Sofia Pesiou,  Sunday, 10 November 2013

 

This article is part of a series of 8 articles about buying property in Greece. The other articles in the series cover the following topics:

Property Buying Guide
Property prices in different regions of Greece
How to choose the right estate agent
Buying Process
Costs
Taxes and Fees
Mortgages

The buyer of the property usually makes a small deposit 10-15% of the whole amount and then the seller signs all the contracts. For the transaction to be considered complete, the buyer needs to produce the following documents:

1. Identity card or passport.
2. Proof of payment of Property Transfer Tax (also known as FMA) by the Tax Office. The notary must have issued proofs for calculating the objective value (Tax Assessed Value) of the property to be transferred in a special statement and must have presented a copy to the local Tax Office In case of tax exemption for the purchase of the buyer, he must submit the following documents to the local Tax Office:
   A sworn declaration which will state that the buyer has never received a tax exemption in the past and that he does not have full ownership of other house or flat in the country.
   A certificate of the buyer’s marital status.
   A copy of the tax statement of recent years and a copy of the taxation form E9 certified by the Tax Office or a statement of the previous year’s income by the local Tax Office if the buyer is not Greek.
   A certificate from the local topographic urban office for that property.
3. A sworn declaration that the property is not on a stream, shoreline or a beach or on a border area of the country (if the prefecture is near the borders) issued by the local Land Registry.

The seller of the property should submit a number of relevant documents so as for the transaction to be complete and then the notary along with the lawyer of the buyer should check the authenticity of them.

These documents are:

1. Tax certificate of the property to be sold issued at the Tax Office.
2. A copy of the tax clearance of the seller and a proof that he does not owe any amount of money to the National Insurance (former IKA, recently renamed EOPYY) if the seller is the owner of a business. In any other case, a sworn certificate, checked by the notary and attached to the contract that the seller is not required to produce any tax clearance, will be enough.
3. A certificate of no debt of the property (TAP) by the urban department of the local Municipality along with a recent paid bill from the National Company of Electricity(DEI)
4. The title of ownership of the property to be sold either the contract of purchase or the acceptance of heritage if the property was a legacy. In that case, a certificate from the Tax Office stating that the specific property has been a parental benefit or inheritance.
5. A certificate that the property has been enlisted to the newly-founded National Cadaster. Therefore the property should have a 12-digit number along with the specific information about its location in the prefecture.
6. A sworn declaration (notarized by the Tax Office) that the property is included in the tax statement form (E9).
7. A sworn declaration from the Tax Office that the seller is not required to make a large property statement that year.
8. A sworn declaration that the property is not a source of income for the seller. In the opposite case, a copy of the tax statement of the seller should be presented.
9. A copy from the urban department of the municipality that the building has been constructed after 14/03/1983, or a certificate of good condition of the building if it was built before that date.
10. A certificate from the Municipality that there are no overdue debts of the property.
11. A copy that the Single Property Tax (ETAK) has been paid.
12. A copy of the topographical chart statement from the civil engineer who drew that.
13. Permission from the local authorities that the property is not situated on designated border area.
14. An energy certificate performance is required for each property greater than 50m ² since 1.1.2011.

The aforementioned certificates should be produced by the buyer and the seller to the notary and be checked for any legal flaws before included in the contract. After the contracts have been signed, the buyer or the notary should submit a copy to the Land Registry so that the new owner will obtain the transfer certificate of the property.

Throughout the process of transferring of the property, the notary but mainly the buyer’s lawyer must inform the buyer’s documents, check the authenticity of the seller’s documents and also make sure that the buying process will be completed in the most safe and legal manner. Therefore, the presence of a lawyer though not obligatory, is highly advisable as the Greek legal system and the whole buying process may be rather complicated for a foreign buyer due to the bureaucracy and the large numbers of documents needed for that transaction.