Mortgage
From application to approval
Once you've chosen the home, the bank assesses the property too: valuation, notary's checks, approval. This is the stage where a missing document or a discrepancy in the home can cost you weeks.
How long: 30–60 days from application to approval
How it works
1. Application
With the signed preliminary contract, your documents and the home's (provenance, floor plan, APE, compliance).
2. Valuation
The valuer visits the home. If they value it below the price, the mortgage goes down: keep this in mind when negotiating.
3. Approval
Amount, rate, term, fees. Check they match the ESIS (PIES) and what you need.
4. Insurance policies
Fire and explosion is compulsory; life and job-loss cover are optional unless stated otherwise: don't let anyone force them on you.
What it costs
- Arrangement fee: 0–1% of the mortgage (often free with promotions)
- Valuation (perizia): around €200–400
- First-home substitute tax (imposta sostitutiva): 0.25% of the mortgage
- Fire and explosion insurance: around €100–300 a year (compulsory, you can choose your own)
- Notary for the mortgage deed: around €1,500–2,500
Who does what
- Bank: processing, approval and then signing together with completion
- Bank's valuer: values the home: the mortgage is calculated on the lower of the price and the valuation
- Notary: preliminary report on the home for the bank
Watch out for
- Undeclared compulsory bundled policies: they must be included in the APRC (TAEG).
- The rate can change between approval and signing if it isn't locked: ask.
- Cadastral discrepancies found by the valuer: they block approval until they're sorted out.
Questions to ask · the bank, about the approval
- Until when is the rate locked?
- Which policies are compulsory, and can I bring my own?
- Are there any payment collection or management fees?
- Can I repay early without penalties? (for a first home, by law, yes)
General guidance, updated on 13 October 2026: for important decisions, talk to the bank, a notary or a surveyor.