A Greek property is only as sound as its title. Ownership passes with everything attached to it: mortgages, attachments, adverse claims, and errors in the cadastral record. Due diligence is the stage where those are found while there is still room to walk away or to renegotiate.
What a title search covers
The chain of title is traced back far enough to cover the statutory acquisitive period, so that the seller is confirmed to hold what is being sold. Encumbrances are then checked: mortgages and prenotations, attachments, claims registered against the property, easements and registered leases. Where the National Cadastre is operational, the cadastral entry itself is examined — whether the parcel is recorded under the correct holder, whether area and boundaries match the deed and the survey plan, and whether any part of it is recorded as belonging to an unknown owner.
Planning status is reviewed in parallel: unauthorised structures or changes of use that have not been regularised, and whether the building's electronic identity file has been issued.
Timing. The search is worth commissioning before any deposit is paid or preliminary agreement signed. Once money has moved, a finding becomes a claim to pursue rather than a condition of the deal.
What you receive
A written opinion in English with a direct answer: whether the property can be acquired safely, what encumbrances exist, what must be cleared before signing, and which terms should be written into the deed. It is accompanied by a costing of the taxes, registration fees and duties payable through to registration.
Cadastral corrections
Where a property has been recorded incorrectly — under the wrong holder, with the wrong area, or as belonging to an unknown owner — the entry can be corrected, either by application to the Cadastral Office where the error is manifest on the documents, or by court proceedings where ownership itself is in dispute. Deadlines apply and differ by region, so the applicable date should be checked before anything else.
Auctions and creditor ranking
For creditors enforcing against Greek real estate, I file claims, monitor auction proceedings, draft and audit creditor ranking tables, and bring or defend challenges against them. The statutory period for challenging a ranking table is short — twelve working days from service of the relevant notice — so preparation must precede the table, not follow it.
Contact
Vassilios P. Papakonstantinou, attorney at law, Athens Bar Association, registration no. 027187. Pausaniou 11, 116 35 Athens, Greece. Telephone 210 7230298, mobile 694 679 7434, email vassilispapakon@gmail.com. Correspondence in English, Greek or German.