HAVE YOU INHERITED A PROPERTY IN GREECE?
Many individuals of Greek decent leaving abroad inherite property in Greece from their parents or relatives.
In order to establish ownership and clear title to inherited land and buildings, a heir must follow a certain and safe procedure:
1- find a competent and trustworthy attorney to help guide you through the necessary procedural steps.
By providing to your attorney a Power of Attorney, he/she can act on your behalf in all of the Greek Agencies, municipalities, organizations, tax authorities, banks etc, which can save you time and trouble.
2-search at the Land Registry In Greece the titles of the land, the co-heirs and generally the status of the property. Every local area has its own Land Registry where all real estate transactions are registered. The attorney can determine if there are any burdens or liens against the estate and then advise you as to what steps to take to clear your title.
3- decide whether to accept Your Inheritance
Along with the proof of inheritance, one must: 1) submit an Acceptance/Tax Declaration to the Greek Authorities and pay the relevant tax; 2) fill the Notarized Deed with the Greek Land Registry. If your property is taxable, the relevant Tax Authorities will notify the heirs about the pending taxes.
4- after accepting the inheritance and obtaining the title, the owner must decide what to do with the property. Either to use, sell or keep it as an investment or ever rent it. I
Determination of value of property:
In Greece, every property is determined by two values:
1) The objective value , determined by the Tax Office and usually smaller then the market value.
However, every taxe is calculated based on this value,
2) The market value (trade value). That is what the land is actually worth in the market.
One has to take into consideration the problems arising from the absence of the owner. It is clear that landowners who live abroad, can face significant problems relating to their property. The most common problem for absentee landowners is the payment of the taxes and fees for the municipality and the use of the land by non-owners for a long time. Especially this case is extremely dangerous, as under the Greek Law, if someone (ex. a neighor or a relative) enters your property, and uses it continuously for a period of twenty years, this person can then claim the land as their own. This is a common danger for absentee landowners residing outside of Greece who are unable to care for and oversee their property.
Protect your Property
In case one has a property in Greece , he/she must make an effort to protect it. He/she must periodically visit the land, fence it, cultivate it, clean it, take pictures of it and pay the relevant cost. These actions show to others that this person is interested in his/her property so that a trespasser can not claim an uninterrupted, continuous presence on the land. Another option is to rent the property, even for a minimal amount (rather than leaving it unoccupied), so as to prove the involvement of the owner to his/her property. It is strongly suggested that the lease of the land should be written by a lease contract with the help of an attorney.