Buying Property in Puglia: What International Buyers Need to Know
What to check before you sign and what we look at on a pre-purchase visit.
Buying a home in Puglia is one of the best decisions you can make and one of the easiest places to buy badly. The market is fragmented, agents act for the seller, and a beautiful property can hide expensive surprises. A few hours of proper due diligence pay back many times over.
Verify the legal status before anything else
Ask the seller for a recent visura catastale, the original building permits and any condono filings. If walls have been moved, rooms added or pools dug without permits the cost to regularise can be substantial. We always check this on a pre-purchase visit.
Inspect the structure honestly
Cracks in lime plaster are usually cosmetic. Cracks running diagonally across stone walls are not. Look at the roof, the gutters, the slope of the land away from the foundations. A two hour technical visit by a geometra or engineer is the cheapest insurance you will buy.
Understand the running costs
Property tax, waste tax, insurance, basic utilities and a small maintenance budget add up. Plan for around 1 to 2 percent of the property value per year just to keep things in order. More if there is a pool or a large garden.
Pre-purchase support
We accompany buyers on viewings, give an honest assessment of the work needed, estimate the renovation budget and flag the legal items that need attention. We do not earn commission on the sale. Our job is to make sure you buy with open eyes.