Greek Property
The buying process for property in Greece is relatively straightforward but can be more expensive than most other countries. There are few restrictions placed on foreign ownership of land and property in Greece except for certain areas where real estate is close to Greece’s borders with Turkey and near military bases.
Prices for property can vary widely depending on where in Greece an investor chooses to buy - obviously the more touristic islands such as Rhodes, Crete and Corfu are more expensive for property and real estate compared with inland villages on the mainland, like anywhere else the more popular the area then the more expensive the property.
An investor with a large budget might like to consider the fact that property priced over a certain threshold will attract an additional wealth tax annually for the owner. This threshold and the rate of wealth tax levied changes each fiscal year but is usually between 1 and 2% of the property’s declared value (which is lower than the actual market price).
In Greece it’s usual for the vendor to pay the estate agent’s fees therefore you may as well make use of their local knowledge and involve them in the search for suitable property as it doesn’t cost you anything and will save you a lot of time. A local lawyer with knowledge of land and property law will ensure that you have a safe transaction. Title documents and all contracts and paperwork involved in the property buying process will be in Greek, so it is essential to have a local lawyer who can deal with the red tape and translate key pieces of information into English for the real estate buyer.
After you have located a property that you would like to buy, it’s usual for the buyer to sign a purchase agreement that is conditional to the satisfactory completion of searches and surveys and to pay a deposit of between 10 and 30% of the final property price.
As soon as the purchase contract has been signed in front of a notary the buyers lawyer can carry out title deed searches and ensure that everything is in order with the property being purchased. Once all searches and surveys have been conducted satisfactorily it’s possible to proceed to contract closure and this takes place when the vendor and buyer sign the purchase deed - again in front of a public notary.
The additional fees, taxes and charges an investor needs to be aware of when buying investment property in Greece include: -
Notary fees of between 1 and 3% of the property’s price.
Lawyers fees which are usually 1% of the property’s price unless the real estate being bought exceeds a certain upper threshold limit at which point an additional fee will become payable.
Greek property purchase tax which ranges from 9 - 11% with an additional 2% chargeable on city based property.
Land registration fees which are in the region of 0.3% - 0.45% - and an additional small sum is payable for stamp duty.
Annual property taxes of around 0.25% of the property’s value and a yearly community tax is often levied which amounts to 3% of the real estate’s transfer tax.
When you decide to resell your property remember that you may become liable for capital gains tax which is levied at a rate of between 10 and 25% and which is calculated on a sliding scale based on the length of time the investor has owned the property and the property’s value.