Three of every four yachts we list this season will sell before September. Most of them will sell to first-time Italian-yacht buyers — owners who already have a hull elsewhere, but want a Mediterranean base in Olbia, Cala Galera or the Bay of Kotor. This is what their next eight weeks usually look like, told from the desk where the paperwork actually crosses.
Pick the cruising profile, not the hull. Before you fall in love with a Ferretti 80, answer two questions: how many weeks a year will you be on board, and how many of those weeks will the family be aboard? A couple cruising eight weeks a year buys a different yacht than a family of five spending July and August in Sardinia. We have had buyers waste six months chasing the wrong segment because they fell for a hull at a boot show before they had this conversation.
Flag and VAT. Italian VAT (22%) applies on yachts delivered and used in Italy, with carve-outs for charter operation and short-term leasing under certain Maltese-flag structures. The "Italian leasing scheme" used to be the standard workaround; most buyers now opt for direct Maltese registration with the yacht based in Italy. Plan to spend €4,000–€8,000 on fiscal counsel before signing — it pays for itself.
The survey. Always commission an independent surveyor, not one recommended by the listing broker (us included). A pre-purchase survey for a 15–24 metre yacht runs €3,000–€5,000 and takes two days; for a 24m+ vessel double both. A surveyor who flags €12,000 of follow-up work is doing their job; one who hands you a clean report on a 20-year-old hull is probably not.
Memorandum of Agreement. The MoA structures the offer subject to survey and sea trial. Standard practice is 10% deposit into a maritime lawyer's escrow account, refundable if the survey is rejected. Closing follows two to four weeks after the survey, depending on flag changes and bank arrangements.
Closing and the keys. On closing day the buyer's captain takes delivery, the broker hands over the keys, the lawyer files the Bill of Sale, and the registry issues new papers within two weeks. Then the real work starts: provisioning, crew, insurance, and the first cruise.
Key takeaways: budget €4–8K for fiscal counsel, €3–8K for an independent survey, and plan four to eight weeks between offer and keys. Treat the broker (any broker) as your guide, not your decision-maker — the cruising profile question above is the only decision that genuinely matters.
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