Who are the Americans who bought a house in Italy?

Michael Barrett may just be a first. The Chicago native spent much of last year’s lockdown drooling over homes for sale in Italy. But instead of being content with drooling, he and wife Aida went one step further — and bought a house, sight unseen.

Can a US couple buy a house abroad?

It sounds like a horror story. Sixty-something American couple buy house abroad without seeing it, without having met the seller, the agent, the architect or even the internet friend who signed on the dotted line for them. But the Barretts are convinced this was the smartest thing they could do.

Can a jointly owned house be sold to a third party?

If you have your jointly owned real estate appraised and then agree that one of you will buy out the other, you may want to reduce the price by the amount of the real estate commission that would be charged if you sold the place to a third party.

What happens to the house when a couple splits up?

You can either follow the legal procedures that apply in your state—typically this means the court will order the property to be sold, and the net proceeds (after paying mortgages, liens, and costs of sale) to be divided—or you can reach your own compromise settlement.

Can a defect have started before you bought a house?

But if the problem could have started before you bought the house, keep reading. It’s not an obvious defect that you could have seen yourself before buying. If there was a huge crack running across the living room ceiling at the open house and you’ve only now decided to bring it up, no dice.