Now that you have visited the area and have done all your research on property you are now ready to view with a serious intention to buy. There are certain things that you need to know about the purchasing procedure in Greece, which is very ‘hands on’ and nothing like the procedure back home and there are some standard requirements that you can set in place before you even find the property.
You will need a Greek lawyer in the area who speaks your language – it is a good idea to actually meet the lawyer and discuss in detail the services that you will be paying for, the lawyer’s fee for the service offered bearing in mind that should you hire the lawyer you will need to place a retainer for the initial title search. Whatever anyone says and no matter how little money might be spent on your property purchase you MUST HAVE A LAWYER.
If you are not planning to be in country during the procedure then it is advisable to give your lawyer power of attorney in order to complete all the paperwork for you as well as sign notarized pre-sale agreements and final contracts on your behalf.
In most cases a power of attorney will be a general one allowing the lawyer to buy any property anywhere in Greece at any price and under any terms and conditions. This sounds daunting and dangerous therefore a few lawyers do insist that the clause is inserted stating that the property, purchase price and terms and conditions have to be confirmed to the lawyer in writing by the buyer before moving ahead (this way the lawyer is legally covered as well as yourself). This is a clause that you should demand to be included in the contract.
The lawyer will need to have access to your money! A lot of powers of attorneys state the bank account number allowing the lawyer to withdrawn amounts. Here I would advise for this not to be so. It is very easy for you to set up your bank account in Greece and arrange to have a code number in order to fax instructions for amounts to be transferred from your bank account to your lawyer’s account. Your lawyer will have to arrange to open an account with the same bank as you unless they already have one. This way you know exactly what is going out of your account, what it is being used for and whom it is going to.
You will need, as mentioned above, a Greek bank account, which are relatively easy to open. All your money coming in to Greece MUST
pass through your account before moving elsewhere. Since you will have a Greek tax number and will at some point own property in Greece then you are under the obligation to submit Greek income tax declarations on a yearly basis. You will need to get ‘pink slip’ from your Greek bank in order to prove that the money used was not earned in Greece.
You will need a Greek tax number relatively easy to obtain but you do need to have a Greek resident sign for you and provide a Greek mailing address. This person could be your lawyer or your real estate agent.
You need to have an independent surveyor – you survey your property purchase back home so you need to have an independent survey done here also. This is an additional cost, but well worth it since you do not want any very unpleasant surprises down the road!
You will need the services of an interpreter since all documents will be in the Greek language. Your lawyer cannot be your interpreter nor should your real estate agent since it would be conflicting interest.
NOTE: Greek lawyer checks that titles are good and clean i.e. no debts and your surveyor checks that the land and/or building is legal and correctly measured and that the various rules and regulations for the area and building zone are correct.
There are legal expenses involved when going through the procedure of purchasing property; therefore, it is advisable to think through and when you have decided on your budget for purchase add 30% on to cover all your legal expenses and real estate agent fees – it probably wont be as much as 30% but it is better to have some money left over rather than find extra funds at the last moment.
The above guideline information is provided by Sarah McKellen, a licenced real estate agent with offices in Kalamata and desk space in Kardamili Square (by appointment only).
Golden Rules
·Open a bank account and have sufficient funds for a deposit.
·Get a survey done by a personal architect or engineer.
·Talk to people already out there who can recommend English-speaking lawyers, builders.
·Know what you want to buy and work out your budget.
·Check for hidden or additional costs when getting quotes and know what you are getting into.
·Learn some Greek.
McKellen-Messiniaki Properties
Stadiou 35
Kalamata 24100 – Messinia
Tel 27210 80093 / 6934904589
Email: info@mckellen-messiniakiproperties.gr
www.mckellen-messiniakiproperties.gr
