Guide to buying property in Greece

Buying a house in Crete is not very different to buying a house in most other European countries, but it does have a few differences.

Before you decide on your property, make sure that it has sufficient room to build any extension you may need. Depending on the area, the land that the house is built on will generally come with a maximum build size stipulation which is very difficult to get increased, if not impossible.

Once you have selected your property, you will need to select a lawyer to do the usual search of the Land Registry for clean title and to ascertain that there are no outstanding debts on the property. If this search is satisfactory, you will generally place a 10% deposit to secure the property at the agreed price. This is done by means of a legal contract that essentially states that if the buyer pulls out, the 10% deposit will be paid to the seller but if the seller pulls out, the buyer will receive back twice the deposit.

As in most countries in the EU, the tax due on the transaction is paid by the purchaser, not the vendor. This is not as bad as it seems, as the tax is paid on what is called the 'assessed price', which is always lower than the sale price. However, you will need to cost in around 7 - 11% of the assessed price to pay this tax. From the 1st of January 2006, the Greek government has increased this 'assessed price' by about 50 %, and at the same time has introduced a 19% vat charge on all new properties where the license to build is granted after the 1st of January. This will only affect you if you buy a ready-built new home from a builder and the build license was granted after 1st January.

The other costs you will need to factor in are the lawyer's fees, the Land Registry fees and the Notary Public fees. As a rule, if you factor in between 10 -15% of the purchase price, you should not have any surprises.

You will most likely have to visit Crete at least twice to secure your property. The first time to look at the properties and decide which is the right one for you, the second time will be after you have decided and secured the property with a deposit. At this stage you will have to go in person (probably with the help of the estate agent or your lawyer) to register for your tax Id. Everyone buying a house must have a Greek tax Id.

If you want more details, you can also view our web log where we are currently running a series of articles on an actual new build.