There is a growing demand in Italy for mortgages and other loans by non-Italians, according to data from Facile.it and Mutui.it. So what does an ex-pat have to do to apply for a mortgage in Italy?
Number of ex-pats applying for loans is growing
Online loan providers Facile.it and Mutui.it note that in the first ten months of 2018, the percentage of foreign citizens looking to take out loans was almost 12% of the total, a value that increased by about two percent compared to the same period in 2017, when the figure was less than 10%.
Both the average amount requested by aspiring foreign borrowers, 117,340 euro (-1.2%), and the average value of the properties they were looking to purchase, 157,281 euro (-7.2%), decreased somewhat. As for the mortgages actually granted between January and October 2018, the percentage of funding granted to non-Italian residents was 8% of the total, a value that is slightly higher than the same period in 2017, when it was 7.2%. The average amount loaned to ex-pats in Italy was about 112,300 euro, enough to cover 73% of the property value.
Country of origin of loan applicants
Of these mortgage applications, 35% came from applicants from outside Europe. The nationalities which applied for the most Italian mortgages were from Romania (21.64% of applications) Albania (11.97%) and Moldova (6.86%). Fourth place was occupied by applicants from Morocco this year, with 4.58%. Despite the large number of Chinese communities in Italy, when it comes to applying for mortgages for real estate, the citizens of the People’s Republic are only nineteenth.
How can ex-pats apply for a mortgage in Italy?
As Mutui.it points out, even if the procedures for applying for a loan for people from abroad don’t vary much than for Italians, many banks consider an Italian residence as a greater guarantee than a property in a different country, and often ask for a minimum period of residence in Italy of between two and five years. Some banks, however, offer specific products and deals for non-EU citizens who are not residents but who work in Italy.
Applicants from certain countries are subject to legal restrictions if their countries of origin don’t have a reciprocal relationship with Italy (for example, not allowing Italian citizens to buy property within their borders). This is not the case for any citizens of EU member states, though there are restrictions for people from some countries outside the European Union.
In the absence of legal constraints of this kind, the procedures are then the same as for obtaining a loan for an Italian. The only things that must be added to the normal documentation are a valid residency permit, the residence certificate and the family status.
As far as the assessment of the applicant’s income and assets is concerned, the criteria are the same as for Italian clients. People working in Italy will have to show their employment contract (preferably a permanent contract rather than a temporary one), the original copy of their latest pay slips, and a copy of form 730 or the CUD. Self-employed people and business owners will have to submit their last tax returns. Some banking institutions may also require the F24 and related receipts, in order to verify the correct fulfilment of tax and social security obligations, as well as, for company owners, the latest balance sheets and bank statements.
You can calculate how much your loan repayments would be in Italy with idealista’s free mortgage simulator.
From the original Italian article: www.mutui.it/mutuando/mutui-per-stranieri-come-richiederli
