IMU · costs money
The annual property tax.
IMU is always due on a second home and on property held by non-residents. The amount depends on the cadastral value and the commune, roughly 0.4-1.06% a year.
classe energetica G · costs money
The worst band: heating bills will be large.
The Italian scale runs from A4 down to G. Class G means almost no insulation. In mountain and northern regions that is thousands of euros a year, and only a renovation removes it.
spese condominiali · costs money
A monthly charge for the shared parts of the building.
Cleaning, lift, security, facade repairs. In a coastal building with a pool this is easily €150-300 a month, payable even when you are not there. Ask for the figure before you visit.
casa a 1 euro · means something else
One euro is the entry ticket, not the price.
The one-euro house schemes require a deposit (usually €2,000-5,000) and a finished renovation within a set term, often three years. Such renovations rarely come under €40,000-60,000. The deposit is forfeited if you miss the deadline.
da ristrutturare · means something else
Not cosmetic. A bare shell needing a full rebuild.
Literally 'to be restructured'. In practice it is walls and a roof, often with no floor, no wiring and no plumbing. Renovating one in Italy rarely costs less than €1,000 per square metre, so on 80 m² that is a second house on top of the first.
rustico · means something else
A rural building, often with no water and no power.
A rustico is not a 'cosy country home' but a farm outbuilding or an old peasant house. Bringing water and electricity deep into the countryside can cost tens of thousands and may need a neighbour's consent to lay the lines.
agibilita · a legal restriction
The certificate that the building is fit to live in.
Without it the house is not formally habitable: you cannot connect utilities or register your residence. Getting it may require bringing the building up to code first.
nuda proprieta · a legal restriction
You buy the walls; the seller stays for life.
Nuda proprietà means you get the title while the seller keeps the right to live there until death. That is why the price looks impossibly low. You can neither move in nor let it.
usufrutto · a legal restriction
A third party holds the right of use.
Someone else has the right to live in the house or draw income from it. Check who, and for how long, before any deposit.
vincolo paesaggistico · a legal restriction
A landscape restriction: works only with permission.
The house sits in a protected-landscape zone. Any change to the facade, windows, roof or even the wall colour needs approval, which can take months or never arrive.