Buying Property in Greece

  WHERE TO FIND PROPERTY

• Word of mouth.
• Historicaly the most common way to find property.
• Estate Agent
• There are many estate agents in Greece but it is hard to tell how much property they handle as they do not display boards as in the UK. Also the same properties will be handles by several agents. They charge both seller & buyer in the region of 2% each. There are also agents in UK who handle overseas property.
• Internet
• Google search will show many properties & land for sale, private & through estate agents.
• Local Advert
• Some English language newspapers, notices in bars etc. Our experience is that the person answering the phone may not speak English even though the advert is placed in English.
• Roadside signs
• These seem to be everywhere, usually hand written in Greek, English or both. Get to know the Greek spelling of ‘FOR SALE’ (ΠΩΛΕΙΤΑΙ).

 THINGS YOU NEED TO DO

• Greek Bank Account
• Have money ready in a Greek bank account so you are ready to put down a deposit when you find the right property. We do not know if an overseas resident can open a Greek bank account. If you are not living in Greece it may be possible to open an account at a UK branch of a Greek bank. NOTE: Greek banks do not seem to like giving a chequebook to a non-business customer.
   
• Transferring money to Greece. This all takes time to arrange. Check with the Greek bank that the money has been deposited in your account. It may be at the bank but not yet in your account!! We were advised to get a “pink slip” to prove to the tax authority that the money for the house came from overseas.
   
• Check limits for internet/telephone banking. You may be required to sign a document for larger amounts, which can cause a difficulty if you are overseas.
   
• Several ways to transfer £ to Greek account (Euro's)
• The National Bank of Greece proposed to us the following: Open a £ account in London (which could be done from Greece), transfer £ into that account, open a € account in Greece and the bank will transfer/convert between accounts. We opted not to take this option as the exchange rate was not very good.
• Your UK bank may be able to open a € account. You will still need a Greek account but the UK bank should be able to transfer money to it as it is already in €. Check the exchange rate that the bank will use.
• Use a Foreign Exchange specialist company in UK. Transfer £ to them, they covert to € at better rate than the banks & they will send to your Greek account or UK € account. There may be a transfer fee & the Greek bank may also charge a fee (our bank charged us €30). We chose this option as we had already done some research into the subject when we purchased a car in Belgium. You will have to open an account with the FX company but this can usually be done in 24 hours.
   
• Employ a Lawyer
• This should be done before starting the search for land. Finding one who speaks English is a matter of perseverance although the UK embassy web page does have a list (we have not tried it).
   
• We suggest locating the lawyer first to get advice prior to agreeing a purchase but also overcome the estate agent or seller trying to suggest one of their “friends”. These friends may not be acting in your best interest.
   
• Greek Tax
• Register for Greek tax. We were told this was necessary before opening a bank account but this did not prove to be the case at the National Bank of Greece. We were taken through this by a local & would not recommend trying it without being able to speak a reasonable amount of Greek. Need to have a local address so some permanent base or local friend is necessary. We were asked for tax number when drawing large amounts of money for property purchase. Cannot buy property without it.  You will also be asked the first names of your parents this seems to be very common for both bank and tax purposes.
• Everyone must submit a tax return annually, even non-residents. An accountant may be necessary.
   
• Buying Land to Build your Own House
  • Most important - make sure you can build on the land you wish to buy.  Consult surveyor/civil engineer who will know what restrictions apply to that area - BE CAUTIOUS and don't believe anything you are told until it checks out.  Find out if a forest certificate is required.  This may be necessary before a building application can be made. (Note - it may not look like a forest area but forest is counted as what existed in 1945 on a set of aerial photos.
  • Find out if an archaeological survey of the land is needed to be done.  This will delay building plans.  In Zante we have heard this is only applicable to areas around Bohali, near the castle ruins. 
  • Find out who owns any olive trees.  They can be owned by a tenant farmer.

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