Off-Market Estates in Tuscany

Picture a remark made in passing at the end of a long lunch: a house on the next hill may change hands, though nothing has been advertised and no price is public. If the house does change hands, the legal steps are the same as for any other.

Why might a seller not list a property?

A seller’s reasons are the seller’s own. A private sale avoids a public advertisement, which can reveal that a sale is being considered, and it avoids a public asking price. A seller may also have already found a buyer.

How can a buyer reach a property that is not listed?

Off-market properties are, by definition, not on portals. Information about them can come from anyone who knows an owner: an agent or intermediary, a technician who has worked on the property, a lawyer or accountant, or another owner. A person who introduces a buyer to an owner is, in law, likely to be a mediator (mediatore, the person who brings two or more parties together for a deal),^[1] and the regime described below applies to mediators.

Some professionals are silent by duty. Those who learn of an owner’s plans through their work are bound by professional secrecy. The principles of professional conduct of Italian notaries require confidentiality about clients, deeds and any information learnt in the profession,^[2] and disclosure of professional secrets can be an offence under the Criminal Code.^[3] The notary is therefore not a channel for introductions; the exceptions are legal duties such as anti-money-laundering reporting. Whether an owner chooses to speak to a given professional or intermediary is the owner’s decision.

Is an off-market sale cheaper or more expensive?

Whether an off-market sale costs more or less than a listed one depends on the property and the agreement of the parties, as with any sale. The route decides which properties a buyer is shown.

Is commission still paid when nothing is advertised?

An off-market sale is not necessarily free of commission. Under the Civil Code, a mediator is entitled to commission from each party where the deal is concluded through his or her intervention.^[4] The amount and its split are set by agreement, tariffs or custom, and no fixed legal percentage exists.^[5]

Italian law also recognises mediation on the instruction of only one party, “atypical mediation”. The Court of Cassation, sitting in Joint Sections, treats it as subject to the law on mediators, including the registration requirement,^[6][7] and the sanctions for unregistered activity: a fine of €7,500 to €15,000 and return of commissions.^[8] The deed states whether a mediator was involved and how the fee was paid.^[9] See “Who Is Actually on Your Side When You Buy in Italy?” and “The Bank Account and the Source of Funds”.

What stays the same when a property is not advertised?

The legal steps of the purchase do not depend on whether the property was advertised. Title and building checks by the buyer’s professionals come before a preliminary contract (see “Due Diligence: What Sinks a Purchase”). The preliminary contract (preliminario, signed before the deed) and its taxes, the notary’s checks and the deed follow (see “The True Cost of Buying a Home in Tuscany”), together with payment declarations and anti-money-laundering checks by the notary.

Pre-emption (prelazione, the right of a person, in defined cases, to buy on the same terms before a sale to a third party) applies as well. Tenants and neighbouring farmers may have pre-emption rights over agricultural land (see “Buying a Vineyard Estate”), and the State has a pre-emption right over protected cultural property (see “Buying in a Historic Centre”). An unlisted sale is subject to them like any other.

With no public listing there may also be no public file. The description of the property, its area, its price history and its legal status rest on what the seller and the professionals provide, and they should be checked in the usual way.

How can an “off-market” claim be checked?

The term is used loosely. A buyer can ask questions that any intermediary should be able to answer:

– How does the intermediary know the owner, and on what basis is the property offered?

– Is the property also offered by other agencies or advertised anywhere?

– Is there a public price or an earlier listing?

– Who is paid, by whom and how much, and is the intermediary registered as the law requires?

No answer proves or disproves that a property is off-market; the answers help a buyer judge the claim. Market practice varies, and no description of how private sales are conducted guarantees that any particular property is available.

About the service described in this article

The Tuscan is a private property office in Tuscany that acts for buyers. It holds no inventory and accepts no commission from sellers.