Lake Como and The Lost Art of Real Estate

Digesting the Italian Way

Or is it just the way business is done in Cernobbio? What I learned on my 5 day visit to Cernobbio, Lago di Como, Italy.

1. Non-Exclusive Listings. The agent is Only motivated if they have the opportunity to “earn” both sides of the commission. However, the word “earn” hardly describes an agent’s role.
2. So what if an Agency/Agent does not have a Non-Exclusive Listing? How does that agent access the property to show it to a Buyer? Will they have the opportunity? Will the Agent(s) allow that Agent to show it or will they refuse? It’s truly like the Wild Wild West. Everything is up for grabs. Upon further investigation the Agency without a Non-Exclusive Listing will NOT, I repeat NOT have the opportunity to show and sell, which in turn hurts the seller.
3. Over the last 5 days we listened to the craziest of stories. From non-exclusive listing drama, Agents speaking openly, negatively blaming, even suing one another, to witnessing for ourselves, the same Villa showing up across multiple websites with different offer prices. (Not only was the seller not aware, but they did it without the seller's permission.) How can that be? It’s insane. Simply Loco! Is this not illegal, unethical or a violation? What’s worse, a true story in fact, we learned during the first 3 minutes of our first Realtor meeting at the Villa I currently have listed in Beverly Hills, with a local Realtor. It goes something like this. My American, by birth, Seller who until recently resided and raised her children in Italy, had a full price offer on her home last summer, and just as the closing papers were out for review to be signed the Buyers just so happened to run into someone in another county, (small world indeed) who shared with those Buyers that that same Villa was shown to them previously for 1.5 m Euros LESS than the price they were in contract for. Absurd and impossible to believe, yet true. Needless to say the Buyers backed out and called the Seller a liar . The Seller, my friend and now client, had no idea her Villa was being shown to anyone at a price significantly less than her asking price or the asking price she gave to the local Realtors. It is hard to imagine what we learned in the first 3 minutes of our meeting. This agent walked in, greeted me and announced she’d seen the Villa and had showed it for 2,9 Euros (it was communicated to the agents for $4,5 Euros) and furthermore it had been listed with her company, yet it had not. You might imagine the surprise and shock that overcame my friend. And it went on. That was just day 1, and the beginning of a revealing 5 days as an American Realtor in Italy.
4. As far as I understand, from the Agents I spoke to, each company can show a Buyer what they have on their own office website. To preview other listings a Buyer needs to look at that companies listings and contact that company directly. This system certainly causes chaos and confusion and not only makes it difficult for any Buyer, native or foreign.... American, Russian, Chinese, Canadian, Belgium, etc... It also creates a frenzy and a highly competitive environment for the Selling/Buyers Agent. One can see why the agents lie. I can only surmise the reason the Agent either one, shares a lower asking price than the Sellers offer price, or suggests to the Buyer that they make a low ball offer so they can entice that Buyer to work with them rather than one of the other Agents.

Furthermore there is simply no time or incentive for the Agent to spend time educating and cultivating their Buyer. In the end it’s anyone’s Buyer and everyone is up for grabs. It’s sheer madness! The first night we were dining with friends at Harry’s Bar, directly on Lake Como in Cernobbio. My friend explained to the Italians that I was hosting an Open House for the Real Estate Agents to preview the Villa and to connect for the potential of referring one another. They all laughed. I may not speak Italian but I do understand verbal cues. It was that first evening I knew why my client had asked me and paid for me to come to Italy. What we uncovered over the next 5 days was mind boggling. More to come. It’s time to eat my pastries and drink my tea (I already had my first cappuccino and a long inspiring walk.) Buon Giorno. Ciao for now.

If you are interested in purchasing or selling a home in Italy I am available to assist and to navigate you through the Italian real estate process. It’s not easy. And if you do not know the right questions to ask, it can be costly. If you are interested in learning more, or about our listing www.CernobbioLakeComo.com please reach out. Cernobbio is a beautiful place to raise a family, enjoy as a summer destination or retire to.

La Dolce Vita!

Debbi DiMaggio, An American Realtor in Italy

Debbi@DebbiDiMaggio.com | +1.510.414.6777

For fees and information please contact me.