The current Greek legislation provides that a sale and
purchase contract of real estate must be made in writing and notarised.
A
notary will prepare the contract and then fill in and submit an appropriate tax
application to the authorised tax authority.
The tax (for transfer of ownership
or VAT) is paid by the buyer before the signing of the Basic, notarised
contract of sale and purchase of real estate.
The transaction itself is
conducted in the following way: the lawyer of the buyer pays appropriate tax;
on the same, or the following, day the Basic agreement is signed by both buyer
and seller. The notary negotiates with the parties in advance and agrees the
date and time of signing of the contract and then reads it to the parties
present at the signing.
Each party signing the contract may transfer the
authority to represent their interests to another person (usually, it is a
lawyer of our company) granting him or her power of attorney.
The power of
attorney may be signed by a notary (in Greece or place of residency) or in a
Greek consulate abroad.
Power of attorney certified by a foreign notary should
be formally recognised in Greece, which means it must have an apostille on it.
The
duties of a notary include explaining to the parties their treaty obligations
and rights arising out of the sale and purchase, as well as making sure that
the parties understand their responsibilities. This is usually done by reading
the contract aloud to the parties before signing.
The sale and purchase
agreement must be drafted in Greek language because it is an official language.
The buyer takes an interpreter to the process of signing the agreement.
This
usually is an employee of our company who produces oral translation of all
provisions of the agreement and in witness whereof he or she also signs the
contract.
After the signing, the agreement is sent for registration in the
Register of real estate and this is the final stage of the transaction.
