First time buyer? It is important to understand the property buying process, the people that are involved, and the pitfalls that may occur. To avoid disappointment, it is important to be assertive and open-minded, and not to be blinkered too much by the visions of your dream home.

Firstly, you need to run a search on our website and select some island properties for sale which interest you. Then, after you have arranged your trip to Corfu, you need to inform us about the dates as soon as possible, where you are staying, and your contact details. This is important as things become booked up very quickly, especially in the summer. We will then agree dates and times to show you around all the properties of interest, and answer all of your questions.

Should you decide to proceed, it would be a good idea to have your finances ready before you make your viewing trip, as otherwise, by the time you return home and arrange things, your dream home may be sold.

The Deposit
To secure your property, you are required to pay a deposit of 10% of the purchase price, which is normally required for signing the preliminary sale agreement.

Lawyer
We advise you to appoint an English speaking lawyer, preferably one who is reasonably local as they will be on the spot to do certain inquiries and will know local laws and regulations. They can check for clean title, help to fix the “assessed value”, and ensure that the property is free from outstanding taxes which the new owner would otherwise inherit. Property transactions in Greece always require the presence of lawyers representing both parties, and the notary, who will not authorise the sale without the appropriate tax papers and deeds being in order. At this stage, if a vendor backs out, after a pre-contract has been signed, they get their deposit back, plus the fact that they will pay them an equal sum as a penalty. If you back out, you will lose your deposit.

Completion
Once all the papers are ready and in order, completion can quickly take place. The notary will have already prepared an official contract which is then signed at their offices, in the presence of lawyers representing both sides. If the customer decides not to be present, they can agree to a power of attorney for their lawyer to act on their behalf.

Purchase Costs
The purchase tax, legal and Notary fees are paid for by the purchaser in Greece. These are calculated against the “officially assessed price” of the property and not the actual selling price. In order to keep costs down, the “officially assessed price” can be as much as a third cheaper than the actual selling price. Overall, purchasers should expect to pay 2.38% (V.A.T is included) of the property value as a fee for the real estate agent. 7.21% purchase tax accounts for the first, a total of 15000.00 euros and 9.21% accounts for the remainder. The Notary will also ask you to pay another 2% of the tax assessed value, including subsequent registration fees. Finally, 2% accounts for the lawyer.