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The Purchase and Propery Ownership
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- All EU citizens can purchase property in Greece. EU citizens have the same rights and obligations as Greek nationals when buying property (either for holiday homes or permanent residence). At the point when you have chosen a plot of land / house / apartment and together we have agreed a price, the purchase process starts.
- In parallel we will also produce a written agreement between Plakias Construction and yourselves. The written agreement will specify exactly what we are selling, what is included in the price, a building specification, completion date, agreed stage payments etc. etc.
- A 10% deposit is usually paid at an early stage in the purchase process. At this point Plakias Construction will stop marketing the land/property and regard it as ‘sold’. This deposit is returnable if, for any reason, Plakias construction can not transfer the land to yourselves.
- NOTE: Stage payments involving construction of a house will usually be a series of small payments – approved by yourselves in accordance with agreed progress.
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Purchase Expenses - Taxes and Charges
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- In order to own land in Greece, the law states that the owner must have a ‘tax number’. Your tax number will be obtained by the lawyer at an early stage in the purchase process.
- Unlike some Northern European countries, the purchaser bears the full costs of the transfer of land/property. These costs are as follows:
- ‘Property Transfer Tax ’. This is a 10% tax on the ‘evaluated’ value of the land. This is based on the published government value which is usually below the market price.
- Legal Fees - Notary and land Registry Fees are usually 2.5% of the ‘evaluated’ tax value.
- If a new topography is required, this can cost between €250 – 400€.
- Plakias Construction will ‘cap’ all these costs – including any additional Architects Fees – to a maximum of 10% of the purchase price. In January 2006 the Greek government applied 19% VAT tax to the sale of existing properties.
ANNUAL TAXES
- There will be no other taxes to be paid when (say) a house has been completed on the land. There is a small local tax (council tax equivalent) which is included in the electricity bills which are issued every 2 months.
- The government sets an official value for every house. This is significantly less than the market price. If – and this would be a very rare occurrence associated with a large house - the official value is more than €200,000 if in sole ownership or €350,000 in joint names a tax will be levied.
- Typically if a house were officially valued at (say) €300,000 and in sole ownership the tax would be approximately €330.
TAX DECLARATION
- As a property owners in Greece you are required to submit an annual Tax Return whether or not you are resident in Greece and whether or not you have income in Greece. This is best done by an accountant. The tax year ends on 31st December.
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