Italian House Purchase Process

We have made progress on the purchase of our new place in Capannori. Yesterday we met with our agent, our geometra and a translator to go over the compromesso. Everything is in order and we will meet again on Monday with the seller to sign the agreement and make the initial payment.


The compromesso is the traditional initial contract that is entered into when buying property in Italy. Nowadays, there is also a pre-compromesso contract that many people enter into. It is a two page agreement that in essence reserves the property to the potential buyer. A price and basic terms are set down, a small, non-refundable deposit is payed and the seller agrees not to sell to anyone else.

The compromesso is a six or eight page contract that sets forth the terms in more detail and a third of the total purchase price is paid. It requires more time to draw up because it requires a variety of technical information that the geometra gets from the commune land office including confirmation that the seller has the right to sell the property.

The final contract (l’atto or deed) is entered into some time after that and the rest of the purchase price is paid. We will come back in April to finalize everything. The signing of the atto is done with all parties (including geometra, agent(s), bank representative if a mortgage is involved, translator, etc.) present in the office of a notaio (notary-real estate attorney).

We are happy with the way things are coming along and happy that we do not have to come back in January. That seemed like a good idea at first but on further reflection it just is too much. We have a lot of work to do both at our house and our Issaquah property so not having to be back here until April is wonderful. At that time we will move our furniture out of storage and get the place all spiffed up. Some lights have to be installed and we need to try to sell a few things we no longer need such as the dishwasher and garden machinery. There will also be paperwork to deal with such as utilities and registering our residency in our new commune.

Capannori is, by area, is one of the largest communi in Italy. Dom says it is about the size of Kent being long and narrow. A commune is something of a cross between a city and a county. Within each commune are a number of towns and villages, most of which have their own citizens’ committee. However, the mayor and council govern the entire commune and it takes care of such things as land records, building permits, capital projects, etc. Our apartment actually looks out at the Capannori government building which is quite modern. An interesting fact is that for many years the seat of the Capannori government was in the city of Lucca even though Lucca is a separate commune.

This week we have spent some time exploring the town of Capannori which is located about 7 km. east of the town of Lucca. It is much smaller but has all the services we need within walking distance. There is an old part of town where the big church is located as well as the new part where the commune offices are, the municipal swimming pool, some store and lots of apartments and town houses. There are bars, bakeries, butchers, gelaterie, hardware and other stores. In addition there is bus service into Lucca, the autostrada entrance is 3 km. away and the Capannori train station (on the Lucca-Florence line) is less than 2 km. away. We are really looking forward to having easier access to almost everything.

Problems with Posting!

We are having internet connection issues again so I am stockpiling blog posts.  Check back after November 15 for lots of pictures.  In the meantime, I will try to upload some text only posts.

Back in Partigliano

Rainy patio and soggy woods!

We had a busy weekend. On Friday we spent our last day in Rome making a last stroll through the Centro Storico. On Via Margutta we ran across an outdoor art show. That evening we had our best meal in Rome and it was not even terribly expensive. We felt it was a real shame to make that discovery on our last night there.


It was a fun four weeks but by the end of it we were eager to move on. Saturday morning we bundled up our things, packed up the car and made the drive back to Partigliano.

On Sunday we got up early and drove to a marcia podistica about a 40 minute drive away. With us were our friend (and landlady) Erina and her sister Desi. Her brother Antonio usually drives them but both he and his wife Eni have recently had surgery. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) heavy rain had started overnight and was still falling when we arrived at the start of the walk. Part of the route was flooded so we skipped the actual walking, picked up our premi (participation prizes—pasta, tomato sauce, crème caramel custard and milk) and headed back to Partigliano. Dom and I spent a rather lazy day reading and then heading out to La Fonte for a delicious dinner. It was a nice change after the rather poor but expensive restaurant fare we had in Rome.

Today (November 1) is a holiday in Italy so there was another marcia podistica this morning. The four of us set off again but this time the walk was only about 15-20 minutes away. The weather was still miserable but during the actual time we walked it did not rain too hard. Erina and Desi did the shortest route (3 km.) but Dom and I opted for the 5 km. route. It was a pleasant walk until we headed off through the fields. On section was down a steep hill and it was so muddy and slippery that Dom ended up on his hip. I only avoided that by using my umbrella as a walking stick. Dom finished the walk with mud up to one elbow and I ended up with mud up to my knees. When we arrived home it took two loads of laundry to clean our shoes, track suits, jackets and other clothing.

We have had another quiet day. After breakfast and showers we took naps. Lunch was followed by a drive up the valley to check out the Serchio River. It was running extremely fast, high and muddy as were all the tributaries that run into it. At the dam near Borgo a Mozzano one of the flood gates was partially open and the water below greatly resembled liquid in a blender. On the news we saw that there is heavy flooding in many parts of Italy including parts of the Province of Lucca. A mudslide near Massa killed at least three people and somewhere else a train was stopped on the tracks by another landslide. This weather is supposed to continue for a few more days but for the time being it is not raining right here.