The Real Estate Purchase Process in Greece: What Actually Happens Between Choosing and Registration

In recent years Greece has been showing an impressive digitization of the real estate purchase process: digital tax declarations, an electronic property ID, and a fresh reform that expands the powers of the notary. But digitization changes the interface, not the substance: there are still several stages that must happen in the right order, there are still two parallel land registries in Greece, and you need to know in which of them the property is registered.

Below is the process as it actually works today, step by step.

1Stage 1: How do you obtain a Greek tax number (AFM)?

Every foreign buyer, including an Israeli, must open a file with the Greek tax authority and receive a tax identification number (AFM) before any legal action in respect of the property. Without an AFM you cannot sign a contract, pay taxes or register a property in the buyer's name, and the notary and the tax authority cannot process the transaction.

It is also recommended to open a Greek bank account. This is not an absolute legal condition in every transaction, but it streamlines the handling of payments later.

2Stage 2: What is a preliminary agreement (Prosymfono) and when do you sign it?

After a property has been found and a price agreed, the accepted practice in Greece is to sign a preliminary agreement (Προσύμφωνο, Prosymfono) and pay a deposit, usually at a rate of 10% of the transaction price. Sometimes a smaller "reservation" deposit of 2% to 5% is paid first, to take the property off the market for a short time while the checks begin.

The preliminary agreement is a binding document. If the buyer withdraws without legal justification, he or she loses the deposit. If the seller withdraws, he or she must return double the amount paid, under article 402 of the Greek Civil Code.

This is where many foreign investors fail. The most common mistake in the Greek market is signing the preliminary agreement and paying the deposit before an initial legal review of the property has been carried out, sometimes under pressure from a broker who wants to close quickly. We recommend the opposite: even if the preliminary agreement is signed at a relatively early stage in the process, your lawyer must carry out at least an initial ownership and rights check before signing, not after. The full review, including the digital property ID and all certificates, can continue in parallel during the preliminary agreement period. But the basic check, which confirms that the seller is the owner and that there is no visible pledge, should not wait.

A preliminary agreement can be signed as a private agreement or before a notary. In most cases it is signed as a private agreement, because a notarial version already requires at this stage all the documents needed for the final contract. A private agreement is still enforceable under general contract law, but only a notarial preliminary agreement grants a right to specific performance (to compel the actual sale) under property law. In most transactions this does not change the result in practice, because the overwhelming majority of sellers honour their commitment, but it is a consideration worth knowing when drafting the agreement.

3Stage 3: What does full due diligence include, and why are there two registration systems in Greece?

Due diligence is the full legal review of the property, and your lawyer carries it out: ownership history (usually 20 years back and more), pledges, attachments, cautionary notes, planning restrictions and compliance with building regulations.

An important point in the Greek market: two parallel systems for property registration currently operate in it. The first is the Hellenic Cadastre (Ktimatologio), a computerized and central system in the process of national implementation. The second is the older local registry offices. Once the cadastre completes the mapping in a given area, it replaces the local registry office, but in practice the situation differs from area to area, and you must know exactly in which registry the property you are checking is registered.

A full professional review also includes checking forest maps. Greek legislation prohibits building on land defined as forest, and the approval documents from the forest register must be attached to the transfer deed. Where the property is close to the coast, specific building restrictions that apply to proximity to the shoreline must also be checked.

4Stage 4: What is the digital property ID?

Since 2022, every property transfer in Greece requires a digital property ID (Ηλεκτρονική Ταυτότητα Κτιρίου), a file that gathers all the relevant information: building permits, maps, energy regulations and legalization reports on any unauthorized construction that was carried out.

A licensed engineer prepares the certificate in practice, on the basis of a visit to the property and review of existing documentation. The process usually takes between 3 and 10 days, depending on the size and complexity of the property. The notary is obliged to demand the certificate from the seller before moving on to drafting the final contract, and this is precisely the document in which unauthorized building additions come to light that are not always visible on an ordinary site visit.

5Stage 5: What is the notary's role in Greece, and what is changing in it?

The final agreement is signed before a public notary, who verifies identities, examines the terms of the transaction and submits the application for registration. The notary is a neutral party: he or she does not represent the buyer and does not protect the buyer's interests.

The new reform now taking shape (Law 5293/2026) does not change this either. It significantly expands the notary's technical powers: collecting documents from public institutions digitally, submitting tax declarations through the myPROPERTY system and collecting tax and fee payments directly. But the role remains technical-procedural, not representative. As of the time of writing (July 2026) the reform has not yet been put into operation. It awaits a joint administrative decision that will set the date of operation, and as long as this has not been published, the existing process continues as usual. In both situations, independent representation by a lawyer who works only for you is not a luxury. It is the only way to protect your interest vis-a-vis a party that has no interest in examining you.

Someone who cannot or does not want to fly to Greece for the signing can act by means of a power of attorney. The document must be notarial, authenticated with an apostille and translated into Greek by a certified translator. A properly drafted power of attorney allows the lawyer or a representative on your behalf to sign the final contract, handle the tax declarations and manage the payments in your name.

6Stage 6: When does ownership actually pass - registration in the cadastre

Ownership in Greece is created only upon registration. Under article 1198 of the Greek Civil Code, registration is a necessary condition for the creation of the property right, exactly as in Israel and Romania (constitutive ownership). A notarial deed that was not registered in the cadastre or the registry office does not transfer ownership, even if both parties signed it and even if all payments have been made.

From the moment of registration, the property's identification number (KAEK) is locked in the system to prevent a double sale of the same property.

7How long does the purchase process in Greece take?

In an orderly transaction, from the moment the property is found until the final contract is signed, it is usually 8 to 12 weeks. This is the accepted order of magnitude:

1. The first weeks: AFM, opening a bank account and an initial legal review.
2. Around the fourth week: signing the preliminary agreement and paying the deposit.
3. In the following weeks: collecting the tax certificates, the digital property ID and the other documents.
4. In the last two weeks: payment of transfer tax, signing the contract before the notary and submitting the application for registration.

Digital tax declarations through myPROPERTY already significantly shorten the stage of paying transfer tax: there is no longer a need for a physical visit to the tax office, and the tax authority is obliged to review the declaration within 60 days. It is worth remembering that the digital system is still in the middle of national implementation, so actual registration times vary from area to area.

8What do you do before signing, and how do we accompany the process?

When we accompany a client in buying a property in Greece, we do not rely on the notary to "protect" him or her, because the notary is not supposed to do so, and under the law is not permitted to. Our first rule: do not sign the preliminary agreement and do not pay a deposit before we have carried out an initial ownership check of our own, not a check that the broker brought and not a check that the seller presented. We continue checking against the registry relevant to the specific property (cadastre or registry office, depending on the place) even after the preliminary agreement is signed, make sure the digital property ID truly reflects everything that was actually built, and only then recommend proceeding to the final contract. And when a client cannot fly to Greece, we arrange an orderly power of attorney in advance, not in the middle of the process, when there is already time pressure.

Digitization in Greece streamlines the collection of documents and payments, but it does not make an independent review unnecessary and does not turn the notary into your representative. Someone who understands the right order of the stages, and above all does not sign the preliminary agreement before someone has checked the ownership for them, arrives at registration in the cadastre without surprises.

Read next · 9 min readSelling Property in Greece as an Israeli Investor: Capital Gains Tax and Its Suspension, Required Documents and the Sale ProcessSelling property in Greece as an Israeli resident: capital gains tax suspended to end-2026, Article 13 of the tax treaty, seller documents and remote sale.Read the guide

The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.