Greece Real Estate Practices

Greece is finalizing the process of establishing a universal land registry system. It is strongly advised that a local attorney be utilized to effectively search title of the property. Foreigners are permitted to purchase property in all regions of Greece with the exception of land on or near the country's borders.

Real Estate Practices

The same agent can represent both parties of a real estate transaction. Fewer than half of all real estate transactions in Greece are administered by real estate agents.

Listings are usually not exclusive in Greece. Most clients continue to promote their properties on their own after assigning them to one or more real estate offices.

Both parties of a real estate transaction pay a portion of the commission with each paying between two and five % of the final sale price.

An owner is required to sign a mandate confirming consent to the real estate fee. The mandate also absolves the owner of any fiscal obligation to the agency if the buyer/tenant is found independently, either through another agency or from personal promotion.

Potential buyers/tenants are also required to sign a mandate acknowledging the properties they have knowledge of through each agency prior to the viewing and immediately upon being told the precise address. This is to ensure that the same property is not viewed through more than one agency, thereby creating a problem as to which agency receives the fee.

All fees are payable only upon the signing of the final contract. The main promotional tools are newspapers, Web sites or direct requests from agents’ contacts. The owners of residential properties rarely consent to having signs posted outside their properties. Open houses are unheard of as the owner or tenant would consider it a breach of privacy.

Agents are licensed, although no formal qualifications are required aside from a high school diploma and certificates of good faith issued by the police and government authorities, which certify that the party in question has never been convicted of fraud. Greek universities do not offer degrees in real estate studies. Agents obtain their license by registering with the Greek National Association of Realtors.

Mortgages, also known as hypothecs, may be used to secure debt on real property and must be registered with the Registrar of Hypothecs. Buyers are required by law to be represented by a Greek lawyer in order to complete a transaction.

The Greek real estate market is sometimes slow, but the process itself is not slow. Once both parties come to an agreement, (if the paperwork is in order) it takes about a week to ten days for the transaction to be completed.

Once the buyer decides on a property and the interested parties come to a financial agreement, the buyer's lawyer must examine the titles and deeds, and issue all the documents necessary for a final contract. The final contract is signed in the presence of a notary public as well as a lawyer.

Transfer taxes are paid just before signing the contract. Transfer taxes, notary public fees and lawyer fees amount to between 9 -14% of the property's "objective value.” (The term "objective value" refers to the price that is estimated by the tax authorities for each property on a case-by-case basis). If the actual price of the property is higher than the objective value and is stated on the contract, the 14% tax and fees are calculated on that price.

Information courtesy of World Properties and Investment