Looking for advice on home-buying related services

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If you have never been to Greece before why do you want to buy property in Athens?

SimCityAT
Expat Team

Hi,

Multiple reasons: to get a golden visa relatively cheap, whereby I can visit other Schengen countries visa-free; historical sites, architectural ruins,  sculptures that Greece as origin of western civilization many to offer; visited Croatia, Slovenia and two other Balkan nations, the coastal lines, crystal clear waters, inland scenes, Roman and Venetian cities are simply breathtaking, I expect Greece to offer no less further down south; weather, relatively low cost of living, relative proximity to my home country...

As a non-EU or western citizen, my choices are not as wide as others.

Hello xhhu,I have much information for you.First of all you will be very happy to be living here in Greece,I read an article about a Chinese man having upped himself and family to Greece and said..it was the best decision of my life..my husband and I are at the present time going through buying and selling of property,its mind blowingly..um..what shall I say..err,a test of ones nerves.However it is doable with a very good Symvoliographo and lawyer,oh and accountant,of which we have all to recommend to you.They are not a joint team but will often communicate between them,laws have changed alot on property, making simvolio to tear their hair out,we have a super one,a woman,nothing gets past her or our lawyer,our lawyer found out that the house we were were buying was not yet in the deceased owners sons name and when the deceased owner bought the land he paid in installments but the receipts could not be found so in theory a relative of the land seller from way back when could come forward and claim the land,you get the jist,its mind blowing,but I guess you will buy a fairly new house that will not have any illegal additions or coverings to verandas.when someone wants to sell a property now new rules mean that they must pay a mechanic to come to the property with the original outline plan and check,measure for any changes or additions which would be illegal,outside of the original license.Your symvolio will make a list for your seller to do,paper work,or it may be that you will pay for a legal person to do all of this for you,depends on your pocket.It actualy is the seller that gets all the grief mainly,not the buyer,your lawyer will be given the sellers title deeds to go off and confirm ownership,takes a day,ours charged 250 euros to do that.When you pay your deposit your lawyer makes a legally binding paper with the terms laid out.100 euro for that paper,you will not get a Bulgaria type situation here with dodgy stuff going on,maybe in the past but generally not now.You may leave your Golden Visa application with a law firm who will not bother you for anything..only the bill at the end,but ask away any questions you have.Just to add that of course the Golden Visa also allows for your close relatives to be included in the deal which is great.

Just to give you a little taster of what Symvolio might pick up..she said..have you got your patio out the back added to your property tax declaration,you must pay for that in with the rest of the apartments tax if it is only yours,NO You must now pay your accountant to rectify this with the tax office,most accountants are super close to tax office workers and give them tips at Christmas haaa,so we paid the penalty for five years non disclosure and five years back tax,lucky only 150 in total,must pay the accountant of course.We actually didnt know about patios but some people do naughty things on their property here,not good idea as it comes back boomerang later.

Hello concertina, thank you for your detailed reply and offer of help. Glad that you have a nice female  Symvoliographo to recommend. I read the Greek American Dorian Kokas' article mentioning that Symvolios are all ladies, while civil engineers are all gentlemen, and that a Greek property could have 200 claimants to the title who jump out of nowhere to challenge a transaction. In China neither lawyers nor public notaries are necessary as all real estate as well as encumbrances are centrally registered and the tax regime is different. My immediate concern is with AFM and bank account, without which I cannot proceed. I‘ll send you message separately. Have a nice day.

As SymcityAT says its best to have least visited the country you intend to spend 250.000 euros in,another member here asked other members to choose which country they should move to,how can we do that.If you want to take on such a large enterprise then you must do all the ground work required to make that happen and must I think not be pinching on money because such a move needs large funds readily available.The pandemic will delay your plans on this project and so later perhaps you will visit at least the country and area that you wish to invest in.

Hi concertina, you are right. I don't intend to buy homes in Greece without viewing them in person. Some lawyers stated that I need to visit Greece only for fingerprint collection when filing application for residence permit, as if on site examination of an investment as tangible, personal, and significant as real estate can be skipped. I don't think it's a good idea. AFM and bank account are different. These are not investment per se but prerequisite conditions to fulfill.That's why I wish to set up early and remotely. Moreover,  we cannot simply buy ticket and fly to Greece like EU or other  western  citizens. We normally need visa, often single entry ones, to enter foreign lands, making our plans lengthier and costlier to implement than others. Covid-19 further complicates things, with higher airfares, difficult visas, and possible 14-day quarantine period back home. That's why I ask for information, advice and assistance. I somehow believe posts and replies from forum members give more real pictures of life in Athens or Greek in certain ways than commercial service providers. Your comments regarding the role of symvolio, advice on homes with strong columns, lower floors, warnings against earthquakes and lifts fees, and achievable modest living costs... are noted with thanks. I didn't get these from professionals.

Hello xhhu,Im glad you found some previous posts helpful,thats the idea here and yes getting the Golden Visa requires time and good nerves,learn to wait and all can be achieved,Greece does not move fast on paper-work in public offices, in fact recently my husband had to go to the local tax office for something on the sale of our apartment but our accountant said..no no,its better I go for you or else you may wait one month especially if they dont like your face haaaa.. and as he looks like a villain but is actually a lamb it may have been a long wait.She got it immediately.So always everyone keep real close to your accountant.Did you see my recent post about getting your tax number on line?I guess the idea is to keep the general public away from the offices as they might have Covid,do everything on line.Do you intend to buy in Athens city or further afield,I personally find it hellish there but if one doesnt intend to be there all the time,just travelling about then I guess its a good base,of course you will get more for your money if you go a bit away,what seems like fun in the beginning in a very busy city can turn quickly into a nightmare but you know what you want.You of course have to spend minimum 250.000,its 500.000 in Portugal I think and elsewhere.Once you get your tax number you must then every June submit tax returns to your accountant and until you buy your property you will just write on it..nothing to declare..It costs for my husband and I 40 euros,a couple can have joint tax papers or separate.You cant just leave a company to buy a property for you,you must take your own mechanic to look at something you have seen and want.