You Got the Keys. Now the Problems Start.

Most problems with Greek property do not surface during the sale. They surface six months later, when you are standing in a room that smells of damp, looking at a crack in the load-bearing wall that was not there in the listing photos, or reading a letter from the local planning authority about an illegal extension you did not know you had inherited.

This is not rare. It is the normal experience for foreign buyers who purchase without independent technical oversight.

What a Greek Estate Agent Will and Will Not Tell You

The agent represents the seller. In Greece, as in most of Europe, there is no obligation for the agent to disclose structural defects, planning violations or documentation gaps unless directly and specifically asked. Even then, disclosure depends on what the agent actually knows, and many do not commission technical checks themselves.

The result is that buyers receive a property that has been presented, not assessed. The difference matters enormously in a market where a significant proportion of buildings carry some form of unauthorised construction, where maintenance standards vary widely across regions, and where documentation irregularities are common enough to be expected rather than exceptional.

A house survey in Greece, commissioned independently by the buyer, closes that gap. It is not standard practice in the Greek market the way a building survey is in the UK. That absence of standard practice is precisely why buyers who do not insist on one are exposed.

The Problems That Show Up After Signing

Structural Issues Hidden by Cosmetic Renovation

Older Greek properties, particularly those built before the 1985 seismic code revisions, vary considerably in structural integrity. A fresh coat of paint, new tiles and a renovated kitchen communicate nothing about the condition of the structure beneath. Cracks can be filled and repainted. Damp can be masked temporarily. Roof structures in stone-built properties on islands are rarely inspected by anyone before sale.

A proper property inspection Greece goes below the surface. It looks at the structural elements, identifies active movement versus historic cracking, checks the roof construction and drainage, and assesses the condition of electrical and plumbing installations.

Illegal Constructions and Planning Violations

Greece has a well-documented history of unauthorised building. Extensions added without permits, pools built without the necessary licences, basement conversions, roof terraces enclosed without approval. These do not disappear on transfer of ownership. The buyer inherits them, along with any future fines, regularisation costs or demolition orders attached to them.

The relevant checks here go beyond what a solicitor typically handles during conveyancing in Greece. A lawyer will review title documents. A technical advisor checks whether what is built matches what is permitted, and whether any amnesty or regularisation applies. These are separate functions, and both are necessary. If you want to understand the full scope of this risk before committing, the article on illegal constructions in Greek property covers the legal framework and what specifically to verify.

Utilities, Connections and Running Costs

Properties in rural areas, on islands or outside main urban centres frequently have utility arrangements that are informal by Northern European standards. Water supply via private cistern or borehole, electricity from a private connection, septic rather than mains drainage. None of these are necessarily problems in isolation, but each carries maintenance obligations and costs that buyers from the UK or Scandinavia are not always prepared for.

A building survey in Greece should confirm the nature of all utility connections, identify any non-compliant installations, and flag any conditions likely to generate significant near-term expenditure.

Why Your Lawyer Cannot Do This

Greek property lawyers handle the legal transaction. They check title, ownership history, encumbrances and tax compliance. That is their function and most do it competently. What they do not do is inspect the building. They do not climb onto roofs, read structural drawings, assess electrical panels or identify the difference between a licensed and an unlicensed extension by walking the perimeter.

These disciplines do not overlap. The buyer who believes legal due diligence covers technical due diligence is operating under a misunderstanding that is common and expensive.

A complete property due diligence process in Greece requires both legal and technical review, conducted in parallel, before contracts are signed.

When to Commission a Property Inspection in Greece

The answer is before you exchange contracts, not after. Ideally before you make a binding offer, though in practice this depends on how competitive the negotiation is and whether the seller will grant access.

At minimum, a technical inspection should be commissioned as a condition of any offer you make. Your offer proceeds subject to satisfactory building survey, with a defined scope and a named independent firm carrying it out. This is standard practice in the UK. There is no reason not to apply the same logic in Greece.

The inspector you use should have no commercial relationship with the agent, the developer or the seller. Independence is not a courtesy, it is a structural requirement for the assessment to be reliable. Firms that offer both inspection and legal services, or that work in partnership with the selling agency, have a conflict that should disqualify them from advising you.

What a Property Inspection in Greece Should Cover

A thorough inspection covers the structure and envelope, the roof, all internal systems including electrical, plumbing and heating, any outbuildings or ancillary structures, drainage and external works, and a comparison of the physical building against the approved planning drawings on record. Where drawings are unavailable, this should be noted as a finding in itself, not passed over.

The output should be a written report, in English, with photographs, findings categorised by severity, and a clear summary of items requiring resolution before purchase and items requiring monitoring after purchase. The Greece property risk checklist covers the full range of items a technical review should address.

The Cost of Not Doing This

A Property Inspection in Greece for a standard residential property starts from €5,000, depending on size, location and scope. Technical Due Diligence for larger or more complex properties sits considerably higher.

The cost of discovering a structural problem after purchase, an illegal extension that requires regularisation, a roof that needs replacement, or a utility connection that is not legally compliant, runs into multiples of that figure. In cases involving enforcement action on unauthorised constructions, the exposure can exceed the cost of the inspection by a factor of twenty or more.

The inspection is not an expense. It is the cheapest form of certainty available at the point in the process when certainty still has commercial value.

What to Do Before Your Next Offer

Before you make an offer on a Greek property, confirm three things. First, that you have an independent technical advisor, not one recommended by the selling agent. Second, that the offer is conditional on a satisfactory building survey. Third, that your legal and technical review will run in parallel, not sequentially.

These are not complicated requirements. They are what any experienced buyer would apply in their home market. The property inspection service exists precisely for this situation: buyers who want independent technical assessment before they commit.

The keys are easy to get. What you inherit with them is a different question, and it deserves an answer before you sign.