20 Questions to Ask Before Buying in Italy
A free printable checklist to help you stress‑test any Italian property before you sign or make an offer.
Interested in buying in Italy?
If you’ve been browsing Italian property listings, you’ve probably felt the pull: a stone farmhouse with views, a village apartment with original tiles, a hilltop house with land. It’s easy to fall in love with the photos long before you’ve understood the realities behind them.
Buying in Italy can be wonderful, but it is also full of unknowns: structure, land, legalities, renovation costs, access, and the day‑to‑day reality of actually living there. This free checklist gives you 20 key questions to ask before you make an offer, so you can stress‑test any property and avoid expensive surprises
What this checklist helps you do
Look past the “dream house” feeling and see the property with clear eyes.
Ask smarter questions about structure, land, services, and renovation scope.
Check whether the location really works for how you’ll use the property, not just for holiday fantasies.
Clarify whether this house fits your budget, your life, and your risk tolerance before you commit.
Get the free checklist
You are seriously considering buying a home or holiday place in Italy in the next 1–3 years.
You love character properties but are aware that “charming” can also mean “needs work.”
You want to make a thoughtful, grounded decision rather than a rushed, emotional one.
Who this checklist is for
If you are still in pure fantasy mode, this checklist may feel a bit confronting. If you are ready to look at real houses and invest real money, it will feel like a relief.
How it works
Enter your email and click “Get the free mini-guide checklist.”
You’ll receive a download link to the PDF in your inbox within a few minutes.
Print it out or use it on your tablet/phone each time you look at a property.
On the final page, you’ll also find a link to a deeper mini guide, Before You Buy in Italy, which walks you through the trade‑offs and realities behind these questions in more detail, information about the upcoming full book, OLD WALLS NEW LIVES: The Professional Guide to Finding, Buying and Renovating Property in Italy.
Get the free checklist
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This project comes out of more than twenty years of buying, renovating, and actually living in old houses in Italy and Germany, and the goal is simple: help you make a calmer, better‑informed decision than most people get to make. If you ever want to see more of the renovation work or ceramics behind these guides, you can always find me on instagram, substack or right here!