The buyer's code.
Five rules that separate people who buy well from people who simply buy. This is not theory — it is what I watch decide every deal in Thessaloniki.
Fix the number before you view the first property.
Your budget is not the asking price. It is the price plus transfer tax, notary, legal fees, land registry, agency fee and whatever it costs to actually move in.
Work out the total first. Anyone entering the market without that number negotiates from weakness — and it shows from the first viewing.
Legal due diligence is not a formality. It is the brake.
Titles, encumbrances, seizures, unauthorised construction and legalisations, energy certificate, outstanding building charges.
I have seen a serious legal issue surface mid-process, unknown even to the owner. Nothing is signed until the file is clean — and no deal is lost because someone was in a hurry.
Market value is not the asking price.
The asking price is an opinion. Market value is data: actual sales in the area over recent months, square metres, floor, year of construction, energy class, condition.
Before you make an offer you need to know how far below asking comparable properties are closing today. That is the only thing that gives you leverage at the table.
A serious offer closes. A low offer merely talks.
An offer is not only a number. It is completion date, payment method, financing readiness and how quickly you can sign.
An owner with two offers on the table does not always take the higher one. They take the safer one. Make sure you are the safer one.
From preliminary agreement to keys.
Preliminary or direct contract, loan application, bank valuation, transfer tax, signing, registration, meter readings and keys. Every step has an order and a deadline.
One person should hold the whole timeline and update you before you have to ask. That is my job.