The land that we are offering is much less expensive than  building land in the busy coastal areas, and will be a particularly good investment.

Legal Aspects of Property Purchase

Normally you would pay a deposit of 10%.  On payment of the deposit an agreement is signed which confirms both parties details, the description of the property and other conditions pertinent to the sale. Your lawyer will hold the deposit until all the requirements have been satisfied and the sale is authorized.

By Greek law the deposit is non-refundable - should the prospective purchaser back out after the agreement has been signed.

If the vendor backs out of the sale the deposit is refunded plus a 10% indemnity paid by the vendor.

Property transactions are always executed by a notary and in the presence of two lawyers who represent the vendor and the  prospective purchaser.

The lawyer of your choice and the Notary will carry out the necessary  searches to ensure that the property has a clean title.

Your lawyer will deal with the local regulations, and carry out the searches. The Notary will not allow any sale to proceed should any of the papers or deeds not be in order.

This process is relatively straightforward and could be completed quickly, especially in the case of this particular land,  Should the prospective purchaser not be present, the usual procedure is to give Power of Attorney to the purchasers lawyer. Power of  Attorney can also be arranged in the respective purchasers country of origin, via the Greek Consulate.

Should the purchaser change his/her mind then this Power of Attorney can be cancelled at any time.

Expenses

Notary's  Fee         approx 500€

Lawyers Fee           approx 500€

Purchase tax         approx 900€

Architectural Survey
(Topograph): This is a  formal document prepared by an architect and gives a technical description of the property. Based on this the  Notary Public makes the written description of the property and a copy of this forms part of the contract. The cost of these documents was 800 Euro. A new purchaser should have the topos drawn again theoretically.

Estate agents fee - unless the buyer wishes to engage an estate agent to help with the buying process, there will be no estate agent fees in this case.

The prospective purchaser meets the above expenses

The assessed value for tax purposes is usually lower than the actual purchase price. This is an advantage to the purchaser. However, this will change in the future when Greece falls into line with European Community Regulations.

This will eventually result in some  changes to the way property is assessed.

Property Taxes

There is no significant cost of ownership of property in Greece.

Community charge and television licences are paid with your  the electricity bill every second month. If you use alternative energy systems, solar and wind power, you will be free from electricity bills - and power cuts!

Transfer of Funds

When you have transferred funds from your bank account to Greece, it is a good idea to retain the documentation (known as pink slips) in order to ensure that you are exempt from local taxes. (You will need to open a Greek bank account and obtain a tax number from the tax authorities).

Building Costs

V.A.T is applicable on new builds, replacing purchase tax, which has been abolished.

 Planning Permission

For plots outside village limits, planning permission can be granted if the land is a minimum of 4,000 m2, there are no forestry or archaeological restrictions and 25 metres of the boundary is along a public road.

The total m2 that you are allowed to build is set by individual planning authorities and follows a sliding scale.

For instance on the minimum plot size of 4000 m2 you would be allowed to build approximately 220 m2, which increases with the size of the plot. The building has to be positioned 15 metres away from the plot boundaries .