How to buy a house in Puglia

Trullo, masseria or townhouse — each is a different life, and a different paperwork trail.

A trullo is a restoration project with a view; a masseria is a small farm whether you like it or not; a townhouse gives you neighbours, a bar downstairs and no land to worry about. Decide how much work you want before you fall for a photograph.

Most first-time buyers overestimate their appetite for restoration by about one roof.

Every listing on Slow Puglia has been walked by our team — but you should still walk it twice.

We visit in the morning and again at dusk: light, noise and neighbours all change. Before any offer we commission a geometra — the Italian surveyor who checks that what is built matches what is on paper. In Puglia, it often does not; that is negotiable, not fatal.

A geometra survey costs €500–1,500 and has saved buyers a hundred times that.

The proposta d’acquisto is a written offer with a small deposit — binding once the seller signs.

Your offer names the price, the deadlines and the conditions: survey, mortgage and permits. It travels with a cheque of 1–5% held in escrow. If the seller signs, the property comes off the market. If they do not, the cheque comes back and you keep looking, slowly.

Offers here are negotiated in person, over coffee. Bring patience, not a bidding strategy.

The preliminary contract — the point where both sides are truly committed.

The compromesso fixes everything: price, completion date and what stays in the house. You pay a caparra of 10–30%. Walk away now and you lose it; if the seller walks, they owe you double. This is also when you get your codice fiscale and open an Italian bank account, if you have not already.

Between compromesso and completion is typically two to three months. Use them to meet the neighbours.

One long afternoon in the notaio’s office, read aloud, in Italian, in full.

The notary is the state’s referee: they verify title, mortgages and boundaries, then read the deed aloud — every clause. If your Italian is not up to it, the law requires a translator or a bilingual deed. You sign, the balance moves, and the keys are, at last, yours.

Yes, the whole deed is read aloud. It takes about two hours. There is usually prosecco after.

Utilities, permits, and the slow pleasure of restoration done properly.

Water and power contracts transfer in days; restoration permits take longer, and lime plaster takes the time it takes. We can introduce the geometri, architects and stonemasons we trust — the ones who know that a trullo roof is repaired by hand, cone by cone.

Rule of thumb: restoration costs €1,000–1,800 per m² done right, and ‘done right’ is the only way that lasts.