"Price is not negotiable, tell me now, thanks, Pierdonato." That is clear language from our Italian broker with whom we have been on a trullo quest for a while. We think we have now found the ideal trullo, but his e-mail does not scare us.

Oasis
We think back to that beautiful road between Martina Franca and Ceglie Messapica with the trullo roofs that pop up between the treetops and this rolling wooded landscape. Just before the blue-painted chapel we turn right, then we continue on bumpy farm paths and suddenly we are standing in front of a fence where tranquility falls over us. far. This should succeed in this oasis.

Broker fee
This trullo is just on the market and competitively priced, according to broker Pierdonato. In Italy, a broker is paid by both the buying and the selling party. So let's call him independent, or someone who can easily satisfy two parties. The brokerage fee for sales is around 3% of the purchase amount per lot.

Property tax
The purchase is arranged differently in Italy than in the Netherlands. As a foreigner you can buy a house if you have a tax code. In addition, you pay taxes on your property every year. As a non-resident, you can pay this property tax once a year at the local post office.

six family members
As soon as you sign the provisional purchase contract, the so-called compromo, 10% of the purchase amount is placed as a deposit. In this case, the two of us are the purchasing party. The sales party consists of no fewer than six family members. Our future purchase was in fact the holiday residence of a northern Italian family for 40 years. They met in the summer months and spent many a summer in Martina Franca. As a result, the contract may have to make a round through Italy to be initialed and signed per page.

After payment of the 10% deposit, the price may not be changed. If for some reason you want to get out of the purchase agreement as a buyer, then you have lost 10%. The seller owes a doubling of the down payment if it withdraws from the sale. This is called caparra confirmatoria.

Visit to the Italian bank
We have already opened an Italian bank account at Banco di Napoli in Ostuni. In an Italian bank there is still an old-fashioned activity with counters and rows of people waiting. This bank visit lasts a whole morning with an infinite number of initials and signatures, but ends with the coveted bank card. We can immediately pin at the bank, buy an ice cream in Ostuni and admire the clear blue Adriatic sea from the beautiful historic center of the Citta Bianca (nickname Ostuni).

We are going to draw
Not much later follows the news in the Dutch media about the banking crisis at the Banco Veneto and the Popolare di Vicenza, which may be a prelude to a total Italian banking crisis. It doesn't drive us crazy. We believe in our dream. We're going to draw, the knot has been cut. Tagliare la testa al toro. "