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Inherited a property in Samos? The new law makes selling it easier than ever
A complete guide for heirs living in Athens, the UK, the USA, Australia or Germany — how to sell the family home or land in Samos remotely, legally and at the best price.
Thousands of families with roots in Samos hold a property they inherited — the family home in the village, a field, an old house. Most heirs no longer live on the island: they are in Athens, Thessaloniki or abroad (USA, Australia, Germany, the UK). The property stays closed, pays ENFIA (the annual Greek property tax) every year and slowly loses value. Until recently, selling an inheritance was complicated and expensive. The new Greek law 5293/2026 changed exactly that.
What Law 5293/2026 changed for inheritance sales
Previously, to transfer a property acquired through inheritance, parental gift or donation, the related tax had to be paid in advance. Many sales were frozen for years because the heirs did not have the cash to pay the tax up front — especially when the property itself was their only asset.
Under the new law, the tax can be withheld by the notary from the sale price at the moment of transfer. You no longer need to find money out of pocket before you sell — the tax is paid to the state from the amount you receive. The result: transfers that were stuck are now moving again.
⚖️ Important: The above is general information, not legal or tax advice. The exact details are confirmed case by case with your notary and accountant. At Samos Housing we coordinate the whole process and work closely with your notary.
Living far from Samos? The sale can be done remotely
You do not need to travel to Samos to sell. We handle everything on the ground and coordinate with a lawyer and a notary. Your physical presence is needed only to sign the contract — and even that can be done through a power of attorney, without travelling at all.
- Certified property valuation based on real sales in Samos
- Document checks and clean-up: survey plan & KHD code, Hellenic Cadastre, any unpermitted structures
- Professional marketing in Greece and abroad — photography, drone, multilingual campaigns
- Negotiation and coordination up to the signing — our real estate commission is paid only when the property sells
- Engineering work (survey plans, legalisation, certificates) is quoted and paid upfront, separately from the sale
Several co-heirs in different cities or countries?
This is the most common case in Samos: one property belongs to siblings or cousins who live in different places. Without coordination, the sale gets stuck for years. We bring all co-owners together, collect signatures and powers of attorney remotely and handle the communication with the lawyer and the notary — so you never all need to be on the island at the same time.
Which documents are needed to sell an inherited property in Samos
The more you have from the start, the faster we move. Whatever is missing, we take care of ourselves as engineers:
- Title deeds / acceptance of inheritance
- Up-to-date survey plan with EGSA ’87 coordinates & KHD code
- Hellenic Cadastre certificate
- Recent ENFIA statement or E9 form
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), if one exists
- ID card or passport of every heir
Why Samos Housing for your inheritance
We are qualified civil engineers and certified valuers, not just estate agents. That means the price is set on real data, and legal or technical issues are solved in-house before the property even goes on the market. Based permanently in Samos since 2008 and rated 4.8 on Google, we know the Cadastre, the particulars of every village and the buyers looking for property on the island.
Have you inherited a property in Samos?
Start selling your inheritance →Frequently asked questions
Can I sell an inherited property in Samos if I live abroad?
Yes. We manage the whole process remotely and coordinate with a lawyer and a notary. You only need to be present for the contract — or not at all, with a power of attorney.
What exactly did Law 5293/2026 change?
Selling a property acquired through inheritance, parental gift or donation no longer requires the tax to be paid in advance. The tax is withheld by the notary from the sale price. General information — confirm with your notary.
There are several heirs — can we still sell?
Yes, we do this all the time. We coordinate all co-owners and collect signatures and powers of attorney remotely, without anyone needing to be in Samos.
The property has an unpermitted structure or an old survey — what happens?
As engineers, we handle the legalisation and the new survey plan with KHD code ourselves, so the property becomes legally transferable — usually in parallel with the marketing.
