BUYER'S AGENT / BUYER'S ADVOCATE
In Italy the agent on the listing usually works for the seller. Scalini Group is the opposite: an independent, buyer-side advisor whose only job is to protect the person buying. We read what is really being sold, flag the risks, and tell you what to verify and who should verify it – before you commit a euro.
A buyer’s agent, or buyer’s advocate, represents you and only you in a property purchase. We do not list the property, we are not paid by the seller, and we take no commission from the sale. That independence is the whole point: it means our advice is about whether this property, at this price, is a sound decision for you.
Practically, that means reading the listing against the documents, identifying what could go wrong, comparing the asking price against what is genuinely included, and giving you a clear, written view: proceed, proceed with caution, or pause. We then tell you exactly which licensed professional – a geometra, notaio, avvocato or surveyor – should carry out each formal check.
In a typical Italian sale, the agente immobiliare is instructed by, and often paid by, the seller, even though both sides may pay a fee at the end. Their incentive is to close the sale, not to talk you out of it. For a foreign buyer who does not speak the language, cannot read the visura catastale, and is unfamiliar with how Italian property law works, that is a real imbalance.
A buyer-side advisor restores the balance. We have no interest in whether you buy this house or the next one – only in whether you understand what you are buying. The things that most often hurt foreign buyers are exactly the things a seller’s agent has no incentive to raise:
We are an independent buyer-side advisory and research service. We are deliberately not an estate agency, a law firm, a notary, a tax adviser or a surveyor, and we never pretend to be. Formal legal, notarial, cadastral, technical and tax checks must be carried out by licensed professionals, and we will tell you precisely when one is needed and connect you with our trusted network of independent Italian professionals.
Think of us as the person in your corner who reads everything first, asks the awkward questions early, and makes sure the formal experts are pointed at the right risks – rather than a generalist who only looks once the deposit is already paid.
No. The estate agent (agente immobiliare) is instructed by the seller and is motivated to close the sale. A buyer's agent, or buyer's advocate, works only for the buyer and takes no commission from the sale, so the advice is about whether the purchase is sound for you.
No. We work on fixed buyer-side fees, starting from a EUR 390 Quick Check. We take no percentage of the sale and no payment from the seller, which is what keeps our advice independent.
Yes. We are UK-based Italian nationals and work in English with foreign buyers from the US, UK and elsewhere. We read the Italian documentation, explain what it means in plain English, and coordinate the licensed professionals who carry out the formal checks.
No, and we are clear about that. We are an independent advisory, not a law firm or notary. We identify the risks and tell you which licensed professional should verify each one; the formal legal, notarial and technical work is done by them.
Share the listing and we'll tell you which level of buyer-side check fits, from a 390 euro Quick Check upward.