As a member of Alliott Group Ellisons can assist you by putting you in contact with our well established connections across the world.
When purchasing a property abroad, you must adhere to the legal requirements of that country.
Our Alliott Group colleagues, Kleopas Alliott, in Greece have put together this document to assist.
1. Find and appoint a lawyer
As a property buyer you need to appoint a Greek lawyer, preferably one specialized in real estate. For non-EU citizens some restrictions are in place if buying property in border areas.
2. Find and appoint a civil engineer
A civil engineer must be appointed to check the building and whether all building and urban planning regulations have been complied with.
3. Find and appoint a public notary
A public notary has to be appointed since the property purchase/transfer agreement will have to take the legal form of a notarial deed. The public notary will check if the property under sale has been registered with the National Cadastre and will examine if real estate taxes related to the property under sale have been paid. The notary will also look into other issues such as the legality of the buildings and their accordance with the existing building regulations.
4. Perform title research at the Land Registry or Cadastral Office
The buyer must obtain the titles of ownership of the property from the current owner. With the assistance of the appointed lawyer, research of the title deeds at the competent Land Registry or Cadastral Office must be carried out to ensure that the property under sale belongs to the seller and that it is free of any encumbrances, liens and disputes.
5. Issue a tax registry number
The buyer must hold a tax registry number in order to be able to conclude the transaction.
6. Payment of transfer tax
A 3% transfer tax must be paid by the buyer to the competent tax authority before the execution of the notarial transfer agreement.
7. Execution of the transfer agreement
As mentioned previously, this has to done before a public notary and then the relevant notarial deed has to be registered with the competent Land Registry or Cadastral Office.
8. Obtain a Land Registry certificate
Through the appointed lawyers, a certificate from the competent Land Registry or Cadastral Office must be obtained as evidence that the property belongs to the new owner and that the notarial deed has been registered with the books and that there are no encumbrances or disputes.
B. COSTS & TAXES RELATED TO PROPERTY PURCHASE IN GREECE
It is the buyer’s responsibility to meet the following costs:
1. Public notary and lawyers’ fees
The Public Notary’s fees amount to approximately 1.3% of the property’s value, whereas the lawyers’ fees are agreed freely.
2. Taxes, levies and fees
a) 3% transfer tax and 3% municipality tax are levied on the amount of transfer tax.
b) Land Registry fee amounting to 0.45 % of the property’s value plus VAT at 23%, if applicable.
c) Real estate agent’s fee – this varies depending on the agency. However, it is not expected to exceed 5% of the property’s value.
The taxes on the property and the public notary’s fees are calculated based on the greater value between the ‘objective’ value and the purchase price of the property. The ‘objective’ value of a property is the minimum accepted value for transaction purposes determined by the tax authorities and is based on a specific formula that takes into account the zone value and other factors.
For further help or advice on a specific matter, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us at Ellisons in the first instance.