By Kat Moore · Digital edition
The Complete Guide for Foreign Buyers
A home in Italy begins with a lot of questions. The Complete Guide brings together what I wish I had known before we started. Choose the PDF edition, or choose Plus for EPUB and Kindle reading too.
Both packages include the 193-page PDF, buying roadmap and eight fillable PDF worksheets.
The Complete Guide, 2026 edition01 The beginning
A property can look perfect in a photograph and still be wrong for the life you want to live. Before you compare kitchens or sea views, it helps to know what to ask about the place, the building and the purchase itself.
This is for the person just beginning to look, and for the person with a saved listing and a growing list of questions. You can read it from the first page or turn straight to the chapter you need.
02 Inside the pages
Explore sample pages from the Complete Guide and the included buying roadmap. Choose a sample below, then open it for a closer look.
Choose a preview Tap to switch
The search begins with how you want to live, before you open another listing.
03 The contents
Twenty-eight chapters follow the decisions in the order you are likely to meet them.
Start with the life you want to live, then narrow the search by region, season, access and the realities of owning from abroad.
Turn a promising listing into useful questions. Learn how to work with agents, read beyond the photographs and prepare for viewings.
Follow the offer, deposits, checks, professionals and deed, with room for the delays a real purchase can bring.
Account for purchase taxes, annual costs and renovation work before the price on a listing becomes your whole budget.
Settle in, care for the property and understand the extra work involved if you plan to welcome paying guests.
04 What is included
The Complete Guide gives you the full story. The included buying roadmap and worksheets give you a place to track the details of your own purchase. Every package includes these PDF files.
Twenty-eight chapters, with linked contents and bookmarks so you can return to a question when it becomes yours.
A companion PDF showing the purchase steps, ready to keep beside the Complete Guide.
Complete Guide Plus also includes EPUB and Kindle editions with adjustable text. The book content is the same. No printed book.
05 A note from Kat
We bought an apartment in Ortigia, renovated it into Lula Mare, then bought an olive grove with a farmhouse near Noto. The two purchases taught us how different an apartment and a rural property can be.
In the Complete Guide, I work through the questions a buyer faces, the checks worth making and the practical details that are easy to miss when a place has already won you over.
06 Choose your format
Both packages contain the 193-page Complete Guide, the buying roadmap and all eight fillable PDF worksheets. Choose Plus if you also want the book in a format that adjusts to your screen and preferred text size.
PDF edition
Read the Complete Guide as a fixed-page PDF, keep the roadmap close and fill in the worksheets on your device.
PDF + EPUB + Kindle
Everything in the PDF edition, plus EPUB and Kindle editions of the Complete Guide. Change the text size to suit the way you read.
Digital download only. No printed book. You may save and print copies for your personal use. Redistribution and resale are not permitted, except as allowed by law or with written permission.
07 A few questions
No. Both packages include the Complete Guide as a digital PDF, plus a one-page buying roadmap and eight fillable PDF worksheets. You can print PDF pages at A4 size or use your printer's fit-to-page setting.
The EPUB lets the Complete Guide adapt to different screen sizes and text settings. It contains the same book content as the PDF, with no extra chapters or information. The roadmap and worksheets remain PDFs in both packages.
Choose Complete Guide Plus. Your download page includes a Kindle edition and instructions: save the file, then use Amazon's free Send to Kindle service to add it to your library. You'll sign in with the Amazon account you use on your Kindle. No cable is needed.
Yes. Our purchases were in Sicily, but the Complete Guide looks at choosing a region and following the Italian buying process more broadly. Property rules and local requirements can differ, so check the details for the place you choose.
Yes. The eight separate PDFs have fillable fields. Save them to your device, open them in a PDF app that supports form fields and keep a separate copy for each property or project.
Each PDF and EPUB file contains an internal purchase reference linked privately to your order. Your name and email are not embedded in the files. There are no passwords or restrictions on reading or printing.
No. Laws, taxes and local requirements change. Work with qualified professionals, including a notary and, where appropriate, a lawyer or tax advisor, before making financial decisions.
Enter the email you used at checkout. If there is a paid Complete Guide or Complete Guide Plus order for it, we'll send a new link for each purchase.