PROPERTY INVESTMENT

KDK Lawfirm has been assisting foreigners and expatriates in the acquisition of real estate property in Greece. During the last years, increasing interest from abroad has been observed given that Greece has an attractive climate, affordable living cost, excellent quality of life, rich history and culture and all the necessary facilities to draw the attention of foreign buyers to the holiday home market.

According to the global credit rating agency Fitch, the foreign capital income from property acquisition in 2013 has reached 168 million euro, which is approximately 50% above the figures of 2012. In this context, there is strong demand in the Greek holiday home market not only from EU investors, but also from Chinese and Russians, who are looking to benefit from a residence permit for investments in excess of 250.000 euro. Additionally in January 2014 legislative incentives have been provided and the transfer tax on properties has decreased from 11% to 3%. In this ambit, KDK Lawfirm has developed during the last years a full package of services regarding the acquisition and management of real estate property. We cooperate with Real Estate Agencies, Notaries, Engineers and Accountants in order to provide a transparent, straightforward and secure framework in the transactions. We assist our clients in their negotiations, the legal and technical due diligence procedure before the acquisition and the tax declarations and necessary administrative steps after the completion of the transaction. The steps of a usual acquisition transaction can be summarized as follows:

  • Information note on the steps and the cost of the transaction
  • Power of Attorney
  • Application and acquisition of a Greek VAT identification number (“Α.F.M.” in greek)
  • Legal research at the Land Registry to ensure that the property is free of claims
  • In case of buildings, technical report of engineer regarding the conformity of the building with the building license and issuance of the Electronic identity of the property
  • In case of lands without buildings, issuance of relevant certificate from the Engineer
  • Investigation wether the property is part of the forest lands and if it is archeological site
  • Preliminary contract in Greek/English or greek/French
  • Opening of a bank account of the buyer if he/she wishes and transfer of money of the price and costs
  • Payment of transfer tax
  • Final contract and
  • Registration of the signed contract at the Local Land Registry