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| Greece Buying Guide Newsletter |
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| Hello there, How are things in your world? We have successfully moved into our lovely new offices. It’s strange, isn’t it? I was sad about the move, and about leaving the riverside, and I must confess that I still do miss our wonderful river view. But there is always a good side to what ever one is dreading: our new offices are lovely AND nearer the shops – NOT good for the bank balance…but lots of fun! However, all my news pales by comparison to the problems that Greece is going through, with many parts of the country and the islands ablaze. The soaring temperatures have been blamed for the tinderbox dryness of the country, but before the fires have even been extinguished, accusations are flying. The Greek Government has been accused of doing too little too late. The Government in turn blames the destruction on exceptional weather and the illegal actions of a few property developers setting fires to clear land. The theory here is that the fires could have been started as a way of getting around Greek law which forbids development on areas designated as forest land. To make it even more confusing, the head of the conservation charity WWF Greece, Demetris Karavellas, told the BBC's World Today programme that Greece lacked a forest registry, "so in many cases it's not entirely clear what is forest and what is land for construction". So far seven people have been charged with starting the bushfires that have claimed the lives of over 60 people. One suspect, an Iranian national, was reportedly caught by police as he tried to set fire to a bush in the Pedion tou Areos Park in central Athens. Can you actually BELIEVE anybody doing that…and putting who knows how many people’s lives at risk too, quite apart from the damage to both homes and the natural environment... Various countries have rushed to Greece’s aid, including Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. I am afraid that my article on insurance is rather ironic, given current news of the raging fires…I think however that one must remember that not only Greece has been affected by fires; they have raged in Croatia, with Dubrovnik threatened at one stage, in Portugal and indeed in many parts of Europe this year. Most of us spend a good deal of time and energy finding their ideal property – and rightly so – and protecting this new acquisition is of vital importance of course. So in this month’s newsletter I am going to talk a little on insurance, you will find a useful foreign currency review by the one and only Charles Purdy, exciting news about the new guide (which I may have told you about already – forgive me…I am so excited about it!!), a Top Tip about your property survey, and my colleague here at OGC reviews travel insurance for you – and finally, details about the new (ish) EHIC card. When you have read all this, you should understand several ways to protect your assets - money, time or your health, and of course your future French property. |
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All fired up...A cautionary tale about getting your house insured… Just a few days ago I received an email from Dave and Yvonne, Greece Buying Guide readers. They had been told by the person who sold them their home on Evia that “most people don’t bother with insurance because the buildings are so solid (earthquake proof and little that can burn) that the chance of being damaged is so slight – and we wouldn’t be putting expensive contents in either.” They asked me what
I thought. My immediate response was - would you leave your UK house
uninsured? Especially in a country that is prone to fires and earth
quakes - I must confess that I think it would be very unwise to do so.
I went on to say that Greece has experienced the worst fires in their
history, brought about either by arson or the intense heat...reports
vary, but the result would be the same for homes in the path of the
fires. As it happens, Evia is one of the worst hit of the islands, making
this even more pertinent. A Greece Buying
Guide reader, Adrian, happened to be on Kefalonia during the recent
fires and had a hair-raising tale to tell. It does rather
prove that this could happen anywhere and at any time. All this not
to scare you – fires can break out anywhere. But I think it does
rather prove the value of really good insurance – insurance that
specifies fires incidentally. You will also need to make sure that you
always specify 'Fire from the Forest' otherwise you are only insured
for fires started by electrical faults, garden rubbish fires and fires
started by your own hearthside fire. If you are near olive trees, you
will need to specify this too and costs may rise as these trees are
especially flammable. |
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Foreign Currencyby Smart Currency’s Charles Purdy.Insuring yourself against currency movements What does insurance give you? It should ensure that you are left in no worse position after an event such as a fire than before it. It will [hopefully] remove the stress and strain of having to worry both before and after [if you are unlucky] of a traumatic event such as a fire actually happening. We try and achieve the same thing for our clients at Smart. One of the ways we do this is to give better rates than the banks which will save you some money which can be used to buy some white goods or perhaps even a better property. We also save hidden costs such as receiving costs. The Spanish banks can charge up to 0.5% for receiving you money. Thank you Spanish banks! However one of the major savings is making sure that you don’t have to find an extra £2,000 or £5,000 or whatever when you come to buy your €250,000. You may have budgeted an exchange rate of €1.472/£1 but on the day you need the funds the rate is €1.46/£1. Ouch. What will hurt even more is that they may have been able to “insure” a rate of 1.473 a month earlier. You can do this through an insurance policy known as a forward contract. For a deposit of up to 10% you could have secured the exchange rate of €1.473/£1 and removed all the worry and stress and strain of finding that extra money. In fact you have saved against your budget. Yippee. The best insurance policy I ever wrote saved a client over £20,000. As he was emigrating to France this paid for a lot of those hidden extras and meant he started his new life in France on a happy note.
Currency Update The Bank of England is in wait and see mode. The credit crunch has had an affect on the banking system and the BOE is keen to understand its affect on the wider economy and inflation before deciding on changing UK interest rates. This has led the market to believe that a further increase of 0.25% is highly unlikely. Therefore against currencies where interest rates are on the up sterling is losing ground and where interest rates are on likely to be reduced sterling is gaining ground. Euro This is why the Euro has been on the ascendancy and has strengthened to €1.459/£1 inter bank. The European Central Bank has indicated that given how well Euro land is performing interest rates are still too accommodative [i.e. too low] and as such the market expects an increase in Euro land interest rates by 0.25% by the year end. I suspect that the Euro will be in the ascendancy for a while and as such it may make sense to buy on any short term weakness. To get a Better-than-Bank
go to: http://www.smartCurrencyExchange.com/smartsquotation.htm
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Which travel insurance to use?The OGC team has tested out many insurance companies. Some were good and some were not so good. Two insurance companies stood out from our research. Columbus Direct Columbus Direct
is a well known travel insurance specialist which has been going for
about 20 years. The company sells direct to the public and this effectively
cuts the “middle man” and saves clients up to 60% in commissions
charged by other providers. To get your quote, go www.columbusdirect.com and select the kind of insurance you need. The web site will display a simple form with a few fields to fill in such as your residency, destination, and dates of travel. Click ‘Submit’ and you get an instant quote and additional insurance you can add to your package such as additional sports, baggage insurance and so forth. It is very easy and you don’t have to enter any personal information before getting a quote! Once you are happy with the quote you just simply fill in your contact details and pay. You can use Visa, master Card, Maestro or American Express. The policy is then emailed and sent in the post. Ironically, as I was writing I actually received great feedback on Columbus Direct from one of our readers:
Direct Line Travel Insurance Direct Line Travel Insurance is the other company I tested out. As with Columbus Direct, Direct Line offer great similar travel insurance options, however I discovered two issues. I had to enter my contact details and address prior to getting quote. At this stage, I didn’t even know if I would be happy with the quote so I didn’t see a good reason as to spending all the time filling in my name, contact details and address. Issue # 2 the price! I entered my details onto both sites, traveling to Cyprus from 15th October till 21st October 2007. Columbus direct quoted me just under £ 10 and Direct Line Travel Insurance £ 20. Big difference! Direct line is currently offering a 20% discount, so I'd check them both out... When I did my search, the price made my choice clear! Can you guess which one I picked? ? The key with travel insurance is to shop around. In most cases it only takes a few minutes to get a quote – we are continuously reviewing and adding resources to our services page. Before you get insurance, check our reviews and get quotes on all recommended links.
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'It's far better to be safe than sorry!" by Karen Gilbert
Property Insurance isn’t one of the first things which might cross your mind when dreaming of that place in the sun. In fact, it is far from the most exciting consideration - BUT it is one of the most important. Insuring your property correctly will ensure that you protect the future of your investment. Overseas Property Insurance isn’t just limited to the bricks, mortar and contents of your property, but rather can extend to insuring your rental income and also to insuring against the threat of legal action should any guests have an accident whilst on your property. This might not make the most enjoyable reading but - as the saying goes - ‘It’s far better to be safe than sorry!’ In fact, I did quite a bit of research before I wrote this piece and I found some unbelievable facts… • Over 20% of overseas property buyers viewed security of their holiday home as a top concern – above all else. • Almost 70% of overseas buyers hoped to rent their property out to other holiday makers - BUT just 5 per cent were concerned at the risk of legal action in the face of any accidents by guests on their property. This makes for a worrying read as I begin to consider the risk which some overseas property owners may leave themselves open to… losing everything or even going to prison…
A basic introduction to insurance… If you have a mortgage on your property, you will find that buildings insurance will be mandatory. You lender will insist on being covered in the event of flood, storm or any other eventuality* which means that a re-build is necessary. The guide to cover is based on the cost of re-building your property, excluding land. This cost can be assessed by your insurer, a surveyor or a local architect who could provide you with an estimate. *It is worth noting here that you should ensure that your policy covers you for earthquakes or similar – as required by the country of purchase. This cover does not always come as standard in insurance policies. Contents insurance will cover the cost of replacing any items on your property. If the property is your primary residence, the value of its contents may be higher than if it is purely for holiday home use, with your primary residence elsewhere. Also, bear in mind the need for accidental damage cover if other people will be using the property. As I mentioned earlier, liability insurance is so important for rental properties. If an accident happens to someone who is staying in your property, you could be sued. Also consider employer’s liability insurance if you intend to have anyone assist you in managing the property, gardening or cleaning. For buy to let properties, it is possible to insure your rental income. This is typical of property owners whose majority income is linked to their property portfolio and whose tenants are more permanent. Rental income insurance protects the landlord in the event of any periods when potential rental income may be unavoidably lost. Flood damage and unavoidable building works might be two such examples. If you plan to rent your property to longer term tenants you may also need to insure to cover legal expenses. This could then help to cover any associated legal costs if you were to have a bad tenant who refuses to pay or who you might need to evict.
It’s important that your insurance policy covers you and your property for all eventualities. You may find that a locally bought policy could leave some gaps in the cover. This is where it is extremely important to compare the cover between companies - and between UK based insurers and the cover offered by local policies. If your property will be vacant for a period of time each year, make sure that your insurance policy covers for this. Remember that unlike your home in the UK, you might not be able to travel to your overseas property immediately in the event of a problem. Think through what you might do in the event of a burst water pipe in your property abroad. Do you have the contact details of a reputable local plumber? Does someone in the local area hold spare keys to your property? If your property is in a neighbourhood with other holiday homes, get to know the neighbours and see what they do when they’re away from their property. Do they have a rental management company or does a friend or neighbour look in on the property for them? Get to know your neighbours and see how you can help one another. With regard to insurance, make sure that all policy wording can be provided for you in English and that the claims and enquiries support teams / phone lines are available in English too. This way you can ensure that in the case of an emergency you can resolve matters swiftly and avoid any language complications. If you’re renting the property to holiday makers, look around the property carefully and take note of any potential accident spots. If there is a hidden step which people may trip on, or a low ceiling which people might walk into, then you may like to make these more visible to try and reduce the chance of accidents. Above all, adequate property insurance will give you peace of mind in knowing that your investment is protected. I hope that this hasn’t put you off buying property abroad but has rather given you an insight into the world of overseas property insurance and an idea what you can do to prepare for any eventuality. As ever, with such a specialist subject, I would always suggest that you seek the advice of an expert in overseas property insurance as soon as you know you are going to buy property abroad. An insurance expert will be able to provide you with detailed information on insurance in the country of your property purchase, advising of the necessary policy details and any restrictions. They will also be able to provide you with a quote specific to you and your property. If you would
like to speak with an expert in overseas property insurance, we highly
recommend HB Insurance.
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EHIC - European Health Insurance CardEHIC - European Health Insurance Card (Replaces E111 paper from 2006 onwards) From 2006, the E111 form is no longer valid. If you are travelling to EU countries you will now be required to be in possession of an EHIC Card - European Health Insurance Card.
The scheme covers short-term trips around Europe and Switzerland. It only covers basic national healthcare as received by local residents. This scheme will not cover those living permanently outside the UK. It will cover the cardholder in member countries of the European Economic Area and Switzerland, is valid for 5 years and only available to UK residents. One new card will no longer cover the whole family as the old paper system did. Each person in the family will need a separate insurance card. The new card provides the user with essential care needed for the length of stay, which means that in cases of travel with existing/chronic medical conditions non-emergency care will also be provided. It does not cover already planned treatment in home country. The EHIC also covers
all aspects of care originally provided under the paper system, along
with necessary treatment for travellers with existing conditions. The
card will not cover treatment a patient is awaiting for in his or her
own country, nor treatment that can wait until return home. The EHIC is available
free of charge through the Department of Health website at: http://www.dh.gov.uk/travellers
or http://www.ehic.or.uk
or by telephoning 0845 606 2030. For EHIC Enquiries you can also write to PO Box 1114.Newcastle upon Tyne, NE99 2TL Delivery date: Also called the EU Medical Card, over 8 million people in the UK have already received the new EHIC card - it looks just like a small plastic ID card and gives details such as your name, date of birth and National Insurance number. On receipt of your new card please check it: errors have been known to happen and that could cause major problems if you need to use your EHIC in a medical emergency abroad - you could be refused treatment if your card details don't match up with your passport details. If your card details
are wrong, return it immediately. Allow 7 days for the new one to arrive.
While the card will cover emergency treatment, it is essential that all travellers to Europe still obtain travel insurance. The card will not cover any transportation home (repatriation) or expenses for relatives, accommodation costs etc. should an emergency occur. Please remember that the EHIC Card form is NOT a substitute for comprehensive travel health insurance. For instance if you and your family are involved in a car crash, it won't cover you for repatriation home for treatment at a local hospital. Only comprehensive travel health insurance cover, which you'll have to take out privately, would cover you for that. If you're working in the UK but paying social security contributions to another EEA country or Switzerland, you should get your EHIC from the institution to which you pay your contributions. Not all UK residents are covered in Denmark, Iceland, Leichtenstein, Norway or Switzerland - the leaflet 'Health Advice for Travellers' gives more information and is available from Post Offices or the Department of Health website. For detailed guidance,
please check the section “Who is eligible for an EHIC?”
in either the HAFT leaflet or on the DH website.
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I must confess that I was devastated to receive the following email: “We are in the process of purchasing land in Corfu. Pre-contracts were signed about 12 weeks ago, we have not signed the final contracts yet. We made it clear from the beginning that we wanted to build a 3-bedroom villa that we HAD to rent out in order to cover some of our costs. We were aware of the EOT licence required to rent out, but it was several weeks later that we discovered we would be unable to get this licence because, in order to access our land, we would have to cross the neighbour’s land & one of the EOT rules are that you cannot have shared access to your property.” Her question to me was did I think that the estate agent should have alerted them to this rule before they agreed to purchase, knowing that they wished to rent out. Of course, the answer to this is yes, they should have. But unfortunately that is down to using a reliable, trustworthy and knowledgeable agent that will look after your best interests rather than their bottom line… Our reader adds that they are now in the position of maybe pulling out & losing their 10% deposit plus costs to the lawyer… PLEASE don’t let this happen to you. You need to make sure that the people that you are dealing with have your interests at heart. I have a number
of reputable people that can help you with property: just go to:
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| I am off to see my daughter and grandchildren in Dubai and will be out of office from 5th to 26th September. If you can wait to email me with questions or requests for help that would be great – I am hoping that the new guide will answer almost all the questions that you have. Any emergencies please phone Olga or Kim on 0845 017 8771. Please take good care of yourself – best wishes and a big holiday smile! Carol (and Kim!). Greece Buying Guide/
Overseas Guides Company Phone 0845 017 8771 |
