Purchasing Apartment in Alghero

My husband and I have been going through all of this lately in buying a townhouse in a small town. Be very careful! An acquaintance got screwed over because her lawyer said a change that had been made in the floorplan of the home she was buying was "no big deal" and she got stuck paying for what the seller was responsible for paying and will be heavily fined when she finally owns the place. The local housing authorities (i.e. government) are serious about this. Make sure everything in the building changed was to code and was ok'd by them prior to signing anything. Even the slightest changes. You must be sure before you sign anything or deposit any money, that the seller shows proof that any changes in the floor plan or apartment was done with permits from the local authorities (I think it's called an amnesty). It is the seller's responsibility and if this is hidden, you will get stuck with a lot of fines! Also, you will need to open a bank account and all your bills can be automatically paid through your account. It is possible that the local commune handles one of the utilities, such as garbage or water, but you will need to find out. They require payment directly to them. We got a notary to set up an escrow account for us so that our deposit and final payment does not go directly into the seller's account. This is just the safest thing to do. It may cost a bit more (300-2000 euros) but if something goes wrong before you get the keys, you are protected. The alternative you don't want to even want to think about! Good luck!