Selling a property in Greece can be much less stressful when you better understand the process and accept that the real estate companies don´t work like they do in your home country. In Greece, for example, one and the same property can be for sale at several brokerages at the same time, which in many cases creates confusion for the buyer. Many real estate agencies have a very aggressive way of acquiring new properties for sale: the images are “borrowed” from other websites, no contracts are written and voila, suddenly your property is in their portfolio. Therefore, it is very important for you who want to sell your property in Greece to always, always, always sign a brokerage agreement and carefully review what the agencies stand for.
HouseFinders Peloponnese has no exclusivity on properties for sale, but we require that the same property must be listed with the same price wherever the information is published. However, we have noticed that in many cases we sell faster when it is only our agency that takes care of the sale. It becomes more exclusive and more trusting for the buyer as well. Do you want us to contact you about your property for sale? Please contact us here or call me or Elias.
Below HouseFinder’s Peloponnese 4 steps for a successful start:
- Step 1: Make sure your property’s legal status complies with the new laws on selling a property. We can share with you a checklist of all the necessary documents. The costs of selling a property in Greece consist of: a new topographical plan ordered from a civil engineer, an energy certificate ordered from a civil engineer, lawyer’s fees (the price can vary, so always check with the lawyer before hiring one) and estate agent’s fees. HouseFinder’s Peloponnese fee is 2% + VAT of 24% (which gives a total of 2.48%) or a set amount if the property is to be sold for a lower price than 80,000 euros. Both the lawyer and we are paid at the end of the sales process
- Step 2: Book an appointment with us for a valuation. Are your wishes realistic? Do you need to fix something before the prospective buyer visits your property? What risks are there if you choose to invest in a “premium price strategy”? We do not believe that an overpriced and overexposed property will be helpful in the sales efforts at all, it will “burn your property” and end up selling for less than the original valuation
- Step 3: During the meeting, we will tell you how we work to reach our target groups and on which sales platforms we will publish the presentation of your property. We have satisfied customers and you can get acquainted with their opinion in the reference feed on our property for sale page: HouseFindersPeloponnese.com
- Step 4: When you feel that you want to hire us, we sign the brokerage agreement, book an appointment for photography (we send out 10 tips for a successful photo session and discuss other design tips with you) and determine rules for the upcoming showings, sales negotiations and the deposit agreement . If you are not present in Greece during the entire sale period, we will recommend you reliable property managers. It is important that your property is taken care of throughout the process
Important to know for every seller
This is not mandatory to hire a lawyer if you want to sell in Greece. However, it is much easier and faster if you will do that.
- The lawyers fees when he/she represent a seller usually come to 1% of the price + VAT. That of course depends on the price
- The seller has to pay no taxes for the price he receives. However, he has to prepare the necessary documents for the sale (electronic ID, updated topographic survey, energy certificate etc.) and of course he has to pay the property tax for the years previous to the sale of the property
- The Notary is paid by the buyer
How long it will take to sell a property
It is basically impossible to say how long it will take to sell a property in Greece. In contrast to other countries, a so-called “open house viewing” is not practiced in Greece. We have actually done it once and we succeeded but in this unique case it was a conscious bet on a low price strategy between the seller and our company. Perhaps the most important thing is for you to ask yourself: do you want to sell your property OR do you want to have your property for sale?
