The house belongs to all of you and to none of you. Your brother would like to sell, you're not sure, and meanwhile another year has gone by. The keys sit in a drawer, perhaps in another country, and every time the subject comes up the conversation goes nowhere.
Call us. In ten minutes we'll tell you whether a meeting is worth it.
There are professionals for the technical side: the notary handles the inheritance formalities, the surveyor sorts out the land registry paperwork. What's left is the decision, and nobody can make it for you.
There are several of you and your lives are different. The one who lives far away wants it settled. The one who needs cash only looks at the price. The one who grew up in that house finds it harder to put it on the market, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Then there's the point that holds everything up: you argue about the price before you know what can be done with the house. Everyone has a different figure in mind, each based on different assumptions, so there's nothing to compare.
What's missing isn't one more opinion. It's someone outside the family who sets out the options side by side, with the costs and income of each. Then the discussion is about figures, not personalities.
Sometimes it isn't an inheritance split between many people. It's your mother's or father's house, left as it was after the move into care or after the funeral. Nobody has felt ready to clear it. You don't owe anyone an explanation.
But there's one thing you need to know: a house left closed up doesn't stay as it is. Heating, plumbing and wiring left unused break down, damp sets in, and a leak nobody notices turns into a major repair.
Deciding doesn't mean selling. It means knowing what each option costs, including keeping the house.
This is a simplified, hypothetical example, not a real case.
Take a 90-square-metre flat in Trieste, empty since the estate was settled. It isn't the main home of any of the heirs.
Adding up ILIA, condominium fees, utilities kept connected and insurance, a flat like this costs around 2,000 euros a year and earns nothing. Over three years that's about 6,000 euros out of your pockets, split between you, without anyone having decided anything.
Then there's the rent the house didn't earn. We don't put a number on it here: it depends on the size of the house and where it is, and someone else's figure isn't yours. We'll work out yours once we've seen the house.
Finally there's deterioration. It isn't a yearly cost: you pay for it all at once, when the house goes back on the market.
This is a simplified example. For a real house the figures can change a lot, depending on the council's tax rate, whether one of you is resident there, the condition of the building and any major works the condominium has already approved. We can tell you how this applies to your house once we've seen it.
There are five. When a house belongs to several siblings, the right option is the one that works for all of you, not just for one. None is right every time: what matters is knowing when each one makes sense.
It makes sense when you all agree, when nobody wants to manage a property, or when someone needs the money now. It means today's market sets the price, and a buyer who has to renovate will knock the cost of the work off the price. Before you accept the first offer, look at what similar renovated homes of the same size have recently sold for in the same area, so you know how much the buyer stands to gain. An Italian notary can complete the sale even if you can't travel to Italy, through a power of attorney.
Worth considering when one of you lives there or wants to, and the others want their share. The house stays in the family. It means the heir buying has to find the money, and the value of the shares has to be set at a figure the others accept. That's where the discussion stalls, because nobody has put that figure in writing.
It makes sense when the house is ready to live in, nobody urgently needs cash and you want to keep the property. Instead of a one-off sum you get an income every year, with management, taxes and upkeep at your expense. But a rental needs someone to look after it: with several heirs, you need to agree first who does it and how income and costs are shared.
It makes sense when there's a wide gap between the price of the house as it is and the price of the same house once renovated, and when you can afford to wait. This also covers work that changes the house rather than just restoring it. A large flat can become two separate units, and a house on several floors can become several flats. With an inheritance it's the option people consider last, and sometimes it's the one that unlocks everything: smaller units are easier to sell and to divide than one large one. Both mean building work: builders on site, unexpected problems and months of holding costs. Before deciding you need a design, a specification and a quote, and you need to check what the council, the condominium and the technical requirements allow. With several heirs you need one more thing: an agreement on who puts up the money for the work, and how they get it back.
It's a choice, not a postponement, and sometimes it's the right one. It makes sense if nobody needs cash and someone uses the house. It doesn't make sense if the house is left empty: empty, it costs money every year in ILIA, bills and upkeep, and deterioration adds to that. Doing nothing by choice is an option. Doing nothing because you don't know where to start is a cost.
There are five options. Which one suits your house only becomes clear once the figures are worked out.
For your house, the study sets out the five options side by side. We don't say “sell” and we don't say “keep it”: we show you what each one leaves you with.
You read it. It's yours to keep. You decide whether to go ahead. If you like the way we work, we'll give you a quote for the in-depth study.
If what you're hoping for isn't realistic, we'll tell you that too. We've done it before.
The Preliminary Feasibility Study is not a formal appraisal, an official valuation, an architectural design, a building quote or an estate agency agreement. We don't ask for exclusivity and you don't sign anything.
Two flats became four, and the argument was over.
A building shared by several heirs. They had inherited a small building with two flats, and at first each of them wanted something different. We checked whether the building could be split into more units. The study showed that four independent flats could be created, and we drew up the design and the specification of works. The heirs agreed on a way forward, and the estimated value of the property rose by at least 20% before any work began.
They didn't agree because someone talked them round. They agreed because what they were discussing had changed: not two flats any more, but four.
The heir who lives there can't shut the others out or make decisions alone. The other heirs can claim compensation for that exclusive use, but it isn't owed automatically: it only runs from the date they formally ask, either to take turns using the house or to receive their share of what it could earn. Heirs who wait years and then claim arrears usually don't get them. This is a matter for a lawyer. But the discussion always comes back to the same point: what the house is worth and what it could earn. If you'd like the figures for your own case, call us.
You pay ILIA. In Friuli Venezia Giulia, IMU no longer exists: since 2023 the local property tax has been called ILIA, and the rules are almost the same. It's due from the date of death, and each heir pays on their own share. Two exceptions change the figures. If there is a surviving spouse and it was the family home, the Italian civil code gives the spouse the right to live there: the tax then falls on the spouse alone, and if the spouse lives there nothing is due, so the other heirs pay nothing either. Otherwise, the exemption applies to the heir who is officially resident and actually lives in the house, and only on that heir's share: the others pay on theirs. The rate is set by the local council, so ask an accountant to confirm the exact amount. Either way, an empty house costs something every year.
Yes, if you agree on the value and the heir buying out the others has the money. It's the option that keeps the house in the family and gives everyone else their share. It tends to stall on one point: what each share is worth. To get a value everyone accepts, have an independent valuer put it in writing. In the preliminary study we tell you who can do that and what it costs, and we give you our own estimate of a reasonable value range and an analysis of the alternatives.
They're two different calculations, and they need to be compared side by side. Selling settles the matter, splits the money now and removes the risk. Letting brings in an income every year, but someone has to manage it, which is harder if you live abroad. With an inheritance there's one more factor: the option you choose has to work for everyone who signs, not just for one of you. If you'd like the figures for your own case, call us.
Yes. The Preliminary Feasibility Study is free, with no conditions and no commitment. If you then want an in-depth study, we'll give you a quote and you decide. If we see no realistic option at all, we won't write the document: we'll tell you on the phone and won't waste your time. The preliminary study also helps us decide whether it makes sense to work together. We only get paid later, and only if you decide to go ahead. You receive the quote together with the first document, before you decide anything.
No. We don't handle property sales and we earn no commission when your property is sold. We look at the property, work out what it costs and what it could earn, and tell you in writing what can be done with it and who you'd need to do it. Then we work alongside the professionals involved: surveyors, architects, valuers, accountants and, where needed, estate agents.
We answer the phone ourselves. If we're out on a site visit, we'll call you back the same day.
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