How we guide

Buying Property in Thessaloniki & Halkidiki: Three Processes, One Legal Team

From your first question to your new set of keys — guided by Your Legal Home led by Kotsonis–Gaitanaki Law Firm, working exclusively in your interest across the full Thessaloniki and Halkidiki corridor.

Two clients. Same law office. The same week in March.

The first is a Turkish investor. He is buying a fourth-floor apartment in Kalamaria — new-build, developer portfolio, off-plan purchase for completion in fourteen months. The legal process centres on a title search, an independent building legality check, a review of the developer’s Viewing Form for portfolio lock-in clauses, an off-plan contract negotiation with milestone payment verification, and a unified notarial deed.

The second is a Serbian family. They have been coming to Sithonia for seven years. They have found the house. The legal process centres on a forest map query at the Forestry Service authority, a coastal zone boundary verification with the Cadastral Authority, a full title search across a peninsula where cadastral registration is still incomplete, and an independent engineer’s physical survey of the coastal boundary.

The legal framework governing both transactions is Greek law. The due diligence required is almost entirely different. One of these buyers needs to know that the apartment’s legally documented residential area supports the Golden Visa threshold and is not being overstated by listing language or unresolved building issues. The other needs to know that the land they are buying is all privately owned — and not partly State-owned coastal zone.

Thessaloniki and Halkidiki are forty minutes apart by car. The legal processes that protect an investment in each market are as different as any two markets in Greece. At Your Legal Home led by Kotsonis–Gaitanaki Law Firm, we manage all three due diligence stacks that this corridor requires — from the same office, with the same commitment to working exclusively in your interest.

One Legal Partner. Zero Coordination Stress.

One of the most common challenges for international buyers in this corridor is managing multiple professionals in a foreign country — agents, engineers, notaries, tax authorities, forestry offices — each with different timelines, languages, and priorities. In the Thessaloniki and Halkidiki market, where the due diligence requires different sets of authority checks depending on what and where you are buying, that coordination challenge is more acute than in most Greek markets.

Your Legal Home acts as your single point of accountability. We align every professional involved, run checks in parallel, and keep you informed at every stage in plain English. We require and coordinate the independent engineer’s inspection — that is our responsibility, not yours to arrange. We conduct the forest map and coastal zone queries directly from our Thessaloniki office. For Halkidiki coastal acquisitions, we review every Viewing Form before you sign it.

One point of contact. One integrated process. One report that tells you exactly what you are buying before you sign anything.

Three Due Diligence Stacks — Which One Applies to You

The legal process for a Thessaloniki or Halkidiki acquisition is not a single template. It depends fundamentally on what you are buying and where. The table below maps the key differences across the three distinct processes that this corridor requires.

The table above is a decision map, not a checklist. It exists to make sure that by the time we begin, both you and we know exactly which process applies to your acquisition — and what will be verified before any commitment is made.

Stack A — Thessaloniki Urban Acquisition in Detail

For a standard Thessaloniki apartment or new-build purchase, the due diligence runs across two parallel tracks — a legal title track and a building legality track — that must both be complete before any contract is presented.

• Land Registry Office title search: current ownership and encumbrances, plus historical records where relevant for older buildings in the central stock. The Land Registry Office confirms the seller’s ownership and financial clean title. It does not confirm what was built.
• Independent engineer’s inspection: building permit verification and physical compliance. In Thessaloniki’s expansion-era apartment stock, unauthorised additions and regularisation entries are common and affect the qualifying residential area for Golden Visa purposes. The buyer’s engineer reviews the Electronic Building Identity independently — not simply accepts it from the seller.
• Master deed review: confirming that all spaces included in the purchase — parking, storage, garden — are exclusively owned by the unit and not communal. For GV acquisitions, confirming that the documented 120 m² is exclusively owned.
• Viewing Form review: for new-build acquisitions in Kalamaria and Pylaia, the developer’s viewing form is reviewed before signing. Portfolio lock-in clauses covering the developer’s other buildings are identified and negotiated out before any commitment.
• For off-plan acquisitions: off-plan contract structure review, milestone payment verification provisions, and the recommended unified notarial deed covering both land and construction obligation.

Findings from both tracks are integrated and presented to the buyer before any purchase agreement is drafted. A regularisation notation has legal implications that must be assessed by a lawyer. A master deed ambiguity must be physically verified on site. The integration of both tracks is what produces a complete picture.

Stack B — Halkidiki Coastal Acquisition in Detail

For a Halkidiki coastal acquisition, the due diligence runs across three tracks: title, technical, and land classification. The third track is what distinguishes this process from an urban purchase and is the source of the most consequential risks in this market.

• Viewing Form review: before any property visit, and certainly before any form is signed. Double-agency overlap check, commission scope review, and expiration date confirmation. In Halkidiki’s seasonal market, the Viewing Form signed under August pressure is the most common source of preventable legal complications.
• Forest map verification: at the Forestry Service authority. A forest classification on any portion of the parcel affects building rights, renovation, and — for GV acquisitions — the qualifying residential area. For buyer-side protection, we aim to complete this check before any non-refundable payment is made, and we do not rely on the seller’s side for it.
• Coastal zone boundary verification: direct authority query confirming that the property’s described area is entirely in private ownership and does not include State-owned coastal zone. For GV acquisitions, this directly determines whether the investment meets the €400,000 threshold and whether the qualifying area meets the 120 m² minimum.
• Land Registry Office title search across the relevant peninsula registry. Halkidiki’s cadastral registration is at varying stages of completion. Where both systems coexist, both are checked.
• Independent engineer’s inspection: building permit and physical compliance. For plot acquisitions: boundary survey data cross-referenced against the legal title description and the coastal zone boundary finding.
• For villa construction projects: seasonal delivery window provisions in the off-plan contract, and an exit right covering both developer financial default and administrative suspension of the building permit due to a forest map challenge.

Stack C — Thessaloniki €250,000 Conversion in Detail

The €250,000 commercial-to-residential conversion pathway requires a due diligence process that is more intensive than either Stack A or Stack B — and that must be completed before any financial commitment, not after.

• Commercial registration verification: the property must be formally registered as commercial at the Land Registry Office and the urban planning authority. Registration as commercial in administrative records — not merely used as commercial — is the qualifying condition. This is confirmed before any offer.
• Planning feasibility confirmation: the planned conversion to residential use must be achievable under current urban planning regulations for that specific property and location. A conversion that is architecturally feasible is not necessarily legally achievable. This determination requires engagement with the competent urban planning authority before any commitment is made.
• Contract structure: a unified notarial deed covering both the acquisition and the construction/conversion obligation is strongly recommended. A split structure — separate acquisition deed and conversion contract — leaves the buyer’s rights in the conversion process in a weaker position. The staged permit process during conversion must be explicitly addressed in the deed.
• ENFIA during conversion: the property is assessed at the commercial ENFIA coefficient from acquisition until residential reclassification. This affects the annual holding cost during the conversion period and must be modelled before commitment.
• GV application timing: the application process is typically structured around the registered commercial acquisition, while the residential reclassification should be completed within the timeframe required by the current Golden Visa renewal rules. The conversion timeline should be clearly addressed in the contract.

The Four Stages: How Every Acquisition Proceeds

Regardless of which stack applies, every acquisition follows the same four-stage process. The specific content of the due diligence stage (Stage 2) reflects which stack is in play.

Can I Buy in Thessaloniki or Halkidiki Without Being There?

Yes. The entire legal and administrative acquisition process — from AFM registration and bank account opening, through due diligence, contract execution, and property registration — can be completed remotely through a Power of Attorney.

For Halkidiki buyers who make the purchase decision during a summer visit but complete the process remotely: we manage every step on your behalf after you return home. The Viewing Form review happens during the visit. The due diligence, contract negotiation, and closing happen on a timeline that works for your schedule, not the developer’s.

Our Thessaloniki office means all local authority checks — at the Cadastral Office, the Forestry Service, the Urban Planning Authority, and the relevant Notarial Archive — are conducted directly. Nothing is delegated.

You travel to Greece when you choose to — to visit your property, not to manage its paperwork.

Before Your Consultation: A Starting Point

A first conversation is most useful when you have clarity on where you are in the process. These questions help focus it — you do not need answers before calling.

• Which stack applies to my situation: Thessaloniki urban (€800K standard), Halkidiki coastal (€400K), or the Thessaloniki €250K conversion exception?
• Have I had an early-stage legal review of the specific property’s documentation and status before any deposit or Viewing Form has been signed?
• For Thessaloniki: has an independent engineer — not the seller’s engineer — verified the building against its permits, and does the documented area confirm the GV qualifying footprint?
• For Halkidiki: has the forest map classification and coastal zone boundary been verified for the specific parcel before any deposit was discussed?
• Is my intended ownership structure — individual or corporate — aligned with GV eligibility requirements and my tax position? For Turkish or Israeli investors using a Private Company or SA: has the 100% shareholding condition been confirmed?
• Do I understand the full acquisition cost: transfer tax (∼3.09%), notary fees, cadastral fees, legal fees, and for conversion projects, the full construction estimate?

Your Investment Deserves Undivided Legal Attention

Every acquisition we manage in the Thessaloniki and Halkidiki corridor is planned, communicated, and executed with the same standard — whether it is a Kalamaria apartment, a Sithonia coastal villa, or a Ladadika conversion project. You receive regular updates at each milestone and a clear picture of every stage, so you move forward with confidence and never wonder what comes next.

The process is different depending on what you are buying. The commitment to working exclusively in your interest is not.