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Have you always dreamed of owning a house on the Mediterranean - well now you can realize your dream at a reasonable cost and with a bit of guidance and tips on buying property abroad, in this case, in Greece.
Most of today’s property is purchased in Spain by Western Europeans, however, Spain today is becoming a saturated real estate market where property is acquired in highly exploited areas of the country. Out of the remaining full European Union (EU) member countries situated around the Mediterranean, Greece looks the most vibrant with a plethora of unexploited locations for property development.
The Greek property market consists nowadays of summer homes which have been converted to all year round residential properties. This is due to the great demand of property in Greece since the mid-1990s leading to a very favorable climate for investing and buying estate in Greece in the last few years.
Before that time little property development on the islands and on the mainland took place due to property buying restrictions leaving lots of land unused and undeveloped (prior to the 1990s holiday or retirement homes were few to be found in Greece).
Now as the investments in this new Mediterranean property market (with more than 1500 miles of coast line) have rapidly increased seizing the opportunity for becoming a homeowner in Greece has never been more prevalent amongst Europeans before - as it has now been acclaimed to the forefront of property buying preferences of many foreigners (previously being Spain and France).
The Greek islands are receiving the most attention from property developers and their clients leaving them well-developed in the years to come. However, the mainland, in particularly Chalkidiki, are still seeing what the Greek islands saw a few years ago, making it a even more attractive and personal place to buy property in.
From a legal perspective, these exists a system of bureaucracy involving stacks of documents needing to be approved and sorted out before any transactions of property can take place. We at Greek Homes can significantly facilitate for our clients the documentation necessary with our free of charge legal advice thanks to our previous experience with selling estate to both EU and non-EU citizens in Greece. Be rest assured that we will together with our English speaking notaries and solicitors take care of all the papers paving way for a stress-free experience of buying a new home in Greece. This will save you costs that can be incurred from hiring a real estate agent.
Notary and legal expenses
The notary fees are in-between 1.5% to 2% of the property value. There is also a cost for the government’s contractual stamps, and the Greek Land Registry Authority (Υποθηκοφυλάκειο) costs, which are calculated at a rate of 0.5% on the price of the property. Finally the lawyer’s fee is about 1.5% of the actual price of the property.
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A distinction should be made between non-EU citizens and EU citizens applying for property, as the latter require less documentation for application. Otherwise irrespective of the origin or nationality of the person seeking to buy property, all property owners share the same rights and all the estates that are sold, are done on freehold.
As a non-EU citizen we can obtain a paper (under a certain set of required conditions) from the Greek Ministry of Defense (based in the capital, Athens) for special ownership rights of the purchased property with no costs attached.
You will receive a warranty title that confirms your ownership rights of the property (house and land) you purchase in Greece. Since the properties you are buying are new there can be no claims of property rights by other owners. The plot of land has also been bought and is assured to be split among the property buyers of the different houses we are selling.
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The Buying Process » | Advantages of Buying Property in Greece » | Mortgages: Getting a Home Loan in Greece »»
