Buy Real Estate in Greece - The Process

Today we are looking at how you actually buy real estate in Greece. Make sure you have your tax number (AFM), your bank account, and your vital "pink slip"!

Once you have made the decision as to where you want to buy your property, you can now select your property and make an offer on it. You can either do this through an estate agent or directly to the owner. Once you have made the offer, the transaction has to be overseen by a public notary (symvoliographo). This person will draft a preliminary contract and ask you for your deposit of 10 percent. The notary will then start the process of checking the title of the property. If there turns out to be a problem with the title, your deposit will be refunded - it's not refundable for any other reason.

Your lawyer will also need to do some checking on the property - for instance that it really belongs to the person who is selling it and that he or she has the right to sell it. It's quite common in Greece for a property to be owned by several members of the same family. The seller could be selling it behind their backs, hoping to make a quick buck before they find out! If you buy without checking this kind of thing, you could find that you only own part of the property - and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. You see why I said you must have a lawyer!

You also need to employ a civil engineer (politikos michanikos) to check things like zoning/planning laws - these will determine whether you can make any alterations or extensions. This official will also check whether the boundaries of the land actually correspond with what is indicated on the deeds. This is not necessarily the case!

Once all these checks have been completed, the symvoliographos will draw up the final contract and you transfer the remaining funds from your bank to the seller's account. The contract has to be signed by you and the seller, in the presence of the symvoliographos, your lawyer and the agent if you have one. And the property is yours!

The main thing to remember is, don't expect everything to work exactly as it would in the USA or UK. Spend time getting to know Greece and the Greeks and understand how things work - and it will all seem like part of the charm of the place! Believe me, once you have fallen in love with Greece, it will be a lifelong love affair! And to find some stunning properties to start your search, come to http://www.bizwrite.co.uk/realestate/overseasproperty.html or http://www.bizwrite.co.uk/realestate/propertyabroad.html