Real Estate Glossary - Legal

Detailed property glossary. Commonly used terms and phrases of international real estate as well as specialised definitions for better understanding of the Greek property market.

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Apostille
A legal certification that makes a document from one country valid in another (provided that both are signatories to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents)
Contract
Document outlining the terms agreed between the buyer and the seller and binding both parties to complete the sale/purchase transaction. Also known as Agreement.
Easement
An easement is a legal right to use another's land for a specific limited purpose. In other words, when someone is granted an easement, he is granted the legal right to use the property, but the legal title to the land itself remains with the owner of the land.
Horizontal Ownership
Independent, exclusive ownership on a building or a flat, with a specific percentage of co-ownership in the land and the common parts of the building.
Land Registry
Government department responsible for recording ownership of properies. Searches will be requested from the Land Registry by conveyancers as part of any property transaction.
Land Registry Fees
Set fee paid to Land Registry to register ownership of a property.
Lease Agreement
Legal document detailing terms whereby the owner of a property grants rights to another party to occupy it for a specified period of time. Also known as Tenancy Agreement.
Notary
State civil servant responsible for editing the real estate transfer contracts. Permanently appointed by the Minister of Justice, his duty is to protect the public interest the public security and the fiscal and social policy. He is inspected for the lawful and diligent performance of his duties by the local public prosecutor.
Power of attorney
A legal document that authorizes another person to act on one's behalf. A power of attorney can grant complete authority or can be limited to certain acts and/or certain periods of time.
Preliminary agreement
The notary's act by which the parties engage themselves to draw up the final contract in the future and generally determine the terms of the final contract. The preliminary contract is subject to the same type as the final contract, so a notary is demanded
Private Agreement
The parties may draw up a private agreement for the intended sale, which however can't be legally executed such as a notary's act, therefore it's not sufficient to complete the transfer of real estate property. In case of a legal dispute, it is simply a proof of assumption of obligations between the parties.
Property tax certificate
A certificate granted to the property owner by the competent tax authority to prove that his selling property has been included in the declaration of his real property for the last five years and that no property tax is due for this property for the same years.
Right of access
The right of access is a type of easement that gives its holder a non possessory interest in someone else's real property (servient estate). It can be a right of roadway or pathway that benefits a particular person or benefits a particular parcel of land (dominant estate)
Solicitor
Professionally qualified legal expert who prepares documents for the sale or purchase of a property.
Title Search
A detailed examination of the entire document history of a property title to make sure there are no legal encumbrances that effect the seller's right to sell.
Vertical ownership
Ownership on a building built on the same plot with other buildings and on a specific part of the land, with co-ownership on the major plot.

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