Pick the instrument before the lender
Three products release equity. A home equity loan pays a lump sum, usually at a fixed rate. A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is a revolving line at a variable rate, with a draw period followed by repayment. A cash-out refinance replaces your first mortgage with a larger one. If your first mortgage rate is below today's market rate, a cash-out refinance reprices the whole balance, while a second lien leaves the first loan alone.
Lenders also set a ceiling on the combined loan against the home. Fannie Mae's eligibility matrix, as of December 2025, listed a maximum loan-to-value of 80% for a cash-out refinance on a one-unit principal residence and 75% on a second home; individual lenders may set lower limits. Ask which ceiling applies to your property and use.
Work backwards from the notary date
Start from the date of the deed and subtract each step. A US lender needs an appraisal and underwriting before closing. For a loan secured by your principal dwelling, Regulation Z then gives you until midnight of the third business day after closing to cancel, and the lender generally may not disburse until that period has run and it is satisfied you have not cancelled. A loan that closes on a Monday cannot normally fund before Friday. The right applies to a principal dwelling; if the home you are borrowing against is a second home or a rental, ask the lender how its own process works.
After funding, the wire to Europe and the currency conversion take further days. Build a week of slack behind the lender's own estimate, and do not sign a Greek agreement with a hard completion date until the US loan has a firm closing date.
Where the dollars land
Greek notarial deeds must record that the price was paid through the banking system, and cash payments can attract a fine of 10% of the unbanked amount. That means your funds have to reach a Greek account or the seller through a documented bank payment. Some buyers convert in stages, or fix the rate with a forward contract, so that a swing in the exchange rate does not leave a shortfall on the day of the deed. Compare the rate and the spread in writing.
Keep the paper trail for the money: the closing disclosure, the loan statement and the wire confirmation. Greek banks and notaries ask where funds came from, and a HELOC draw is easy to explain when the documents are in one folder.
The FBAR trigger that arrives with the wire
The moment the euros sit in a Greek account in your name and your foreign accounts together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year, an FBAR is due for that year, even if the money leaves the account within days. It is filed with FinCEN, not with your tax return, and is due on 15 April with an automatic extension to 15 October. Form 8938 has higher thresholds: for an unmarried filer living in the United States, more than $50,000 at year end or $75,000 at any time, and double those figures for joint filers. Greek real estate held in your own name is reported on neither form.
Stress-test the repayment, not just the purchase
Model the loan after the draw period ends and with a rate two points higher. On $300,000 drawn, each percentage point of rate is $3,000 a year in interest. If the plan depends on Greek rental income to service the debt, assume the lender will not count it and that the property will be empty for part of the year.
Keep the tax records
IRS guidance says interest on a home equity loan is deductible only when the proceeds are used to buy, build or substantially improve the home that secures the loan, and it gives a vacation-home purchase as an example that does not qualify. Keep a record that shows how the money was used, and ask your tax adviser how to treat it in the return.
Decide how the equity loan gets repaid
An equity loan has a repayment path just like a mortgage: a sale of the US or Greek home, savings, or a later Greek mortgage. Some buyers plan to replace the US loan with a Greek mortgage after completion. Ask a Greek bank whether it lends against a home you already own before you rely on that, because its answer will depend on the valuation, the title and your income at that point.
Practical checklist
- Choose between a lump sum, a line and a cash-out refinance, and ask the lender for its ceiling.
- Confirm whether the loan is on a principal residence and when the cancellation period ends.
- Fix a funding date before you agree a Greek completion date.
- Plan the conversion in stages or with a forward contract.
- Keep the closing disclosure and wire records in one file.
- Name the person who will file the FBAR and Form 8938 if required.
Questions US buyers ask
Continue your Greek property research
What people ask us about timing
Across our network, between 27 May and 9 October 2026, 10 of the 285 enquiries that included a written message described bridging finance, selling one home to buy the next. If your equity release depends on a sale, tie the Greek completion date to the sale rather than to hope.
Who made this guide. Bas Terpstra makes, reviews and approves every guide, using AI tools and public sources as a starting point. Rules and figures change, so treat this as general information and confirm the details for your own situation.
This guide is general information, not personal financial, legal, tax or currency advice. Mortgage availability is subject to credit, income, valuation and lender criteria.