Govoni Law provides independent legal assistance to foreign buyers throughout Italy. If you have identified a property, the appropriate starting point is the work needed to assess your purchase: Full Legal Due Diligence for the property and transaction together, or Light Due Diligence for one defined legal issue. Scope, fees and any additional assistance are agreed before work begins.
| What you need | Appropriate route | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Understand the property and transaction before committing | Full Legal Due Diligence | A property-specific investigation within an agreed scope |
| Review one contract, title question or other limited issue | Light Due Diligence | Not a shortened investigation of the entire property |
| Draft, negotiate or continue through completion | Additional work expressly agreed with the review or separately | Not automatically included in every engagement |
Independent advice, only on the buyer’s side
For more than 16 years, our lawyers have assisted foreign buyers purchasing property in Italy.
We work nationwide. The property may be a city apartment, coastal villa, country house, historic building or land. The investigation follows the property’s documents, location, legal position and your intended use.
We act only for the buyer. We do not sell property or act as estate agents or property finders.
Our role is to assess the legal questions relevant to your purchase, explain findings in writing and address their consequences in the transaction where that work is included.
We work alongside the appointed estate agent, notary and qualified technical professionals, with responsibilities kept distinct.
Full Legal Due Diligence: assess the purchase as a whole
Choose this route when you need the property and transaction investigated together rather than an answer to one isolated question.
A purchase may involve connected issues: ownership, building history, access, occupation, financing, external structures and contractual obligations. A narrow document review cannot necessarily answer how those matters interact.
The agreed investigation may address:
- The seller’s title and authority to transfer.
- Ownership history and relevant third-party rights.
- Mortgages, registered burdens and other material entries.
- The legal implications of building and cadastral records.
- Land, access and relevant restrictions.
- Condominium or managed-development documents.
- Occupation and delivery.
- The proposed agreement and identified contractual exposure.
The precise scope is adapted to the property and purchase stage.
You receive a structured written assessment in English explaining the material reviewed, findings, limitations, unresolved questions and recommended next steps.
A finding does not automatically mean abandoning the purchase. The appropriate response may be further evidence, technical investigation, a different contractual structure, a revised price or a decision not to proceed.
Explore Full Legal Due Diligence.
Light Due Diligence: substantive analysis of one defined issue
Light Due Diligence is appropriate when the legal question can genuinely be assessed within a limited scope.
Examples include:
- Reviewing a purchase offer or preliminary contract.
- Examining a defined ownership question.
- Assessing a proposed deposit or payment arrangement.
- Reviewing a financing condition.
- Analysing one identified provision or legal concern.
You receive a focused written assessment explaining what was reviewed, the material findings, what remains outside the scope and the next steps.
The limitation matters. A contract review does not establish that the seller owns every parcel or that an annex has lawful residential use. A title-focused review does not investigate the complete building history.
Where several questions interact, broader work may be needed from the outset. Light should not be used to divide a property-wide investigation into fragments that leave the overall position unexamined.
Which should you request?
Start with the answer you need.
If your question is:
“What is the legal position of this property and purchase before I commit?”
Request Full Legal Due Diligence.
If your question is:
“What does this particular agreement or defined issue mean for me?”
Light Due Diligence may be appropriate.
You do not have to choose perfectly before enquiring. Send the material and explain your objective. We will assess whether a limited review is responsible or whether the purchase requires a wider investigation.
A short deadline does not make the necessary work smaller. If an offer must be considered before the investigation is complete, the agreement and outstanding requirements need assessment together.
Contract review, drafting and negotiation
The purchase agreement should reflect what has been established and what remains unresolved.
A proposta d’acquisto, a purchase offer, may create commitments before the final deed. A contratto preliminare, the preliminary sale contract, sets further obligations before completion.
Where expressly included, we can review, draft or negotiate provisions addressing:
- The property and rights included.
- Documents, access and investigations.
- Financing requirements.
- Seller obligations and supporting evidence.
- Deadlines and conditions.
- Payments, custody and release.
- Completion and vacant handover.
- Consequences if an agreed requirement is not met.
Review, drafting and negotiation are related activities, but they are not automatically the same engagement.
Purchase Offers and Preliminary Contracts.
Continuing assistance through completion
Some buyers need support after the investigation and initial agreement.
Where agreed, continuing assistance can include assessment of documents supplied later, contractual amendments, review of seller-side requirements and coordination of relevant legal questions before the deed.
Completion work may include draft-deed review, payment and handover arrangements, and representation requirements.
The engagement identifies the included stages. It does not promise unlimited coordination or automatic assistance with every post-completion matter.
Buyer-Side Legal Assistance Through the Purchase.
Deposits and protected payment arrangements
A caparra confirmatoria, a contractual deposit with specific consequences on default, is different from an acconto prezzo, an advance towards the price.
Both the payment’s legal nature and its practical handling require attention.
Within the agreed scope, we can assess the proposed recipient, custody, release event, repayment provisions and consistency with the purchase agreement.
Early holding arrangements and the statutory notarial deposit of the purchase-price balance are distinct mechanisms. Any proposed holder must accept the relevant role and instructions.
We do not assume custody of purchase funds merely because we advise on the structure.
Escrow and Protected Payment Arrangements.
Buying from abroad and powers of attorney
Legal work can be organised through written communication while you remain abroad.
Depending on the transaction, remote arrangements may also involve a procura, a power of attorney, appropriate foreign-document formalities and representation at signing.
Distance does not remove the need for suitable technical inspections, access to records or coordination with the notary.
The work and appointments required are identified for the transaction. We do not promise that every purchase can proceed without attendance or within a fixed number of visits.
Remote Property Purchase Assistance.
Buying property that comes from an inheritance
An inherited property may require additional investigation of the proposed sellers’ rights, authority, succession documents and outstanding formalities.
This work is undertaken for the buyer. It is not general estate administration for the heirs selling the property.
Where foreign documents or another jurisdiction are involved, their effect and required formalities are assessed within the appropriate scope.
The succession position does not replace investigation of occupation, building records or other property issues.
Inherited Property: Buyer-Side Legal Assistance.
Written advice that supports a decision
Substantive advice is documented in writing, in English.
The relevant assessment explains:
- What was reviewed.
- What has been established.
- What remains uncertain or outside the scope.
- Which findings affect the intended purchase.
- What action or further work is recommended.
Focused calls may be arranged where useful. They do not replace the written record.
Proposed solutions are distinguished from results already achieved. A seller’s undertaking, an application or a draft amendment should not be presented as completed protection.
Legal and technical work are different
A legal investigation does not replace:
- A physical building survey.
- Structural or engineering assessment.
- Measurement and comparison of the actual property with relevant plans.
- Architectural feasibility work.
- Valuation.
- Tax or accounting advice.
- The notary’s statutory functions.
Where specialist work is needed, its role can be identified and coordinated within the engagement. Appointments, responsibilities and costs remain clear.
Scope, fees and instructions
Before substantive work begins, you receive written confirmation of the proposed scope and fees.
The engagement identifies the property, legal work, deliverables, relevant stages, assumptions and exclusions. Drafting, negotiation, representation and additional coordination are specified rather than presumed.
Notarial, technical, translation, banking and public-office costs are separate unless expressly included.
Availability and timing depend on the work required, documents and third-party responses. An enquiry does not suspend a contractual or payment deadline.
Send these six items to request a review
- The listing and full property address.
- The intended purchaser and country of residence.
- Available property documents.
- The complete offer or preliminary, including anything already signed.
- Payment requests and deadlines.
- Your intended use, financing requirements and any essential project.
If you need the purchase assessed as a whole, request Full Legal Due Diligence. If one clearly defined issue requires analysis, describe it for a Light Due Diligence assessment.
Our role and limits
Govoni Law acts only for buyers.
We do not sell property, act as estate agents or property finders, arrange mortgages or currency exchange, provide tax advice, conduct technical surveys, manage renovations or rentals, or obtain visas.
We do not guarantee regularisation, authorisations, financing, completion or the absence of future issues.
Our responsibility is the professional legal work agreed with you.
Frequently asked questions
Do you assist buyers throughout Italy?
Yes. Our assistance is nationwide, with the scope adapted to the property, location and transaction.
Should I request Full or Light Due Diligence?
Request Full when you need the property and purchase investigated together. Light is appropriate for one genuinely defined legal area that can be assessed responsibly in isolation.
Does a contract review verify the property?
No. It assesses the agreement within its scope, not every title, building or technical question.
Are drafting and negotiation included automatically?
No. They must be expressly included in the engagement, whether alongside the investigation or as additional work.
Can you assist if I have already signed?
Yes. The existing documents and obligations must be assessed before deciding the appropriate next steps.
Can you work with my agent, notary and technician?
Yes. We coordinate relevant legal questions while keeping each professional’s appointment and responsibilities distinct.
Do I need to attend an introductory meeting?
No introductory meeting is required to submit an enquiry. Send the relevant material in writing so we can assess the proposed work.
If you have identified a property in Italy, send Govoni Law the listing, available records, complete draft and deadline.
Request Full Legal Due Diligence for an investigation of the property and transaction, or describe the defined issue for which you need Light Due Diligence.
We will do our best to reply to your request as soon as possible.