Buying property in Greece comes with a set of Greek property terms you won’t have come across before, such as symvolaiografos, AFM, prosymfono, ktimatologio. Greek titles are often split between siblings, tied up in inheritance or still recorded under an older system than the one next door, so it pays to know what each term means before you sign anything.
The good news is none of this is complicated once it’s explained. This guide takes you through the terms you’ll commonly meet, in the order you tend to meet them and what each one means for you.
In short: these are the main legal, tax and administrative terms a foreign buyer meets when purchasing property in Greece. They apply to residents and non-residents alike, EU and non-EU. Tax rates and fees change often and several reliefs have hard end dates, so treat every figure here as illustrative and confirm the current detail with your lawyer before you sign.
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Contents
Greek property terms: Your tax number and your team
AFM (Arithmos Forologikou Mitroou)
The AFM is your Greek tax registration number, and it is the first thing you need. It is a nine-digit number issued by the Greek tax authority, AADE, to anyone – Greek or foreign – who has a tax-related reason to hold one. Buying a home certainly qualifies.
Without an AFM you cannot sign the deed, pay the transfer tax or open a Greek bank account, and a notary will refuse to complete a sale without it. Having one does not make you a Greek tax resident, and many overseas owners hold an AFM for years with no obligation to file a Greek return. You can apply in person at a tax office, through the myAADE portal, or – most commonly for buyers abroad – through a Greek lawyer acting for you under power of attorney.
Dikigoros (lawyer)
Your dikigoros is your independent Greek property lawyer, and instructing one is not a formality – it is the single most important decision you make. In Greece the lawyer, not the notary, carries out the due diligence that protects you.
Your lawyer checks the title, confirms the seller has the right to sell and searches for mortgages, tax debts, court orders or planning problems registered against the property. They must be independent of the estate agent and the seller. Many buyers also grant their lawyer power of attorney, so the whole purchase can be handled without repeated trips to Greece.
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Symvolaiografos (notary)
The symvolaiografos is the notary who draws up and formalises your purchase deed. Under Greek law, in Article 1 of Law 2830/2000, the notary is an unpaid public official whose institutional role is close to that of a judicial officer, and a notarised deed is required to transfer real estate.
Crucially, the notary is impartial. As the Coordinating Committee of the Notarial Associations of Greece describes it, under the system of “preventive justice” the notary “acts as an independent, impartial and objective advisor to all parties to a transaction (never for a ‘customer’) while ensuring the legality of the contract and the public interest”. They do not protect your interests the way your lawyer does – so you need both. Notary fees are set by law on a sliding scale, commonly in the range of 1% to 1.5% of the purchase price plus VAT, with the percentage falling on higher-value properties.
The contracts that make it real
Prosymfono (preliminary contract)
The prosymfono is the preliminary contract signed once you have agreed a price and your lawyer has done the first checks. It sets out the price, the payment plan, the timetable and any conditions that must be met before completion, and it is usually accompanied by a deposit of around 10%.
The deposit rule is the part to understand. If you pull out without a contractual reason you generally lose the deposit, and if the seller pulls out they typically owe you double it back. There is no statutory cooling-off period in Greek property law, so the wording matters. A notarised prosymfono gives the strongest protection and is required where a golden visa application is involved.
Symvoleo agoras (sale contract)
The symvoleo – the deed of sale – is the final document that actually transfers ownership. It is drafted and read by the notary, and both sides, or their representatives under power of attorney, sign in the notary’s presence.
Before it can be signed, the transfer tax must be paid and the seller’s paperwork must be complete. Once signed, the symvoleo is the legal record of the sale, and the notary issues authorised copies. Since January 2024 much of this runs through a digital property file, which is intended to make the process faster and more transparent.
The records that prove ownership
Ktimatologio (Hellenic Cadastre)
The ktimatologio is the national land registry, and it records ownership, boundaries and legal rights on a property-by-property basis. It is gradually replacing the older, name-based system of local mortgage registries known as ypothikofylakia.
This transition matters to you. In some areas the cadastre is fully operational, while in others the property may still sit under the old land registry system, which is one more reason your lawyer’s title search is essential. Each registered property has a unique cadastral code, the KAEK, which pins the property to a precise spot on the national map.
Metagrafi (registration of title)
Metagrafi is the registration of your deed into the public record after completion. Your lawyer lodges the signed symvoleo with the cadastre or the local land registry so that your ownership is recorded against the property.
This step is not the same as signing the deed, and it is not optional in practice. Until registration is complete your title is not fully protected against third-party claims, so it should follow as promptly as possible after signing.
Ypothiki (mortgage or charge)
An ypothiki is a mortgage or charge registered against a property to secure a debt. If the seller has a loan secured on the home, that charge shows up in your lawyer’s search and must be cleared before or at completion.
You will also come across a related term, prosimiosi ypothikis, a “pre-notation” of mortgage. This is the more common form in practice ELRA and is the security a Greek bank registers if you take out a loan to fund the purchase. Either way, the point is the same: check what is registered against the property before you commit.
The checks on the building itself
Topografiko diagramma (topographical survey)
The topografiko diagramma is the survey plan prepared and signed by a licensed engineer, showing the plot’s exact boundaries, area and coordinates. It is attached to the deed and confirms that what is described on paper matches what is on the ground.
Older Greek title deeds can be vague about measurements, and boundaries are not always marked by walls or fences, so this survey is one of your best protections against buying something different from what you think. A modern plan with GPS coordinates is required for a sale, and typical costs run to roughly €500 to €1,500 depending on the plot.
Pistopiitiko energeiakis apodosis (energy performance certificate)
The pistopiitiko energeiakis apodosis, or PEA, is Greece’s energy performance certificate. It rates the building’s energy efficiency on a scale from A+ down to G and must be provided by the seller before a sale or a letting can go through.
For you it is both a legal box to tick and a useful signal. Many older Greek homes, especially apartments built in the 1970s and 1980s, sit in the lower energy bands and can be expensive to heat and cool, so the certificate is worth reading rather than filing away.
Taftotita ktiriou (electronic building identity)
The taftotita ktiriou is the electronic building identity, a digital dossier confirming the “as-built” status of the property – what has actually been constructed, with its permits and plans. A licensed engineer compiles it through the Technical Chamber of Greece platform, and since 2022 it has been required to transfer a property.
Greece has a long legacy of unpermitted building work, from extensions to enclosed balconies. This document, together with your engineer’s checks, is how you confirm the home is legal before you buy, rather than inheriting someone else’s planning problem.
The taxes you will pay
Greek property taxes fall into two groups: what you pay once when you buy, and what you pay every year as an owner. Figures change frequently, so treat all of the following as illustrative.
Foros metavivasis akiniton (transfer tax)
Foros metavivasis akiniton (FMA) is the property transfer tax on a resale home. AADE sets the main rate at 3% of the taxable value, with a levy in favour of municipalities of a further 3% of that tax, which produces an effective rate of about 3.09%. The buyer pays it through the myPROPERTY platform, before the deed is signed.
New-build homes bought from a developer would in principle attract 24% VAT instead. Greece has suspended that VAT, most recently under Law 5246/2025 (published in the Government Gazette on 11 November 2025), with the suspension running to 31 December 2026. While it holds, many qualifying new builds are taxed at the lower 3.09% instead – but the developer chooses whether to apply the suspension, so confirm it project by project.
There is a first-home exemption, but this is the part UK buyers need to read carefully. Per AADE, the tax-free limits run to €200,000 for an unmarried buyer and €250,000 for a married couple, rising by €25,000 for each of the first two children and €30,000 for each subsequent child. Importantly, AADE limits the relief to Greeks, EU and EEA citizens, and certain long-term-resident third-country nationals, and requires the buyer to live in Greece permanently or intend to settle there within two years. Since Brexit the UK is a third country, so a typical non-resident UK holiday-home buyer will generally not qualify.
Antikeimeniki axia (objective value)
The antikeimeniki axia is the state-assessed “objective value” of a property, set by the tax authority using location, size, age and other factors. Greek property taxes are calculated on the higher of this value or the price you actually pay.
It matters because the objective value is often lower than the market price, which can work in your favour on tax, but a mismatch between the two can also raise questions, so it is something your lawyer and notary will confirm.
ENFIA (Eniaios Foros Idioktisias Akiniton)
ENFIA is the unified annual property tax, charged on whatever you own on 1 January each year. It applies to everyone – residents, non-residents, EU and non-EU – with no separate foreign-owner rate.
It has a main tax based on the property’s characteristics and a supplementary charge that applies where a person’s total Greek property value passes a set threshold. On a mid-market flat of about 100 square metres the annual bill is often in the region of €300 to €400, while larger or higher-value properties pay considerably more. One practical point: to transfer a property the owner must show an ENFIA certificate confirming the tax has been paid, so unpaid ENFIA can hold up a sale.
Summary of the main terms and when they apply
| Term | What it is | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| AFM | Greek tax registration number | Before you buy anything |
| Dikigoros | Your independent lawyer | Throughout, for due diligence |
| Symvolaiografos | Impartial notary | At signing |
| Prosymfono | Preliminary contract and deposit | After price agreed |
| Symvoleo agoras | Final deed of sale | At completion |
| Ktimatologio | National land registry | During due diligence |
| Metagrafi | Registration of your title | Just after completion |
| Ypothiki | Mortgage or charge on the property | During due diligence |
| Topografiko diagramma | Engineer’s boundary survey | Before signing |
| PEA | Energy performance certificate | Provided by seller before sale |
| Taftotita ktiriou | Electronic building identity | Required to transfer |
| Foros metavivasis akiniton | Transfer tax on resale | On buying |
| ENFIA | Annual property tax | Every year as owner |
What should I do next?
If you are early in the process, here are a few sensible first moves: view Greek properties for sale to anchor your budget to real prices and areas, and read our Greece buying guide for the full step-by-step. Because the exchange rate moves your budget as much as the taxes do, it is worth speaking to a currency specialist early. And before you commit to anything, instruct an independent Greek lawyer who is not connected to the seller or agent.
Summary
Buying in Greece means learning a handful of new words, but each one has a clear job. The AFM gets you into the system, your dikigoros does the checks that protect you, and the symvolaiografos makes the sale official. The prosymfono and symvoleo are the two contracts that move you from agreement to ownership, while the ktimatologio, metagrafi and topografiko diagramma confirm what you are buying and record that it is yours. On tax, the transfer tax applies when you buy and ENFIA returns every year. None of it is beyond you once you know when each term appears – and a good independent lawyer will carry most of the load. Do confirm the current rates and reliefs before you sign, because they change.
FAQs
Yes. The AFM is your Greek tax number, and without it you cannot sign the deed, pay the transfer tax or open a Greek bank account. You can apply in person, online through myAADE, or through a lawyer acting under power of attorney, which is what most overseas buyers do.
The dikigoros is your own lawyer, who does the due diligence and acts in your interest. The symvolaiografos is the notary, an impartial public official who draws up and formalises the deed for the transaction itself. You need both, because the notary does not protect your side of the deal.
The main transfer tax on a resale is 3% of the taxable value, plus a municipal levy of 3% of that tax, for an effective rate of about 3.09%. Rates and reliefs change: the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced at the 90th Thessaloniki International Fair a rise to 15% for third-country nationals, so confirm the current position and its timing before you budget.
Yes. ENFIA is the annual property tax, charged on what you own on 1 January each year, and it applies to residents and non-residents alike. You will also need to show a certificate confirming ENFIA has been paid before you can sell.
Largely, yes. A Greek lawyer holding your power of attorney can obtain your AFM, carry out the checks and even sign the deed on your behalf, so many buyers complete with only one or two trips.
