This page is the companion to Buying Property in Puglia — The Insider’s Guide to the Salento Real Estate Market by Camillo Barone. It holds two things the book promises: the complete buyer’s checklist as a printable PDF, and a summary of the current year’s rates, deadlines and thresholds, which we update as the rules change.
Download the Checklist
Six phases, from first budget to final signature — the same checklist our office runs when we take on a foreign buyer, plus the one-page red flags list to carry to every viewing.
Download the Buyer’s Checklist (PDF, free)
No email required. Print it, or keep it on your phone.
Current Rates & Thresholds — Verified July 2026
Specific figures shift with each year’s budget law. The process in the checklist does not. Confirm anything time-sensitive with your notary or commercialista before acting on it.
| Item | Current figure |
|---|---|
| Registration tax on residential resales | 2% (prima casa) / 9% (second home), on cadastral value under the prezzo-valore system; minimum €1,000 |
| VAT when buying from a builder | 4% (prima casa) / 10% (second home) / 22% (luxury categories A/1, A/8, A/9) |
| Prima casa residency deadline | 18 months to transfer residence; 2-year window to resell a previous prima casa |
| Registration of the preliminary contract | 0.5% on deposits and advance payments, plus €200 fixed |
| Agency commission (typical, Salento) | 3–5% + 22% VAT, each side |
| Cash payment limit in Italy | €5,000 (the EU cap of €10,000 from July 2027 does not raise it) |
| 7% flat tax for foreign pensioners | Southern comuni up to 30,000 inhabitants (threshold raised 7 April 2026); 9 years; paid via F24, tax code 1899 |
| Short-term rental taxation | Cedolare secca 21% on the first unit, 26% beyond; more than 2 units = business activity (P.IVA) from 2026; CIN code required to advertise |
| IMU on second homes | Roughly 0.86%–1.06% of the revalued cadastral base, set by each comune |
| Schengen stays for non-EU visitors | 90 days in any 180; EES operational since April 2026; ETIAS expected from late 2026 (€20) |
About the Book
Get the book on Amazon — Kindle & Paperback
Buying Property in Puglia condenses thirty years of closings in the Salento market — Lecce, Porto Cesareo, the Ionian and Adriatic coasts — into nineteen chapters: what to buy and what to avoid, the scams that target foreign buyers, the real numbers of three complete purchases, visas and the 7% flat tax, renovation, and the honest arithmetic of the rental season. The checklist on this page is its final appendix.
Camillo Barone has been selling houses in and around Lecce since 1994. He is the co-founder of Mondo Immobiliare Lecce (Studio RCS Srls), a member of FIMAA, with offices in Lecce and Porto Cesareo.
A Question About a Specific Property?
The checklist tells you what to verify. If you want it verified by people who do it every week, reach out through our contact page — or start with our area guides and current listings.