The Paperwork

For the next step of the sale we need to gather some documentation. The most important paper is the one saying that Sweetie and I are married but we have something called SEPARAZIONE DEI BENI, which means that our assets are separate. That means that anything we buy in my name is mine, in his name his, even if the marriage (gulp gulp) disolves. Besides acting as a sort of pre-nup, this option (you make the decision when you get hitched here during the civil ceremony) also means that you are considered separate when it comes to the status of having a "first" house. Actually this doesn't mean the first house you buy, it just means "not your second or vacation or rental property" so you can buy 5 first houses in a row. As long as you get rid of the one before, your new one is considered your first. And this one has certain tax exemptions. Like no property tax. When you buy a second house or apartment, you pay that and other taxes and have higher rates on just about every utility bill. To get around this legally, and Italy is all about getting around things legally, this second apartment will be in my name instead of my husband's. That way we have a house each. Except when I say HOUSE I mean APARTMENT. Now I need to get the piece of paper that says we're married but that our assets our separate.

Now, where the hell do I get that? I asked myself this morning. Then I found out by doing a little Googling. You go to the Ufficio Civica, which just happens to be on a piazza right next to the grocery store I always go to, a 5 minute walk from my house. Not that it's ever open when it could be useful (like when I'm not working) but at least it's close and if I can't get in at least I can go next door and get some prosciutto.

From there, we need to get a "CIRCULAR CHECK" for the downpayment of the apartment and wait for our seller to get a document from his doctor saying that he's in his right mind and is not being tricked into selling his place.

Then it's back to the notaio for more documents, signatures, contracts, and another BIG CHECK for us to write.