Most buyers in Greece hear the words due diligence once, from their lawyer, and assume the job is covered. Half of it is. Legal due diligence answers whether the seller owns the property, what is registered against it and whether it can be transferred. It does not answer whether the building matches what was permitted, what condition it is in, or what it will cost to keep. Those are technical questions, and in Greece they belong to a separate scope the buyer has to commission, through independent technical due diligence or a property inspection.

This guide sets out what each side checks, where the two meet, and the order to commission them. KG Nordic Advisory is an independent technical advisor and does not give legal advice. What follows on the legal side describes what to expect from your own lawyer, not a substitute for one.

What Legal Due Diligence Covers When Buying Property in Greece

Your lawyer works from registers and documents. The core of the work is the title search: tracing the ownership chain through the Land Registry or, where it is operational for the area, the Hellenic Cadastre, typically across at least twenty years of deeds. Alongside it, the lawyer checks for mortgages, pre-notations, seizures, easements and pending claims, confirms the seller’s capacity to sell and flags inheritance steps that were never formally completed.

The tax position runs through the same channel. The seller must produce an ENFIA certificate confirming the property has been declared for property tax over the preceding five years, together with tax clearance, and the buyer needs a Greek tax number (AFM) before anything can be signed. The lawyer then reviews the preliminary contract and the final deed, including when the deposit is returned or forfeited.

The notary is not your lawyer. In Greece the notary is a public official who draws up the deed, verifies that the required documents are present and, after signing, submits the deed for registration. The notary acts for the transaction, not for either party. A lawyer is not legally mandatory for a buyer which is exactly why foreign buyers should appoint their own rather than rely on the notary or a lawyer introduced by the seller’s side.

What Technical Due Diligence Covers

A buyer-side technical advisor visits the property and carries out a visual and functional condition assessment of the structure, roof, envelope, signs of moisture, and the electrical, plumbing and mechanical installations. The advisor compares the approved permit drawings with what is physically built, identifying extensions, enclosed semi-outdoor spaces, converted basements, pools and outbuildings that do not appear in the file. Each discrepancy is framed as an exposure: whether it looks legalizable and what it means for price. The review also reads the energy performance certificate against the building’s actual systems, and closes with a capital expenditure view of what the property will need over the holding period.

Our guide to technical due diligence in Greece covers the full scope. In short: legal due diligence tells you whether you can safely own the property. Technical due diligence tells you what you are about to own.

Where Legal and Technical Due Diligence Overlap

The two tracks meet at one point: the building’s planning status. A Greek property transfer cannot be completed without an engineer’s certification of the property’s status regarding unauthorized constructions, now delivered through the Electronic Building Identity. That documentation states that there are no illegal constructions, or that those present have been legalized, and the notary will not proceed without it.

Here is the gap. That certification is normally commissioned and paid for by the seller, from the seller’s engineer. Your lawyer reads it as a legal document and relies on it, because checking a building against its drawings is not legal work. So whether the building matches its permits is typically answered by a professional appointed by the other side and checked by nobody on yours. A clean certificate is a document, not a fresh look at the building, and it says nothing about condition.

An independent technical review does not replace that certification or the engineer’s statutory role. It gives the buyer a second, independent reading of the same question, from the site, before money moves. Any inconsistency goes to the buyer’s lawyer, who decides what it means legally and how to reflect it in the contract. Our article on building permit due diligence in Greece explains what the permit file contains and how the comparison is made. Legalization rules change regularly, so confirm the current position on any specific property with your lawyer.

BEFORE YOU COMMIT TO A PROPERTY IN GREECE

Send the listing, floor plans, permit documents or agent material before signing anything.

We perform remote asset reviews for buyers, and the lawyers acting for them, evaluating properties in Greece.

This early-stage review identifies: differences between the permit file and the marketed floor area, additions and conversions likely to sit outside the permit, gaps in the technical documents the notary will later require, and findings your lawyer may want reflected in the preliminary contract.

The review is independent, English-language and delivered directly to the buyer.

Submit the property details here: kgnordic.com/contact

Do I Need a Lawyer and an Engineer in Greece?

For most purchases you need both, and the real question is who carries out the technical part. The seller’s engineer will be involved regardless, because the transfer requires their certification. For a recent apartment with a complete file, a property inspection may be enough. For a villa, an older stone house, an island property with additions or anything bought as an investment, full technical due diligence is the proportionate scope.

The Order to Commission Them

Appoint the lawyer first. They obtain your AFM and request the title documents and permit file. Start the technical review from those documents straight away rather than waiting for the title search to finish: the two tracks run in parallel, not in sequence. The site visit should happen before the preliminary contract, because that is the document that commits the deposit. Findings then go back to the lawyer, who can turn them into a price adjustment, a condition that violations are resolved before completion, or a clean exit. Our checklist of what to check before signing a property contract in Greece lists the documents to request at that stage.

Golden Visa purchases follow the same logic with more at stake: the process is lawyer-led and the building sits outside every mandatory check, as our guide to Golden Visa property due diligence in Greece explains.

A Combined Property Due Diligence Checklist for Greece

On the legal side, your lawyer should confirm the ownership chain at the Land Registry or Cadastre, the absence of mortgages, seizures, claims and undisclosed easements, completed inheritance steps, the seller’s ENFIA certificate and tax clearance, your AFM, and the terms of the preliminary contract and final deed.

On the technical side, your advisor should confirm the physical condition of the structure and installations, the match between the approved drawings and the built property, any elements that appear unauthorized and their likely legalization route, the plausibility of the energy certificate, and the capital expenditure the property will need.

Shared between the two is the engineer’s certification and Electronic Building Identity, which the lawyer reviews as a document and the technical advisor reads against the building. If the two readings disagree, that disagreement is the most valuable finding of the whole process.

The buyers who run into trouble in Greece rarely skipped due diligence. They completed half of it and assumed it was the whole.

Buying Property in Greece?

Before contracts are signed, we review: the permit file against the physical building, elements that appear to sit outside the permit and their legalization exposure, the condition of the structure and installations, and the capital expenditure the property will need over your holding period.

For private buyers, Golden Visa investors and the lawyers acting for them, we provide independent property inspections and technical due diligence, working alongside the buyer’s lawyer and never in place of them. Reports are delivered in English directly to the buyer.

Submit the asset location and acquisition details here: kgnordic.com/contact

Frequently Asked Questions

What does legal due diligence cover when buying property in Greece?

Your lawyer traces the ownership chain through the Land Registry or Hellenic Cadastre, checks for mortgages, seizures, claims and easements, confirms the seller’s tax position including the ENFIA certificate, and reviews the preliminary contract and final deed. It does not assess the physical building or compare it with its permits. That is a technical scope, commissioned separately.

Do I need a lawyer and an engineer to buy property in Greece?

A lawyer is not legally mandatory, but buyers should appoint one of their own, because the notary acts for the transaction rather than for either party. An engineer’s certification of the property’s planning status is required for the transfer, but it is usually commissioned by the seller. A buyer who wants the building checked on their own behalf needs an independent technical review.

Does the notary do due diligence for the buyer in Greece?

No. The notary is a public official who draws up the deed, verifies that the required documents are present and submits the deed for registration after signing. The notary does not represent the buyer, investigate the title on the buyer’s behalf or assess the building.

Should legal or technical due diligence come first?

Run them in parallel. Appoint the lawyer first so the title documents and permit file can be requested, start the technical review from those documents straight away, and complete the site visit before the preliminary contract commits the deposit. Findings made before signing become negotiation points. Findings made after signing become disputes.

How much does technical due diligence cost in Greece?

A property inspection from an independent technical advisor starts from 5,000 euros, scoped to the property type, size and location. Technical due diligence on larger, older or investment assets is scoped individually once the documents have been reviewed. Legal fees are separate and agreed directly with the buyer’s lawyer.