What We Do, What It Costs, and Why It Works
Transparent legal protection for foreign buyers, before you sign or pay anything.
You should know what you are paying for before you appoint a lawyer. This page explains our core legal services for buyers purchasing property in Sardinia and elsewhere in Italy, from an initial pre-offer legal review to full legal due diligence.
Our fees are agreed in writing before work begins. The final quotation depends on the property, available documents, legal complexity, timing, the work required and the level of protection you need.
Who We Work With
We work mainly on the buyer’s side. We are not estate agents and we do not earn commission from property sales. Our professional role is to identify legal risk before you become exposed to it.
We commonly assist clients who are:
- Buying residential, holiday or investment property in Sardinia or elsewhere in Italy;
- Purchasing from abroad and needing independent legal guidance in clear English;
- Considering an inherited property, a co-owned property or a transaction with complex title history;
- Reviewing or negotiating a purchase offer, reservation form or preliminary contract prepared by an agent, seller or other party;
- Buying coastal property, rural land, a renovation project, a new build or a high-value villa;
- Looking for a legally safer structure for deposits, payments and completion.
Our substantive legal work and advice are provided primarily in English and in writing, so that the documents reviewed, risks identified, recommendations made and agreed next steps are clearly recorded.
Where a focused introductory or alignment call would be useful, we are happy to speak with you directly. Please include your telephone number in your enquiry, and we will contact you where appropriate.
Strictly Legal, Strictly Independent
We are lawyers, not surveyors, estate agents, architects or engineers.
Our work is strictly legal: title verification, land-register and encumbrance checks, planning and cadastral document review, contractual analysis, negotiation support and legal due diligence.
If our checks identify technical, planning or cadastral non-conformities, we do not replace the relevant technical professionals. Instead, we identify the legal implications and help you determine the safest response: requesting evidence, requiring the seller to regularise the issue at its own cost, renegotiating the price, adding contractual protections or deciding not to proceed.
Where technical input is genuinely necessary, we can help you identify and coordinate with suitable independent local professionals. Their fees, engagement terms and professional responsibility remain separate from ours.
We do not sell property and we do not receive sales commissions. Our role is to protect your legal position as purchaser.
Choose the level of legal protection you need
Every purchase is different. The appropriate level of legal assistance depends on the property, the documents already available, the stage of the transaction, the sums at risk and whether you are being asked to sign or pay quickly.
| Service | Best for | What you receive | Typical legal fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before You Sign Brief | A listing, draft offer, proposed deposit, reservation form or early-stage concern before you take the next step | A concise written legal risk memo identifying main red flags, missing information and recommended next steps | From €650 + applicable taxes and disbursements |
| Light Due Diligence | A buyer who needs more than an initial opinion, but does not yet require a full investigation of the entire property | Choose either a Title Check or a Contractual Check. A focused written legal review of the property’s title and land-register position, or of the purchase offer, deposit terms and proposed contract | From €850 + applicable taxes and disbursements |
| Full Legal Due Diligence | Any property, especially high-value, rural, coastal, inherited, complex or otherwise sensitive acquisitions | A comprehensive legal investigation of title, encumbrances, planning, cadastral and contractual matters, together with written recommendations and transaction strategy | Starting from €1.500 + taxes. Confirmed in writing after the property and available documents are reviewed |
Each engagement is confirmed in writing before work begins, with a clear scope of work, fee arrangement, timing assumptions and any agreed exclusions.
A Light Due Diligence may be structured around a specific issue — for example, title history, a proposed contract, planning documentation, cadastral records or an identified risk — where a full investigation is not yet proportionate.
Full Legal Due Diligence: fee approach
For a full legal due diligence, the fee is assessed in light of the actual transaction and the work required. Relevant factors include:
- Purchase price and value at risk;
- Number of owners, heirs, co-owners or companies involved;
- Title history and potential ownership issues;
- Mortgages, encumbrances, easements, usufruct, pre-emption rights or third-party claims;
- Planning, cadastral, coastal, landscape, land-use or environmental issues;
- Whether the property includes land, rural buildings, unfinished works, renovations or development potential;
- The quality and completeness of the seller’s documentation;
- The urgency of the proposed purchase timetable;
- The extent of contract review, negotiation, coordination and support required.
For serious acquisitions, we will provide a written scope of work and a fixed-fee proposal after reviewing the first available documentation. Where the transaction requires a wider buyer-side mandate — including negotiation, purchase-offer structure, preliminary contract, protected payment arrangements and coordination with the notary — this will be clearly stated in the engagement letter.
No VAT Added to Professional Fees
We operate, where applicable, under the Italian regime forfettario and therefore do not charge VAT (IVA) on professional fees.
Many Italian lawyers add 22% VAT on top of their legal fees. Where the regime forfettario applies, this amount is not added to our professional fee.
For example, on a legal fee of €6,000, a lawyer charging VAT would normally invoice an additional €1,320 in VAT, bringing the total to €7,320 before any other applicable charges or disbursements. Under the regime forfettario, that €1,320 VAT amount is not charged.
The higher the legal fee, the more you keep in your purchase budget.
The examples below show the difference.
| Legal fee | VAT at 22% charged by a VAT-registered professional | VAT not charged under the regime forfettario |
|---|---|---|
| €3,000 | €660 | €660 saved |
| €6,000 | €1,320 | €1,320 saved |
| €10,000 | €2,200 | €2,200 saved |
| €20,000 | €4,400 | €4,400 saved |
| €25,000 | €5,500 | €5,500 saved |
Clear advice in writing. Calls when they matter.
Buying property in Italy often involves substantial sums, several parties, unfamiliar documents and decisions that can be difficult to reverse. For this reason, our substantive legal work and advice are provided primarily in writing, in clear English and with a reliable record of the documents reviewed, risks identified, recommendations made and agreed next steps.
Written advice gives you time to read, reflect and return to the legal position before signing an offer, paying a deposit, entering into a preliminary contract or attending the notarial deed. It also gives you a clear record that can be shared, where appropriate, with your accountant, surveyor, bank, notary or other advisers.
The written-first approach helps prevent misunderstandings, especially where an international transaction develops over several weeks or months and involves sellers, agents, technical professionals, public offices and the notary.
At the same time, we recognise that a property purchase is personal. A short introductory or alignment call can be useful to understand your circumstances, answer the right initial questions and explain the safest way to proceed.
Please include your direct telephone number in your enquiry. If a focused call would be useful, we will contact you personally.
Clear advice in writing. Calls when they matter.
Power of Attorney and remote purchases
A purchase can sometimes be completed remotely through a power of attorney, but this requires careful planning and a higher level of coordination. It is not an automatic or standard solution for every client or transaction.
Where appropriate, we can assess whether a remote purchase structure is feasible, what level of preparation is required and whether sufficient time is available before the proposed closing date.
Read more about buying property in Italy from abroad and remote purchase and power of attorney assistance.
Two things every buyer needs
Your money protected until completion
Where appropriate, we can help structure the transaction to use a notarial escrow arrangement, including the Italian deposito prezzo mechanism. This can allow money to be held securely rather than released directly to the seller before agreed conditions have been fulfilled.
The exact structure depends on the transaction, the agreement between the parties and the notary’s role. We assess payment protection together with the offer, preliminary contract and the legal risks identified during the matter.
Read more about Escrow & Funds Security for Italian property purchases.
Your Italian tax code
Every buyer will normally need an Italian tax code (codice fiscale) before completing a property purchase or carrying out many related administrative and banking steps in Italy.
We can guide you through that administrative process as part of the agreed assistance, where appropriate.
Read our guide on how to obtain an Italian tax code for buying property in Italy.
Capacity and quality
We limit the number of new matters we accept at any one time.
We do this because every client we accept must receive proper attention, careful document review and clear written advice. If we do not have the capacity to take on a matter within the time required, we will say so openly.
We will not accept a fee for work that cannot be handled to the standard the transaction requires.
How to get started
Please send us:
- The property listing, URL or PDF;
- A short description of your situation, or simply the words: “I am not sure yet”;
- Any documents already received, such as a purchase offer, reservation form, preliminary contract, title document, cadastral plan, planning document or seller information;
- The contact details of involved parties where available, including the estate agent, seller, surveyor, architect, notary or other adviser;
- Your direct telephone number, if you would welcome a focused introductory or alignment call.
We will review the first information and respond in writing with a clear description of the assistance that may be appropriate, a proposed scope of work, a written fee quotation and the next steps.
There is no commitment to proceed and no fee for the initial assessment.
Send your enquiry to: govonilaw@gmail.com
Learn more before you commit
The right legal service depends on the property, the documents available, the stage of negotiation and the money at risk. These guides may help you understand the process before requesting a tailored legal review:
- What documents should you ask for before buying property in Italy?
- What to do before making an offer on property in Italy
- How to buy property in Sardinia step by step
- Notary vs independent lawyer when buying property in Italy
- Buying property in Italy from abroad
- Escrow and safer handling of deposits in Italy
Explore more legal guides and property insights
Every property purchase raises different questions. You may be comparing locations, considering land or a renovation project, assessing an investment or rental opportunity, dealing with a property inherited by the seller, or trying to understand what an Italian document or payment request really means.
The latest guides below explore practical issues that international buyers encounter at different stages of an Italian property purchase. They are designed to help you ask better questions, recognise when a risk needs further investigation and understand when legal protection should begin.
Start with the question closest to your situation. Before you commit, make sure the answer is specific to the property you are considering.
Govoni Law publishes a growing library of legal guides and property insights for international buyers in Italy and Sardinia. If you are looking for a specific issue, use the search function at the top of the website and enter the words most relevant to your situation – for example, deposit, planning permission, inheritance, coastal property, land, Italy, Sardinia, notary or power of attorney.
You will be able to find the articles and guides most relevant to the property, stage of purchase or legal question you are considering.