Your Five Steps To Happiness

Step 1

Purchase Agreement

Having decided to buy your new home in Crete you will be asked to leave a €1,000 reservation fee (payble in cash or by credit card) to secure your chosen property and you will receive a Purchase Agreement from New Century Homes outlining your house specifications, purchase price and agreed payments. There are normally two types of stage payment:-

For an off plan house:-

• 1,000 Euros reservation fee 
• 10% Deposit
• 30% 1st Construction
• 30% 2nd Construction
• 30% 3rd Construction less €1000 Reservation fee paid 

For a built property:- 

Step 2

Lawyer, power of attorney, tax number and bank account 

The next step will be to appoint a lawyer to act on your behalf.

Your chosen lawyer (New Century Homes can provide you with a list of local lawyers experienced in property law) will explain the legal side of buying a property in Greece.

Your lawyer will arrange for you to visit a Public Notary (a Government appointed lawyer) where you will pay approximately €80 and complete the documents required. This will give your lawyer Power of Attorney (POA) to not only represent you in your purchase but also to legally sign for you in your absence any documents required to fulfil the property transaction. For clients requiring a Greek mortgage a separate POA is required in order for your lawyer to access the loan.

Your lawyer will then be able to open a local bank account for you (in joint names, if required) to allow you to transfer money from your home country to Crete to finance your purchase. Your lawyer will then be able to forward to the builder the stage payments when requested to do so.

Your lawyer, once given Power of Attorney, will obtain your local tax number for you (known as your "A-Fee-Mee" number). This number is required by law to enable you to purchase property in Greece and is essential for planning permission, connection to utilities, opening a Bank account and for owning a car, so make careful note of it as you will be asked for it when making any major purchase.

When you have returned home your lawyer will inform you of the details of the bank account that has been opened for you, so that you can transfer the deposit and stage payments from your home country.

Your legel fees and purchase taxes will be paid seperately by yourself and will be requested by your lawyer. If you require a mortgage, loan expenses are extra.

Step 3

House specification

A specification sheet should be completed before you leave Crete; this is a breakdown of any extras that you would like to add to your new home, and also details your chosen kitchen and tile orders from local stockists for reference by New Century Homes during the build.

Step 4

Payments and build

When you purchase to build, here is a breakdown of what each stage consists of:-

10% Deposit

When you have returned home your lawyer will inform you of the details of the account that has been opened for you, so that you can transfer the 10% Deposit from your home country. New Century Homes will inform you of all monies received and you will be sent reminders for future stage payments, as required.

30% - 1st Construction

This stage payment is usually required within one month (or sooner) of the date of the Purchase Agreement. Depending on how you are transferring the money from your home country, it may prove more cost effective to transfer this to your Crete bank account at the same time as your deposit. This payment covers the cost of the building permit, architectural drawings and related fees. Once this payment has been received by New Century Homes excavations for the foundation will commence.

30% - 2nd Construction

This payment should be deposited into your Greek bank account by the date agreed in your Purchase Agreement. New Century Homes will request this as the build progresses.  Your lawyer will need your written authorisation to release it.

30% - 3rd Construction - less €1000 reservation fee paid

This payment should be deposited into your Greek bank account by the date agreed in your Purchase Agreement. This payment finances the final phase of the build and the completion of your property. All extras requested must be paid for at this stage.

At this point your plot will be registered with the local Land Registry and titles will be signed for by your lawyer. At this time, by law, you legally own the land and anything built on it.

Step 5

Welcome to Crete

When your house is ready, we will welcome you back to Crete for the hand over of the keys.  We will have fully checked your new home for 'snags' before you take delivery and we will walk you through the property to explain to you how everything works so that you can begin enjoying your new home in the sun.