Notaio

So we elect to do business with a young female notaio and that makes me happy; my guess is that this is a male-dominated position. It is perhaps one of the most lucrative and certainly prestigious professional careers in Italy. It is her responsibility to determine and collect any necessary taxes associated with the sale of the property, as well as verifying all of the documents -- insuring there is no lien on the property, insuring the permits are valid, etc. Of course, she has fees according to how much work is involved -- and I think that the fee notaios assess is pretty standard, give or take a little bit. She was punctual, professional, polite -- the noteworthy part was what we call the car salesman pitch that she gave us. Geezz, we've seen this so many times. Richard even saw it with another notaio here. It goes like this, but I'm sure you've seen it before: "Oh, the price is Euro 3000," and she writes in on a piece of paper. "But for you you," line through number and serious countenance, "I can make it 2700," and she writes the new figure. I'm not sure if I am supposed to suggest that it be even lower, say, 2500, or if I am just supposed to be grateful for the discount.

Ughhhh........just tell me the freaking price, will you? I will pay you the full price just to avoid enduring the scene.

I can bargain like no body's business in the market -- but in the lawyer's office? I wonder if you can also bargain health care?