EU citizens are able to own property in the majority of areas in Greece although some restrictions apply to non-EU citizens. However, as long as the correct procedures are followed, the purchase of a piece of land or a house is not a difficult process.

Whether you are buying land, building a new house or renovating an old one, it is important that you appoint an architect before you buy.

This is an outline of the steps to be followed in order to make your purchase problem free. We will, of course, be on hand to assist you.

Securing your land/property. Agree a purchase price with your agent.

Appoint an architect. If you are planning to build a new house or undertake major renovations to an existing house you will need to obtain a building permit. A building permit can take several months to obtain and the cost is dependent on the size of your property, for example a 120m2 house would cost around €4,000 (approx. £2,600), a 200m2 house would cost around €8,800 (approx. £5700). Your appointed architect will initially be able to advise you on this and the feasibility of your proposed build in accordance with the local planning authority's criteria. If you are buying land your architect will initially survey the land and draw up a topographical survey if one is not already available.

Appoint a Notary and Lawyer. After a decision has been made to purchase, a Greek bank account must be opened. As a minimum, a deposit of 10% of the purchase price must be deposited into this account. This is non-refundable should the purchaser back out after the agreement has been signed. If the vendor backs out then the deposit is refunded plus a further 10% (if a pre-contract states this). The lawyer will carry out the necessary searches to ensure that the property/land has a clean title (this is important as some properties/plots have multiple owners), check the title against the topographical survey and the Notary will advise on the 'assessed value' of the land/property. This will be set at a lower value than the actual purchase price and benefits the purchaser when paying other costs - see below. Should everything be in order he or she will then draw up a contract which includes a written description of the property/land and includes the topographical survey. Upon exchange of contracts, executed in the presence of the Notary and the vendors and buyer's lawyers, the balance of the monies is paid and the Notary will ensure that you are registered with the land registry as the new owner. In some cases is it possible to dispense with the 'pre-contract' stage and go directly to final contract. It is possible to grant power of attorney to a resident of Greece, be it your lawyer, your agent or a person of your choice, who will be able to sign the purchase contract if you are unable to be here in person. This attracts legal and professional fees but is invariably cheaper than the cost of you making another trip.

Fees and Expenses. The 'assessed value' is often lower than the true purchase price. The fees of the Notary, your lawyer's fees and the purchase tax are always paid by the purchaser and are calculated on this 'assessed value'. The Notary fee is 2%,the Lawyer's fee is between 1.5% and 2% and the land registry fee is 1%.

Purchase Tax. This is calculated at 9% on the first €15,200 (approx. £10,000) and 11-13% on the remainder and needs to be paid directly to the tax office.

Local Taxes. House owners have to pay a Public Tax every second month which is incorporated in the electricity bill.

Property Taxes. If the "assessed value" of one's house exceeds the amount of €175,000 (for one person) or €350,000 (for a couple) property taxes must be paid. For example, this would amount to €450 (approx. £300) for a single person based on a property value of €330,000 (approx. £220,000). This obviously only applies to properties at the top end of the market.

Village Limits. The usual rule of thumb is that if plot of land lies within the village plan, planning permission will be granted for more or less any plot. However, if the land lies outside the area of the village one can build on a plot of a minimum of 4,000 m2, as long as there are no archaeological or forestry restrictions (the cutting down of fir trees is prohibited by law). There is usually some flexibility for land which borders the village boundary, but once again, your architect will advise on this. These rules have come into place to halt the unchecked development of buildings which have sprung up in other parts of Greece.

Building Costs. There are many dependencies which affect the cost of building or renovation, for example condition of property if renovating, difficult access, proximity of water/electricity, style of build (e.g. stone, render, pre-fabricated) level of finish, your choice of fixtures and fittings, fluctuating labour and material charges. As a rough guide you should estimate:

New Build: between €1,000 and €1,600 (£650-£1,040) per m2
Renovation: between €600 and €1,000 (£390-£650) per m2

General Information

In Greece the architect can sometimes be the builder/clerk of works/general foreman all rolled into one! If you wish to have a separate builder overseeing your building work, you must have this clause inserted into the architectural contract.

The Building Permit, IKA (like national insurance) and VAT are not always included in the price of the contract so it is important to check this fact. Usually they are an additional cost.

You must have a Greek tax number before you can purchase a property or land in Greece. The procedure for obtaining this is fairly involved, however, we will assist you with this.

In Greece, if one buys a house, land, a boat or a car, this must be declared to the Greek authorities one year after purchase, usually between March and April. We use the services of an accountant in Sitia who will fill out the necessary paperwork as well as request certain documents which will be in the possession of our clients after they have bought some kind of property here. They will charge a small fee.

Assistance

As part of our after sales service we offer 5 hours free assistance which can be used in any way you wish. After the first 5 hours we can offer assistance at a rate of €25 per hour or part thereof.

We have introduced a charge of €50 for viewing properties. This sum will be reimbursed if a property is subsequently purchased within 6 months of the viewing date.