Buying a property in Thessaloniki: what to check before you sign.

Your budget does not end at the price. On top of the price come the transfer tax (or VAT on new builds), the fees of the notary and the lawyer, the land registry recording costs, the consultant’s fee and the engineer’s inspection where needed. Then comes the cost that rarely makes it into a table: moving, utility connections, small repairs, a kitchen or air conditioning, painting. When these are calculated after the preliminary contract has been signed, the buyer either compromises or borrows more. That is why the first conversation we will have is not about properties: it is about the maximum total amount you can bear, with all of the above inside it. From there on you know which price you are really looking for.

The preliminary contract is binding. So anything that could overturn the agreement must have been answered before it and not after. What follows is general information; the checks themselves are carried out by a lawyer and an engineer. Your lawyer carries out the check of titles and encumbrances: mortgages, seizures, claims, chain of ownership. The engineer compares the permit and the floor plans with what actually exists on site, identifies deviations and checks whether they have been settled. Ask also for a cadastral extract, an energy performance certificate, an Electronic Building Identity where required, a certificate that no communal charges are owed, and the ENFIA property tax certificate. I do not carry out these checks myself. What I do is know which documents are needed, who issues them and what a delay means for your timetable — so that you know what is pending before you pay a deposit.

Two apartments on the same street can have completely different value. What counts is the floor, the orientation, the year of construction, the energy class, the heating system, the view, whether there is a lift and a parking space, the co-ownership share, the communal charges. Price per square metre is useful only after these terms are in. Before I propose a price, I calculate it. On the Tools page you will find two tools you can use on your own: the valuation at price.newdeal.gr, which works with market data, and the yield calculator if you are buying as an investment. They do not replace the on-site look. They do give you a starting number, so that you do not enter a negotiation with the seller’s asking price as your only fact.

I work across fourteen areas, in Eastern Thessaloniki and the centre. They are two different market logics. In the centre what counts is density: what is at your feet, what condition the building is in and how the other owners operate, how much noise the street has in the evening and not only in the morning. On the eastern side what counts is access, parking, the time to work and to schools, the relation between floor and view. Before you commit, see the property a second time at a different hour of the day and on a different day of the week. It costs nothing and is often skipped. And when you compare areas, compare the whole package — price, communal charges, heating, travel time — not only the price.

The rules I apply with buyers are written out in detail on the Elite Codex page. Read it before you go out searching; it is the full guide and there is no point repeating it here. The next practical step is to record what you are looking for. On the Property request page you declare areas, property category, bedrooms, size, price range and notes. The more specific you write them, the fewer irrelevant properties you will see. Those available right now are on the Properties page. If you prefer to talk first, the office is at 33 Tsimiski Street in Thessaloniki and the mobile is +30 694 484 7473. I do not promise results. I deliver them — and when something goes wrong, I stay at the table until it is solved.