Buying Property in Greece

Under normal circumstances, a foreign national can purchase property in any part of Greece, but if the buyer is not from European Union, then he/she must obtain prior approval from the local prefecture. This permission can be sought by the help of real estate agents.

The first step of the property purchase is to obtain a tax role number also called AFM. Passport is to be shown by non EU residents and any government issued id is to be shown by members of other EU nations for this. Then the buyer must open a bank account where all the transactions are done in Euro. This is vital because the purchase of land in Greece must come from a Grecian bank. This is followed by the process of obtaining a “Pink Slip” which means that the government allows wire transfer of money for purchase from abroad. With the “pink slip” available, the buyer can get money transferred to the account via wire transfer. However, the taxes will be applicable as per the Grecian laws.
Simultaneously, the notary creates a preliminary contract basis the agreement between the buyer and the seller. This is as soon as the offer is made on the property. During the execution of this agreement, up to 10% of payment is made. This amount is not refundable unless the seller stalls the sales process or the title of the estate cannot be had in the allotted time.

It is between the signing of the preliminary agreement and the final one that the buyer has to verify the credentials of the seller and vice versa. Then a final contract is signed between the 2 parties. Then the title deed is recorded under the name of the buyer at the land registry which can take up to 8 days. Lastly, the transfer is registered in Cadastre. The process takes up to 5 days during which the registrar checks the legality of deeds transfer.