Selling a property in the Ionian Islands

Who is buying

The people who buy on these islands mostly come from the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium, France and Greece itself — plus a growing number of Americans, Israelis and Greeks returning from abroad. They search in their own languages, they compare islands before they compare houses, and they want to understand costs, residency and rental rules before they get on a plane. That is why this site is published in six languages, organised island by island, and why the buying guides sit next to the listings.

What we do before a listing goes live

We visit the property, take or commission photographs that show it honestly, and write the listing text ourselves. We check the basic documents so that a buyer's lawyer does not find surprises later, and we confirm the energy performance class, which Greek law requires on every advertisement of a built property. We agree the asking price with you against recent sales and current asking prices on the island, not against what a neighbour once mentioned. Then the listing is published in English and, as translations are completed, in Greek, German, Italian, Dutch and French.

Documents a Greek sale needs

You do not need everything on day one, but the deed cannot be signed without them, and having them ready shortens the sale by weeks:

• Your title deed and its cadastre registration
• A recent cadastre extract and cadastral diagram
• The building permit and plans, plus a certificate of building legality from an engineer (any unpermitted works must be regularised before the deed)
• The energy performance certificate (EPC)
• Your tax clearance certificate and proof that property tax (ENFIA) is paid for the last five years
• For plots: a topographic survey, forest-map status and, where relevant, confirmation from the Ephorate of Antiquities
• Your AFM (tax number) and identity documents; a power of attorney if you will not be in Greece for signing

If you inherited the property, the acceptance of inheritance must be registered before you can sell.

Fees

Agency commission in Greece is freely negotiated and is set out in a written brokerage agreement before we start, as the law requires. We state our fee, our exclusivity terms and the length of the mandate in that agreement, and nothing changes afterwards.

Pricing honestly

A property priced correctly on these islands sells to the first serious buyer who sees it. A property priced for the neighbour's rumour sits for two summers and then sells for less. We will give you our view of value in writing, with the comparables we used, and you decide.