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The Pros
and Cons of Investing in Greece
(excerpt taken from the Greece
Buying Guide)
Reasons
FOR investing in Greece
- Real
estate is still cheap by EU standards.
- The
market has shown considerable growth in the last decade
because of reduced interest rates, deregulation of rents
and an increase in living standards countrywide. Since the
Olympics in 2004, prices have increased around 10-15% per
annum, significantly ahead of the country’s low inflation
rates.
- A new
airport has been built ouside of Athens due to the Olympic
Games making access much easier and quicker.
- The
buying process is surprisingly quick and straightforward.
If all the papers are in order, it can take as little as
a week for a transaction to be completed, although a period
of six to eight weeks is more usual.
- Greece
enjoys a wonderful reputation for its climate, its gorgeous
light and its hospitable, lively people. For these reasons
and more, it is an enduringly popular holiday destination,
so if you have the right property in the right location,
demand is likely to be high should you want to rent it out.
- Crime
rates are among the lowest in Europe. Visitors will feel
safe and it is unlikely the property will be broken into
in your absence.
- Financing
is widely available and rates are generally competitive.
Typically, you should be able to borrow up to 75% of the
Assessed Tax Value for up to 25 years.
- There
is a wide range of properties available, from land with
sea views, village houses with ocean and harbour views and
simple farm houses ripe for restoration to new apartment
complexes, renovated townhouses and luxury villas.
- You
can still find properties for less than £70,000 that
will make great investments. Even relatively luxurious properties
are available for less than you would pay elsewhere in the
E.U.
Reasons
AGAINST investing in Greece
- There
can be lots of red tape involved in buying and renting out
property. A lawyer will be able to help you, but patience
can be something of a necessary virtue. An EOT licence is
absolutely essential for short term lets (anything under
3 months).
- Carefully
consider where you’re buying to maximise rental potential
– during winter it becomes far more difficult and
expensive to get to parts of Greece from the UK.
- The
flight time to Greece is three and a half hours from the
UK, which means that it won’t be a short hop if you
need to get to Greece to resolve any problems.
- Beware
of people trying to sell you property that doesn’t
have clean title. In Greece, if someone dies intestate,
their property is divided between their spouse and any children,
so properties can have a whole number of owners, all of
whose signature you need to purchase.
Tracing all the owners of a property – especially
generations later – can be a complicated and time-consuming
process.
There is not yet a universal land registry, although this
is in the process of being built up. It should be mentioned
that for the islands of Rhodes and Kos there is an operative
Land Registry system, which dates back to the period of
the Italian occupation.
- Property
value has traditionally been slow to rise, so investment
may be best viewed as a long-term prospect.
- Renovating
old properties can cost up to three or four times the original
selling price and costs are hard to fix before the work
is carried out. Some of the best builders and developers
refuse to embark on this at all.
- During
the summer months, Greece can get too hot by many people’s
standards – 30C and upwards.
To get
more information about investing in Greece, get the Greece
Property Buying Guide. Outlined in the guide are as follows:
- Investment
Strategies (Buy-to-Let, Buy-to-Sell, Buy-to-Renovate)
- How
to analyse an investment deal in Greece (and compare it
to other deals in Greece)
- How
to rent your property out
- What
you need to do to ensure you're abiding by the EOT rental
requirements.
- Using
a letting agency
- How
to let the property yourself
- and
much more...click here to find out about everything included
in the Greece Property
Buying Guide.
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