Greek Property Investment Advice – The Safe Investment?

Greek Property Investment Advice – The Safe Investment?

As the country emerges from a wet and cold winter, there has been little change in the Greek property markets. According to most of the Greek property investment advice, the market is fairly stagnant, with prices neither rising nor falling. Everything is still in a state of uncertainty, although builders are really starting to feel the pinch. Greece has never been a country for making a quick return on investments, but could property here serve another purpose, as a safe-haven for your savings?

As an example, British based Property Abroad proudly states that Greece is the most heavily searched for country. They go on to claim that surfers are looking at the holiday home market, hunting for renovation projects. This is a press release from a property blog, so is undoubtedly exaggerating a little, but is there some substance to the claim? Why is buying property in Greece popular during the economic turmoil?

There may be some truth underlying this rumour, because renovation projects are still extraordinarily cheap. Maybe the British are realizing that savings are losing value, in real terms, and shares are worthless. Bricks and mortar is the only safe investment at the moment, assuming that you have the money to buy a property outright.

Renovation – The time is now.

There are many old houses around Greece, and a thorough search will uncover some genuine bargains. As an example, a three-bedroom village house in my area sold for 35 000 Euros. It was in reasonable shape, only requiring modernising and a new roof.

The major advantage of buying a renovation case is that the Greek property tax, and all fees, is based upon a percentage of the price paid. Even if you pay the highest possible tax, 20%, then you are looking at a total of 42 000. Rural properties accrue a lower rate tax burden, so this total will be even less. The fact that it is an old house ensures that you pay no VAT, as is the case with a new-build.

What is the catch? Traditionally, building work in Greece was a problem, and the Greek builders enjoyed certain notoriety. The property boom, albeit on a smaller scale than in most countries, meant that builders had more work than they could handle. As a result, they were expensive and would often leave you abandoned half-way through the job.

Now, builders have no work, and you can negotiate from a position of strength – they are pretty desperate at the moment. Renovation of a reasonably well preserved house is probably going to double the price, excluding tax, so you are looking at 77 000 Euros for a nice 2 or 3 Bedroom house. Not bad, even with a weak pound, and it is unlikely to lose significant value.

This Greek property investment advice is not going to make you a quick turnaround fortune, but the country seems to be a fairly safe place to store your money. It is certainly better than feeding it into the bottomless British banks.