1. What is needed in order to buy a property in Greece?
Any foreign person or company that intends to buy a property in Greece should follow the procedures bellow:
- Have a Greek Tax Registry Number (ΑΦΜ). We can help you register at the Tax Office if you are not registered yet, or an accountant of your choice can do this for you.
- Have a Greek bank account in your name. Money destined for your purchase must come through a bank account in your name, in order to avoid paying income taxes for the amount of money for the purchase. To open a bank account in Greece you need first to have the Tax registry number mentioned above. We can help you with the bank of your choice.
- Hire an Architect, an Engineer or a Surveyor, to ensure that everything concerning the constructability and the planning permissions of the property in question are lawful. Our partner DOMON-architects can offer you this service. However Habit with Domon staff have already made a preliminary summary check of all properties represented in our portfolio. If a property has any legal defect we don't include it in our data base and we don't represent it.
- Hire a Lawyer. Lawyers take care of all necessary legal property surveys and conduct a property title check for the past 20 years. They ensure that the property is free of any mortgage notes, claims, expropriations, rights of way and, in general, any legal encumbrances. We shall collaborate with the lawyer of your choice.
- Hire an Accountant. An accountant will help you with tax returns and explain property taxation laws to you. Most importantly he will take care of your income declarations for the years to come, as all property owners in Greece must deposit an income declaration to the Tax Office (even if it is with zero income). We will also collaborate with the accountant of your choice.
- Hire a Notary. A notary public is a government-appointed lawyer who processes and certifies all real estate transactions, including drawing up and reviewing all official documents, to ensure the legal transfer of the property.
2. What is the buying process and how can I ensure the acquisition of the property I have chosen?
Buying process
The process is fairly quick and uncomplicated. As a general rule, you must first find a property.
- Make sure financing for the purchase is secured.
- Appoint your lawyer, notary public, architect (or surveyor), and accountant.
- Apply for your Tax Registry Number (AΦM).
- Open a Greek bank account.
- Sign a pre-contract (private or in Notary) detailing terms of sale and payment schedule paying a 10 percent deposit to secure the property by removing it from the market. Usual payment methods include cash, bank transfer or credit card.
If living abroad, return to Greece to sign the final contract, after all legal work is completed from lawyer, architect, accountant and notary (6 to 10 weeks usually). Alternatively, your lawyer or another person may sign for you if he or she has been granted full Power of Attorney. Upon signing of the final contract, all fees and taxes must be paid.
Ensuring the acquisition of the property you have chosen
When you have chosen the property that suites you, until all legal procedures are finished (as mentioned above), you can sign a pre-contract, or private agreement, for the purchase, with the owner or the real estate agent that represents him, describing all terms of the purchase and the terms of payment as well, giving a 10% of the price as a deposit in order to remove the property from the market. Note that if the research of your lawyer or architect reveal any legal problem you will receive your deposit back in full.
When you sign a private agreement it is important that you are absolutely certain that this is the property you want, and that you feel you are under no pressure to sign a contract and pay a deposit. Should you decide to withdraw from the purchase, you will lose your deposit. In the case that the owner changes his/her mind, your deposit will be refunded in double.
3. What are the costs, the taxes and other features of a purchase?
Closing costs
Closing costs, including all fees and taxes, are estimated 11 percent on top of the purchase price. However the Tax office calculates a minimum set price of each property by coefficients that as result is usually lower than the market price of the property. In this case, if the price declared in the contract is the minimum price of the tax office, the amount of 15% will be calculated upon this price. In this case all parties involved must agree.
Tax returns, annual taxes, capital gains
The Greek State has mandated that all property ownership in Greece must be declared by filling out a form (called E9) and submitting it to the Greek Tax Authorities (your accountant will do this). This is mandatory for every property owner in Greece, even for those who live abroad and have never filed tax returns in Greece or do not have an income in Greece. As of 2006, the E9 form will be submitted only by those who either, obtain or sell or dispose of any kind of right over immovable property in Greece. If you own property in Greece but your assets next year have not changed from what they were the year before, you do not have to submit the E9 form again. You cannot file an E9 all by itself. E9 must be submitted alongside with the basic Income tax form (E1). If you have no income in Greece, you enter 0 income in the E1 form, but still, you must submit the E1 as well. The E1 and E9 can be prepared and submitted by your accountant and or lawyer. If you fail to declare a property you will not be able to transfer it later. Additionally, failure to file annual tax returns is subject to penalty, therefore, appointing an accountant and a lawyer early on in the buying process is critical.
Annual property taxes are calculated as follows: Property with an assessed value of less than 150.000 € is exempt from tax. Assessed value is the value calculated from the Tax office with coefficients as mentioned in closing costs section, so is inferior from the market value. The coefficients of annual tax to pay for values over 150.000 € have recently changed and will probably change again, but they are not significant for values assessed up to 700.000 €.
If you want to sell back your property, currently there is no Capital Gains Tax in Greece.
4. Is property insurance necessary?
Property Insurance
Property insurance in Greece is mandatory by law. Although no market standards exist as to the forms of insurance that can be taken out, it is reasonable to suggest that property should be insured against the following risks: fire, earthquake, water damage, glass breaking, storm, theft, and third party indemnisations.
Our company however is representing almost all insurance companies operating in Greece, and can offer different and competitive insurance plans from different insurance companies in order to compare and make your final choice.
5. What is needed in order to sell my property in Greece?
If you wish to sell your property in Greece the procedure is simple. You will have to give a copy of all documentation you have on the property which is as follows:
- Purchase contract, parental gift deed (if the property has been gifted to you by your parents) or any other deed that proves that you are the owner
- Topographical layout of the plot
- The building permit (if your property is a house and was built after 1948)
- A floor plan that goes along with the building permit
We will then make an appointment and you will show us your property and its limits. We will take photos in order to put it in our website as well as in various national and international real estate website we belong to and we will finally send a newsletter to potential buyers.
6. I am not an E.U. citizen. What is the procedure of buying?
All foreign non E.U. citizens must present several documents and wait for some time (months and in some cases for years) for the approval of various government offices and finally for the permit from the Ministry of Defense in order to buy in the frontier areas (such as the Northern Dodecanese islands). Some of the documents are the following (in five copies):
- Application describing the reasons of this purchase in relation of the particular property.
- Curriculum vitae
- Identity data of the lawyer that represents the foreign citizen.
- Certified copies of Passport.
- Certified copies of birth certification (officially translated in Greek).
- Certified copies of criminal records certification (officially translated in Greek).
- Certified copies of the identification of the property to purchase, as topographic layout and position in the official maps.
There might be additional documents that may be required during examination of the application.
An alternate way to purchase a property in the frontier areas for a non EU citizen is through a legal entity in his/her name, based in an EU country. This is fairly commonplace. Setting up and maintaining such a company costs approximately 1.000 euros to establish and 500 to 1.500 euros annually to maintain (depending on the country that you will chose to create this company).
Finally you can obtain a residency permit in Greece by investing in a property with a contractual value of 250.000 Euros or higher.
7. How can I obtain a residency permit in Greece, if I am not a citizen of the E.U.?
You can be granted a residency permit in Greece (you and your family), upon purchasing a property as an individual, with a contractual value of 250.000 Euros or higher.
You may also purchase the property through a legal entity if you are the sole stockholder of the entity.
Alternatively, you may lease tourist accommodation properties for a period of ten years (hotels or holiday homes) or participate in a time-sharing agreement for the same period. The total lease or time-sharing value must equal or exceed the amount of 250.000 Euros.
8. Where do I start?
Before you travel to Greece for this purpose, you must visit the Greek consulate in your country and apply for a special purpose VISA to Greece.
You will be asked to prove your funds (your bank will certify that) for the property purchase and you must also present an agreement with our company stating your intention to purchase or lease a property in Greece.
Ask about the agreement in our web form and we will email it to you right away. These two documents are a necessary precondition.
If you come from a country where a VISA is not necessary to enter Greece, then keep reading.
9. Who will deal with the authorities in order to issue the residency permit?
We can do this for you or a lawyer of your choosing. It is part of our services to handle all the necessary paperwork on behalf of the applicant:
- The application process for the initial residence permit,
- The submission of any additional required documentation
- And finally the collection of the receipt of the residence permit.
10. What is the necessary paperwork for my residency application?
Basically, it’s proof of purchase for the property you have chosen, and health insurance that will cover your medical expenses if needed. You can obtain the insurance coverage in Greece.
11. How long is the residency permit valid and what happens next?
The residency permit is valid for a period of five (5) years. It can be renewed repeatedly if the initial conditions still apply. That is, if you still own the property.
12. How can I build a house in the land that I have purchased?
All procedures and details are explained in our page about constructions.