When purchasing property in Greece, whether it is a commercial property or not, it is vital to conduct due diligence. At Legal Trust we legally scrutinize the property to be purchased and we carefully examine all aspects of the transaction so the client gets the utmost of our legal service. We assist our clients in every stage of their purchase including the following:
Conducting the due diligence;
Negotiating the price of the property;
Issuing a Tax Registration Number (AFM) for the client;
Opening a Greek bank account for the client;
Drafting the Purchase Deed that is to be executed before the Notary Public;
Registering the Purchase Deed before the competent Land Registry.

On the other hand, when selling property in Greece, the owner of it is required by law to gather several documents to be submitted to the Notary Public before whom the deed will be executed. These documents vary and are issued by the Greek authorities after submitting the appropriate applications, as well as independent civil engineers/topographers. At Legal Trust we undertake the whole procedure from start to end so our clients do not need to go through the bureaucratic process and to only enjoy the sale proceeds.

The lawyers of Legal Trust have extensive experience in conducting title searches for residential and commercial properties all over Greece. A title search is required in order to verify the legal status of a real estate property. By conducting a title search before the land registry and/or cadastral office, we may trace the title of the owner, confirm the legal status of the property, establish whether there have been any successive registrations and conveyances of the property, confirm if there are any claims to the property that might obstruct the conveyance of the property, as well as detecting if there is a title defect. All findings of our title search are reported in writing to our clients.

It is very common for property owners to gift their properties to their children, grandchildren, siblings or others. If the property is to be gifted to the owners’ children then this may be accomplished through a notarial parental gift deed. If however, the property is to be gifted to others apart from children, such as grandchildren, siblings etc, then this may be accomplished through the notarial gift deed. At Legal Trust we have extensive experience in parental gift and gift transactions and we handle every aspect of the conveyance in order for our clients’ needs to be satisfied.

Many joint owners of properties decide that they wish to solve their joint ownership. The lawyers of Legal Trust walk through our clients in this process. Firstly, we approach the other co-owner to establish if there is common ground in dividing the property. If this is the case, then we undertake the whole procedure for the amicable division of the common property through a notarial deed. However, when the co-owners do not agree on how they should divide their common property, then any of the owners has the right to submit a partition lawsuit before the competent Court seeking the legal partition of the property, if that is feasible, or a court-ordered auction for the sale of the property and the distribution of the sale proceeds between the co-owners. In such case, the lawyers of Legal Trust have great experience in real estate law and our litigators will best defend our clients’ rights in Court.

According to Greek Civil Law, a person may claim extraordinary adverse possession rights on real estate property by claiming that he is in possession of the property, exercising uninterrupted ownership rights on it, for a period of more than 20 years. When a lawful owner detects that a squatter has unlawfully taken over possession of his property, immediate legal action needs to be initiated against him so his adverse possession claim is time barred.