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Wonderful luxury villa on the hills of Fiesole – Florence

Price on request

$
Location Fiesole, Tuscany

Ref #: 1288

ITALY, TUSCANY, FLORENCE, FIESOLE

Wonderful luxury villa located in one of the most beautiful and evocative panoramic positions of the Fiesole hills: on the slope facing Florence.

Location

One of the most beautiful and panoramic spots in Fiesole, a few minutes’ drive from the historic center of the Tuscan capital. The property is surrounded by olive, fruit and linden trees and a long row of poplars. The area is protected.

Description

The manor house is positioned in the highest part of the slope, surrounded by a garden and perfectly integrated with the surrounding landscape from which only roofs are visible. The construction follows almost in a natural way the slope of the land.

The property was restored in 1965, taking advantage of the volumes of an eighteenth-century building that over the years had repeatedly changed its use from a religious building and back to a monastery. The part of the cloister with the well and the small bell tower of the monastery is still intact from the original building. A careful design for an environmental inclusion with a style that resumed the shapes and volumes of Tuscan rural architecture, executed by the architect Pier Niccolo Berardi, has made it one of the most beautiful villas on the Fiesole slope.

The style of the villa recalls very much in the use of materials and forms the traditional architecture typical of the landscape. The materials used are locally sourced: pietra serena for the steps, terracotta floors, chimney pots, roofs and window sills; chestnut wood for the structural  floors, roofs and for the construction of internal doors. Wrought iron for furnishing elements and window grilles.

The building has a gross area of about 1052 square meters, spread over three floors, one of which is partially in the basement.

On the ground floor is the living area with a large living room of about 114 square meters, two entrances, kitchen, wardrobe and four bedrooms with private bathrooms.

On the first floor, distributed in two different areas with exclusive access, there are two double bedrooms with dressing rooms and bathrooms.

In the basement there is, with direct access from the garden, the apartment of the caretaker with two bedrooms, bathroom, living room and kitchen. On the same floor are the service areas which include a laundry room, double wardrobes, a garage and various storage rooms. At the same level, but free on three sides is the old loggia with a wood oven. Today the loggia is closed with a large window and used as a study.

State and finishes

The window frames are made of wood with double glazing and a wooden shutter in green. All windows and external accesses are equipped with metal grating. The main interior doors are made of solid recycled chestnut wood and are wax coated. The floors of all the rooms are in terracotta from Impruneta, made by Manetti, in the classic measures of 17 cm * 36.

The living area has a ceiling made of recycled chestnut wood with large trusses and chestnut beams.

Some areas of the house are built with vaulted ceilings with barrel vaults, built with salvaged bricks.

The internal plaster is lime putty with a wax finish, the external ones are painted with natural lime.

The stone perimeter walls and the roofs are all insulated with Stiferite-type thermal insulation panels.

Perimeter and volumetric alarm system divided into 8 sectors. The system is connected via radio to the security service. External video surveillance system with 4 infrared cameras, video recorder and signal transmitted on the TV switchboard.

Central heating system with thermal power plant completely renovated in 2007.

In 2009 the whole piping of the sanitary system was redone. All rooms, a living room and the part used as a studio are equipped with split air conditioning. external stone walls, interspace with polystyrene panels and counterpart in small holes.

The roof is insulated.

Centralized TV system.

Ethernet network with ADSL.

Outside spaces

The property also includes a plot of land cultivated with around 120 olive trees, of about 17,000 square meters, mateco tennis court, a small underground building used as a dressing room, a lemon house of approx. 55 and a small closet. Irrigation system with rainwater collection tank of approx. 40. The cistern is also powered by a small source. The whole property is fenced, along the road with stone wall the remaining part with a mesh placed on a wall in c.a. about 50 cm tall.

Potential use

A wonderful home for a large and demanding family who wishes to live in the midst of nature but at the same time in the city in an environment that also has historical aspects.

Address: Fiesole, Tuscany

Location type: Village

Condition: Restored

Bedrooms: 8

Bathrooms: 8

Property size: 1000 sq meters

Land size: 1.7 hectares

With a pool
Within 1 hour of an airport
tennis Court
Garage
Olives
Walking distance of amenities
Has annex/es
Internet
Features
Caretaker
close to Florence
Double Glazing
Garage
hillside
in Fiesole
irrigation
limonaia
loggia
Olives
pietra serena
Pool
tennis court
vaults
wood-burning oven

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FAQs

What is a notary?

A notary is a qualified lawyer who is employed by the Italian government. When you are buying Italian property, it is a notary who conducts the legal transfer of a property from vendor to buyer, and prepares the deed of sale, checks there are no charges on the property, title issues and with the assistance of a technician such as a geometra or architect, checks the property conforms to all planning issues.

It is always the buyer and not the vendor who pays the purchase taxes due and who pays the notary fees also. This means that it is up to the buyer which notary is used. In practice it is usually one of the local notaries and we can recommend which one to use and which one is cheapest, as notary prices do vary.

We provide a detailed list of all fees and taxes (including the notary’s quote) before you sign any contracts.

Translator – if you do not speak fluent, enough to understand detailed legal contracts, you will need to have a translator at the notary deed. Your agent or the notary will usually arrange this so you don’t need to worry about it. The cost varies but is often 200-300 euros. This can sometimes be shared with the vendor if they are also non fluent in Italian.

What taxes are payable for a property purchase in Italy?

This depends firstly on two things.
A. Are you buying as a resident or a non resident?
B. Are you buying from private individuals or from a company?

If you are buying from private individuals, then the taxes you pay are based on the cadastral value – a nominal value which each property has and which depends on its size, location, standard etc – nothing to do with the market value.

Example 1:
House price agreed €100,000.
Property belongs to private sellers.
Cadastral value of the property €32,000.

Let’s say you intend buying the house as a non resident (.ie. you do not intend moving to Italy permanently and applying for residency).
Taxes payable are 9% on cadastral value €32,000 so €2,880 plus a few smaller fixed taxes.

Or, if you intend moving to live in the house permanently, applying for Italian residency, then as long as you don’t already own another property in Italy;
Taxes payable are 2% on cadastral value €32,000 so €640 plus a few smaller fixed taxes. A minimum figure may be payable.

Please note, you could buy the house as a resident and pay the lower rate of tax if you intend moving there and obtaining residency within the next 18 months. Don’t be tempted to do this unless you are definitely sure you will become a resident. If you then do not, you need to pay the difference in taxes plus a penalty of around 30%.

If there is substantial land (not just a garden) with the property, then 15% is payable on the value attributed to the land, which can be quite low, eg a value of €15,000 could be attributed to the land so 15% of 15,000 = €2,250 would be the tax on the land.

Example 2:
House price €100,000
Property is being sold by a company
Cadastral value of the property is €32,000

Let’s say you intend buying the house as a non resident (i.e. you do not intend moving to Italy permanently and applying for residency).
Taxes payable are 10% VAT on full market price €100,000 so €10,000 plus a few smaller fixed taxes.

Or, if you intend moving to live in the house permanently, applying for Italian residency, then as long as you don’t already own another property in Italy,
Taxes payable are 4% VAT on €100,000 so €4,000 plus a few smaller fixed taxes.

Once we know
– which house you want to buy, its cadastral value and who owns it (company/individual)
– whether you intend to buy as a resident/non resident and if it’s your first property in Italy

only then can we ask the notary to provide a quote for the precise taxes payable.

Other circumstances

Then of course there are other scenarios.

If the value of the property you want to buy is very low (eg €50,000) then purchase costs are likely to be a higher percentage as there are set minimums to pay for all fees and taxes. So on a €50,000 house, you are likely to pay 12-15% instead of 10% (non resident).

You might want to buy a property (being sold by private individuals) with your company. Taxes are considerably higher in this case, as they would be 9% on the sale price (not on the cadastral value). So it’s cheaper to buy a privately owned property as a private individual, not as a company.

But, in the case of a country property which is a farm/winery/agriturismo, these are often owned by a farming company (azienda agricola) , which has considerable tax advantages as you can buy the farm and pay just 0-1% (depending on the circumstances) on the purchase price in tax.

If you buy directly an existing farm (ie a farming company with no other assets within the company), you just pay the fees for buying the shares in a company – ie an accountant, a notary and some small fixed taxes.
If you set up a farming company (the property must have all the requisites to be a farm) with a board of directors and an IAP (professional farmer) to buy the property and land you pay 1% on the sale price.
In both cases above, you are buying as a company so being a resident or non resident doesn’t come into it, you are not buying as a physical person.
So buying an existing farm, or setting one up, has tax advantages, compared to buying a property, especially as a non resident. However there are of course costs involved in running the company, so it’s best to seek the advice of an Italian accountant.

Taxes would be different for a commercial purchase, eg if your company is buying an Italian company (ie a farm or other company). Buying the shares of a company usually meets zero taxes, just a few fixed fees, and notary and accountancy fees.

The above is a guide, and once you have found a property you are interested in buying, we can obtain a notary quote for you, with a full breakdown of the taxes and fees due.

What other purchase costs are there?

Notary fees – approx 1-2%, more for a lower priced property due to some fixed taxes.

Agency fees – in Italy both buyer and seller pay the agent. These are payable to the Italian agent  (one of our partners) you view the house with at compromesso (preliminary contract) stage and for each party are usually 3% plus VAT. VAT is 22% in Italy. Minimums apply. Nothing is payable to Casa Tuscany so you will not pay double the fees, you will just have double the assistance!

Compromesso registration fees – approx €380 plus a part payment of taxes which is deducted from the total taxes due at completion.

Translator for the deed signing at the notary’s office. Required if you do not speak Italian well enough to understand legal deeds. Approx cost €250 – €350 depending on the notary.

Technical report for the notary.  Checks all the planning issues of the property, making sure it matches the official plans, no works have been carried out without permission, gathers all previous permits, checks the house is sellable and not illegal in any way. Carried out by a geometra, architect or engineer and costs vary considerably, a minimum of €761 including VAT/ Please note this report is NOT a structural survey, that is an optional additional report you may wish to instruct.

What annual costs are there? How should I pay them?

Local council tax – IMU (formerly ICI) – payable only by non residents. This needs to be paid twice a year at the post office – no bill is sent. Most people use a local accountant or property manager to calculate it.

Refuse tax (TARI)

In some areas, mountain community tax.

If you buy a property which is part of a condominium, e.g. with shared pool and grounds, lighting etc, then there will be annual condominium fees to pay which usually range from about €200 to €1000/year unless it is a particularly luxurious property with many amenities in which case costs could be higher.

Utilities

Do I need an Italian bank account?

You don’t really need an Italian bank account for buying a property in Italy any more as money is usually sent by bank transfer, although some notaries insist the funds are sent from an Italian account set up by you.

You could of course open an account to handle bills but bear in mind that some utilities companies refuse to arrange direct debits for non resident accounts, and some bills cannot be paid by direct debit.
You could always pay your bills online or if you have a property manager then send them the funds for settling all the bills.
If you do intend opening an Italian bank account, bear in mind that Italian bank charges are high . Usually there is a monthly fee to pay, plus charges for receiving money, paying bills, sending statements, etc etc.

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