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The raw natural beauty and environment of the islands of Greece and the country as a whole may motivate you largely to have some properties like a house, a villa or any such thing there. However there are certain things you must know before you buy properties in Greece.

Electricity, water and our common means of communication, telephone, named Fos, Nero and telephono in Greek language respectively are the bare necessities of civil life to day. You should be well conversant with the local laws regarding these vital items. Contact lawyers and take the help of experts but don’t get mislead by those unscrupulous agents or traders who would promise much but do nothing for your benefit before you buy property.

If you are thinking of cyclades for buying property, you should know that there are some places where you cannot have these amenities. Especially the areas outside the town planning are bereft of these benefits. Do not therefore get carried away by the majesty of the environment and scenario around you and the quietness of nature. If you go for it, the only thing that would be with you will be the same quietness but now shrilling and not thrilling any more.

Hence you must protect yourself first by finding out what facilities are available for you in the property for sale. After all it will not be a nice feeling to dwell without the basic amenities of civil life to day. Also make sure that the agent you have engaged is honest, means well and does not mislead you.

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Law in Greece is specific on the transactions made by foreigners like buying a house. AFM or Ah-Fi-Me is the tax roll number that every foreigner should have for any transaction on mainland or. Not that the Greek citizens are exempt from such laws.  The best part of it is that you are not required to be a Greek citizen or carrying a residential permit to make transactions on properties. You need not run from pillar to post to get a certificate. It is centrally issued from the city of Athens by the issuing Ministry.

The next tax requirement for such transactions is Pothen Esches. This is mandatory whether you buy property in mainland or peloponnisos or Dodecanese You have to establish beyond all reasonable doubts that the money you are investing is your own. You have to prove also the source where from you received the money. If you have transferred money from your own country and converted it into another currency, you must show the receipts in support of such conversion and transaction to the taxation authorities. Bank statements for proofs would be sufficient for the purpose.

Finally there is the tax payment structure of Greece. The buyer is liable to pay the transfer tax before any purchase is made. You will further be making a declaration of taxes for property tax. You will be paying the annual tax for the property as well.  The good news for you is that you may get a tax exemption if it is your first home.

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While the notaries are the most powerful people so far as buying any property including the properties for sale in Greece, you may not undermine the role of an experienced and efficient lawyer. For people of Greece, property is the premier aspect of life and more than anything else this issue dominates their inter-relationships. Not only family wars, but many other social evils like murder, manslaughter, divorce, atrocities against women and such others are the offspring of disputes relating to properties only.

A beautiful house with a collapsed roof in the island of Peloponese may be very attractive on site. It is altogether different matter creating a title over it. Sometimes the question of inheritance takes a quite complicated turn and it is the lawyer who has the expertise and academic background to examine the intricacies and bring you out of the abyss.

Legalizing a title in Greece has its own problems. Even in the island of Rhodes you have to get papers from the local town hall. The taxes are to be cleared and a no dues certificate is to be obtained. Then you have to obtain the specification, blue prints and value assessment documents from the contract.  But when all is done and you arrive before the notary for final signature authorizing the sale and title, there may be last minute interruption by unscrupulous people posing to be co-holders of title and it may spell disaster for your project.

And once again, you look to your lawyer as your rescuer to establish that the title is clean.

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Among the countries in Europe, Greece, especially its southern part including islands like Karpathos is prone to frequent earthquakes. This means your house has to be structurally sound to withstand at least the minor and medium tremors. Though most earthquakes are of short duration a weak structure may not withstand even that much and are prone to collapse.

Houses in sea front are even more vulnerable. Moreover, the use of automobiles and the sound pollution from their engines, trains and planes can cause old and feeble structures to collapse causing huge losses for you. In addition you need to take care of the ecological balances around your house that will slow down the decay due to lapse of time considerably.

But these are only external threats to the stability of your house. There are internal threats as well. How about a leaking gas pipe or a naturally warming structure? Your purpose of buying a house in the beautiful island of Paxi is lost due to the faulty work by a contractor.

Whether you buy house in highland or by the sea, the man who can stand by your side and act as your friend, philosopher and guide, is the Civil Engineer who knows the reasons of the ailments as well as their remedies. Remember, maintaining a house is as much or even more important as buying a house and you must know before buying whether the house was properly maintained.

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The whole world seems to be going through a state of chaos today and many people are tired and exhausted of the type of hectic life in the civil society. In their urge for a welcome diversion they seek a place where they could find peace and solace. Buying a house in the islands like Halkidiki or mainland of Greece is gradually taking the driver’s seat in the list of things to do for such people.

The availability of house for sale in plenty does not mean that everything is fine everywhere across the country in Greece. Yet you will find this country rather peaceful compared to many others on the Globe and therefore, you will like to have a piece of it for yourself. It might also be a case that you have become tired of staying in hotels and ownership in an island that is abode of tourists at least during the summer is much more preferable to you.

Whatever be the reason for your wishing to buy a house in Greece, you should not act hastily. It is better to take help of some step by step guide or experts in the line before you decide to buy one of those properties there.

You should not be carried away by the natural beauties and environmental excellence of a property. You may also find out whether the basic amenities of civil life like water, electricity and telephone are made available there before you buy house in Greece.

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Internet and World Wide Web has shrunk the globe and it is now possible for you to have a tour of the entire world sitting in the cool comforts of your home. Real estate business online has become a feature of all leading business platforms in the world working online and you may have no problem to know everything about the real estate business, the locations, the house for sale and everything related to it on the Internet by logging on to the websites that provides the information.

Despite all these facilities online it may not be wise to buy a house in Greece without physically verifying the spot. Web pages may look great but they could also be manipulated to look great. It would be better to have a look at the house and the site yourself before buying the house in Greece so that at the end of it everything is fine and you are not in for some nasty surprises.

You may have a chant for islands and may love to stay at a Cyclades island like Andros. Hence you may take a holiday, stay there for some time and take the help of a local broker to select the site for buying yourself. In the process you will also be able to know many people around and above all your prospective neighbors.

That would be a real great way of finding the right island house to buy.

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There are people who like to have life that is different from the routine affairs. That is why they would prefer an island life instead of a mainland life in any of the cities. Moreover, those who are not content with having a rental house in the islands, they may like to have their own house in islands like Halkidiki.

Before you buy properties in Greece, you will do better to have an inspection of the site. You should also try to get acquainted with the people of the locality so that you have a clear idea what will be there in store for you when you start residing there. Sometimes ill luck may come your way. For example, it may so happen that you have selected the perfect house, say in Chania of your choice and want to buy house immediately. But the house owner comes back to you with a little discussion at home and says that he is in no position to sell the house since his granddaughter requires it as a gift at her marriage.

At times the sellers think that they are not getting the due price as they are able to sell out the property too cheaply. That is why they may develop cold feet at times.  Also remember that sea side houses are more expensive compared to the highland houses. Your selection to buy house should be made taking into consideration all these aspects.

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There was a time when buying properties in Greece either in the mainland or in the islands like Kalimnos you should be careful about walking into a trap carefully laid by some unscrupulous trade who is trying to cheat you of your hard earned money.  Home financing facilities are now available in Greece even for the foreigners who can establish their identities beyond reasonable doubts. So there is no reason for you to carry a suitcase full of money to a foreign land to buy house or any other property.

Some of the areas in the country are considered border areas. If you belong to some other country, you require permission of the authorities to buy land there. A few purchasers try to bypass the law by taking a Greek partner while buying the properties. You need permission to buy properties in places like Zakinthos, Lesvos, Chios, Samos etc.

Legally you require an attorney in Greece if the property that you are going to acquire there costs over 12,000 euros in the rural area and 30,000 euros in urban areas. This is also essential for the protection of your interest because you may buy a property only to find that there are fifteen other co-sharers having claim over the same property. Sometimes problems arise if the Archaeology department has declared the house for sale as state monument. The lawyer will make the research for you and protect your interest in all such cases.

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When you decide to buy a house in an island like skyros in Greece, one thing you must learn first. It may sound strange but it is essential. You must learn how to loose your temper.

Why should you learn to loose your temper? Because if you are too gentle and polite in Greece, people who are working for you may take you for granted and will not hesitate to cheat you in work or in dealings and you may not be able to do much about it.

To make the workers work properly, you may also take a course of making Greek coffee and Frappe so that they do not drowse after the lunch break. The peculiarity of Greek workers is that if you allow them to go to the café for coffee or such after the lunch break you may not see them again.

You may think of furniture when you have house there.  But do not buy any furniture till your house is complete. Else there are chances of your furniture being destroyed. After the work is finished, please make sure that your workers clean the area of rubbles and other wastes. Otherwise there are chances that your neighbors would blame you about the mess that is left behind. And above all, do not forget to take care about electricity, water, and phone lines when you buy properties in a country like Greece.

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You can follow a specific strategy for buying properties in Greece. First of all you go to a village and get acquainted with the people and thus become a part of the village. Once this is done many people will come to you with the proposals to buy their house or other properties. However, you have to be still cautious about their overcharging you.

Land in Greece is considered to be the most valuable commodity and you may not have many problems in selling it when you like to do so. People of United States are quite possessive about their properties world over. However in Greece this may work to your disadvantage. First because the conversion rates of US dollars vis-à-vis the Greek drachma and second because of the fact that most of the properties have a number of co-sharers to be dealt with. Moreover, the prices quoted on house for sale may be very high for your comfort.

In fact the country has many faces.  For the visitors it always shows the brighter side of its face whereas once you become the resident you will be surprised to see the darker side. The situation is identical in North Greece as well as in South Greece as many have experienced since the days of Lord Byron who as foreigner tried to make Greece his own.

Solution to the problem is to live there for some time and have a feel of the country first.

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