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[BUYING AND SELLING REAL ESTATE IN GREECE]
4. MAIN CONTENT OF THE PURCHASE DEED - The Contracting Parties - Detailed description of the property - Detailed description of the ownership rights of the seller and his predecessors - The price - The payment terms in detail - Other clauses depending on each case. The notary will read the deed aloud for both parties, but purchase deeds are drafted only in Greek. Therefore, non-Greek-speaking purchasers (if personally attending the execution of the deed) will need to appoint a translator. 5. FEES AND EXPENSES CONNECTED WITH THE EXECUTION OF THE NOTARIAL PURCHASE DEED. TO BE PAID BY THE PURCHASER. • Notarial Fees. They are calculated gradually, as a percentage upon the value of the purchase deed, ranging from 0,80% for the part of the value up to 120.000,00 € to 0,10% for any amount beyond 20.000.000,01 €. Notarial fees are subject to VAT 24%. • Lawyer’s Fees . The presence of a lawyer at the time of execution of the purchase deed is no longer required under law. It is, however, strongly recommended, in order to secure the accuracy of the deed’s content in relation to the description of the property, the description of the sequence of rights of the seller and his predecessors, etc. Lawyer’s fees for the performance of the legal due diligence and the attendance of the execution of the purchase deed are agreed between the client and the lawyer and depend on the value of the transaction
and the complexity of each case. Lawyer’s fees are subject to VAT 24%. • Registration Fees. The fees for the registration of the notarial purchase deed with the Land Registry or Cadastre amount approximately to 0,475% upon the value of the deed and are subject to VAT 24%. 6. FINANCING The most common way of financing the purchase of a real estate property is through a bank loan. In order to grant a loan, Greek banks examine the financial situation of the purchaser. Greek banks have the current commercial value of the property estimated by a civil engineer of their own choice and grant loans for an amount not exceeding the 70-75% of such estimation. Before the loan is disbursed (directly to the seller) the bank shall register a mortgage upon the property for an amount of approx. 120% of the loan. 7. TAX TREATMENT a. Taxes imposed at the time of purchase of the property. To be paid by the purchaser.
Transfer Tax Before the execution of the notarial purchase deed, the purchaser is obliged to pay the corresponding transfer tax. Such tax amounts to 3% upon the value of the property. It should be noted that Greek Law also provides for an exemption – under certain conditions – from the payment of the transfer tax. This exemption applies only to purchasers that already reside or intend to be established in Greece and fall into the following categories: (i) Greeks, (ii) repatriates from Albania, Turkey and countries
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ILN Real Estate Group – Buying and Selling Real Estate Series
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