The first thing to say about the Greek Islands is that they constitute over 30 individual islands not including Cyprus and range from the bustling, lively tourist spots of Zante, Lesvos, Kos, Santorini and Crete to the peaceful but more remote islands of Hydra, Alonissos and Skyros. Property on the Greek Islands is relatively inexpensive and becomes even less costly the more remote you look as accessibility issues have a greater effect on property values. If you are keen to buy property on an island that is more remote you may find the only way of getting there is an irregular ferry service.
Property on Crete, Zante, Kefalonia and many of the other more populous and popular islands is governed by Greek law. Under Greek property laws if a transaction fails to complete once the deposit has been paid and the cause is on the vendor’s side then the purchaser will be entitled to TWICE the deposit as compensation so you can be pretty sure, having paid your deposit, that the sale is unlikely to be abandoned unless something extremely serious occurs.
The language issue always needs to be considered when buying property in a non-English speaking territory as legal documents, tax forms and similar papers may need to be translated for you. Whatever you do, never sign something you do not understand – the costs of translating rarely outweigh the risks of signing a foreign document you cannot read. This is even more the case where the language is written in a different alphabet, as in Greece. Remember, as well, that if you plan to be there long-term you may need to be able to communicate with government officials, health practitioners and others in Greek.
When the preliminary contract has been signed to buy a property in Greece or on one of the islands you need to be aware of everything that happens in or to the property between then and the date of completion as the contract will state that the buyer accepts the property in the condition it is at completion.
The new owner will need to ensure their name is entered onto the land registry. This can take several months in Greece so it is important to ensure the documents are sent off quickly post completion. It can sometimes be worth looking into Title Insurance as this provides comfort to anyone needing it that you have title to the property during the period that the Land Registry takes to enter the details into the official records.
Finally, and most importantly, don’t forget to plan how and when to transfer your money across. Leaving this to the last minute and assuming your bank will always give you the best prevailing rate can cost you another 2%-3% of the price compared to planning it in advance and using a specialist money transfer company. Similarly, if you are moving to Turkey and planning to have money (e.g. a pension) transferred over regularly these companies can save you a bundle in the course of a year.