Last updated 14 October 2026. By Demetre E. Katsouris, Managing Partner, Katsouris Law Firm.
The short answer: when you buy a finished apartment, you are buying a thing. When you buy off-plan, you are buying a promise, and the question is what the promise is worth. A small developer — one or two projects, a family company, financed by presales and a bank line — can deliver an excellent building. The buyer’s job is to make sure that if it does not, the money comes back. The twelve points below are what we check for every off-plan buyer, and they are the same whether the developer is a friend of the family or a stranger from a listing.
1. Who owns the plot
The developer may own the plot, may have a preliminary agreement to buy it, or may be building under an antiparochi arrangement where the landowner keeps some units. Each is lawful; each changes who must sign your deed. A title search at the Land Registry and Cadastre tells you which, and whether the plot is mortgaged to the developer’s bank, which it usually is.
2. The building permit
Issued, valid, in the name of the plot owner, for the building being marketed, with no revisions pending. The permit’s plans show the units, their areas and the common parts; the brochure does not. Compare the two. A permit “about to be issued” is not a permit.
3. The horizontal-property deed
The notarial deed that divides the building into units with their shares of the plot and common parts. Until it exists, your apartment does not exist as a legal object and cannot be transferred. Ask when it will be signed. Many small developers sign it only when the first buyer is ready to complete; the preliminary agreement should fix a date.
4. The bank’s position
A mortgage on the plot in favour of the developer’s bank extends to the building. Your unit is released from it when the developer repays the bank the amount attributed to your unit. The preliminary agreement should state that the deed will be signed free of the mortgage, and your payments should be sized so that the release is funded.
5. The payment schedule
Reservation, then stage payments tied to construction milestones certified by an engineer — foundations, frame, external walls, completion — then the balance at the deed. Payments should go to the developer’s account by bank transfer and be acknowledged in writing. A schedule front-loaded before the frame is up means you are financing the developer’s cash flow with no security.
6. Security for your payments
The weak point of every off-plan purchase. The options, from strongest to weakest: a bank guarantee for the amounts paid; a registered pre-notation of mortgage on the plot in your favour for the amounts paid; a notarial preliminary agreement registered against the plot; a private preliminary agreement. Small developers resist the first two; the third is the minimum we advise.
7. The VAT election
New builds carry 24% VAT unless the developer has elected the suspension, which currently runs to 31 December 2026 and requires the permit and the sale to fall within the regime. Ask for written confirmation that the project is under the suspension and that your deed will be signed with transfer tax, not VAT. If completion is expected after 2026, ask what happens if the suspension is not extended: the difference on a €400,000 apartment is roughly €85,000.
8. The completion date and the penalty
A fixed date for delivery, a defined grace period, and a daily or monthly penalty after it. Without a penalty the date is decoration. The agreement should also define “completion”: the building’s completion certificate, the utility connections, the electronic building identity, and the horizontal-property deed signed.
9. The specification
Finishes, fittings, kitchen, bathrooms, heating and cooling, windows, floors, elevator, parking and storage, listed by brand or standard in an annex to the agreement. “Quality materials” is not a specification. Changes should require your written consent and a price adjustment both ways.
10. Defects
The developer is liable for defects after delivery for the periods the Civil Code sets, longer for structural defects. The agreement should provide for a snagging inspection by your engineer before the deed, a retention from the final payment until the snags are cleared, and a named contact for defects after you move in.
11. The company behind the developer
A small developer usually sells through a company formed for the project. Check it exists, who the managers are, what its registered capital is, and whether the person you are dealing with has authority to sign. If the project company is empty, your recourse is the plot and the building, which is why points 4 and 6 matter.
12. The proposed 15% transfer tax
If you are a non-EU individual, a deed signed on or after 1 July 2027 may carry 15.45% transfer tax rather than 3.09% if the announced measure is enacted. A completion date “in summer 2027” is a tax risk. The agreement should say who bears the difference if the date slips, and you should consider a unit that is further along.
The preliminary agreement
Everything above goes into a notarial preliminary agreement, registered against the plot, with the deed to follow on completion. A private agreement on the developer’s letterhead protects the developer. The notary’s fee for a preliminary agreement is modest against the sums at stake.
Frequently asked questions
The developer wants 50% on signing. No. Stage payments against certified progress, with security for what is paid.
Can I visit the site? Yes, and your engineer should, at each stage payment.
The developer says the apartment is “Golden Visa eligible”. Check the permit area against the 120 sq.m. main-use test and the one-property rule yourself; see our article on Circular 1/2026. The developer’s word does not bind the Ministry.
What if the developer goes bankrupt? With a registered pre-notation or notarial preliminary agreement, you rank as a creditor against the plot. With a private agreement, you queue behind the bank with nothing registered.
This article is general information, not legal advice; it reflects the position on the date above and may change.
Before you reserve an off-plan apartment, send us the developer’s draft agreement and the permit number: info@katslaw.eu or +30 210 8982 864.
