Buying on Evia

Once you've found your perfect Greek home, it’s important that you use a good English speaking, Greek lawyer and we can put you in touch with an excellent lawyer, based in Athens. His wife was brought up on Evia and they have a holiday home in Almiropotamos – so they know the island well.

The Process

Once you’ve agreed a price for your home on Evia, you need a tax number before you can complete the purchase (keep your tax number safe – you’ll need it from time to time, e.g to open a bank account). You can either meet the lawyer at the tax office in Athens, or he can do it for you if you give him Power of Attourney. If you give Power of Attourney in this early stage, the lawyer can do everything on your behalf, including signing the contract.

You may need to pay some money in advance – to cover tax, expenses and possibly a deposit. The lawyer will visit the tax office on Evia to pay the tax on your behalf. In addition to the lawyers fee, you need to allow for an additioal 10-11% of the purchase price to cover the property transfer tax, Notary fees, stamp duty and land registry fee. If your property has a building permit which was applied for after 11/06, it will be subject to VAT at 19%, instead of the usual property transfer tax.

One important document is the “Topographica” – this is their equivalent of a land registry plan – but much more detailed. You can check this, to make sure you know where your boundaries are.

Once the lawyer is satisfied that everything is in order he’ll ask you to visit Athens to sign the contract (unless he has Power of Attourney) and transfer the final balance. You can do this from a UK bank account - it takes 2 – 5 days, depending on the bank and the urgency/fee you agree to pay (approximately £25 - £45).

That’s it! It really is quite straightforward. You’ll need to get your property insured, which you can do through a UK insurance agent or a local agent on Evia (we can recommend companies to you). You’ll also need to visit your local electricity office to put the electricity bill in your name (we can supply an interpreter if necessary).

There are no other taxes or rates (no council tax!) to pay.

The only thing left to say is “Kalo Risiko” (good roots!).