Do You Need To Open An Italian Bank Account To Buy A Property In Italy?
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This is definitely one of the most frequently asked questions when a buyer starts approaching the real estate market in Italy.
Well, the answer is quite simple: you don’t really need an Italian bank account for buying your house in Italy.
You can easily transfer all the needed funds to your Notary who can hold them in an escrow account (i.e. the third party account which holds the asset until the conclusion of the Deed). On the Notary Deed, the Notary will make all the payments (i.e. the purchase price balance, notary fee, transfer taxes etc.) on your behalf. And that’s it.
Not crucial, but…
So opening a bank account to buy a house in Italy is not crucial. But. There’s a big BUT.
If you own an Italian property, an Italian bank account is absolutely CONVENIENT. To what purpose? Well, to handle all the direct payments of all utilities: this is very useful not to risk to forget bills and discover they have caught off your electricity! With such an automated method of payment you can also settle all other local bills (e.g. the payment of IMU, condo fees etc.).
Bear in mind that you could always pay your bills online with your internet banking service, from where you can monitor all your expenses.
Another important benefit of having an Italian bank account is the possibility of get a Bancomat (debit card) to quickly pay your transactions during your stay in Italy.
Things to know about Italian bank accounts
In order to open a bank account, the first thing you’ll need is an Italian Tax Code, the so called Codice Fiscale: this is issued by the Italian Agenzia delle Entrate (Revenue Agency), but you can even request it from the Italian Consulate of your city abroad. Good news: we can help you in requesting it! It’s absolutely free of charge. The Revenue Agency is a few meters on foot from our headquarter in Menaggio!
Finally, take notes of what kind of information the banks will ask you during the process of setting up your new account:
Residency address in your home country
Mobile number
E-mail
Social security number (i.e. foreign Tax Code)
Your job
Are you thinking about buying a property in Italy and you’d like to know more about the buying journey?