clients with the payment of the relevant taxes and the registration of the property at the Italian Land Registry.

Outcome

This matter was handled seamlessly from start to finish, enabling our client to finalise all purchase -related obligations.

This case exemplifies our firm’s ability to provide comprehensive, cross-border support in foreign property transactions — combining deep local legal knowledge with a practical, client-focused approach.