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Buying Crete Property is increasingly appealing
Carefully balanced on the border between the Aegean and Libyan seas, Crete offers one of the climates smoother and healthier in Europe. Crete property currently attracts players from Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Britain, now picking up extra buyers in the range of 40-50 years who otherwise might have opted for Spain. Seduced by the benefits it offers over Crete, the UK – the best time, low cost of living, home grown food – most potential buyers of the property Crete are seeking to pass at least three to four months of the year on the island, and its investment as a good way to reduce living costs.
The cost of living in Greece has actually risen by 4.9% since this time last year, according the latest index of consumer prices, while its economy will grow only 3% in 2008. Staples such as bread and pasta now cost 18 and 26% more respectively than last year, prices rose Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis blames the turbulent global economy.
However, Crete is still an alternative much cheaper than the UK – a couple can expect to achieve a good standard of living on an income of £ 12,000 a year. Commands property in Crete if rates of less than 150 square meters in total, while water bills and electricity and heating will cost £ 200 and £ 500 per year, respectively, says John Barry, managing director of Anglo-Greek agency Aegean Blue.
"Similarly, the prices of goods Ctrete less, even in areas urban areas – buyers should expect to pay between € 200,000 € 300,000 for vacation homes. With so much fruit, vegetables, oil, wine and meat produced on the island, costs of most foods are also very low. "
Long-term prospects for capital appreciation are also good, adds Robert Key, Director of Cluttons Greece branch. " Unlike Spain, there has been no crisis in the Crete property market. Planning permission is much stricter in Spain (building 50 meters from the coast is now banned under new construction standards) to the extensive large dirt that many Spanish towns became not recur in Greece. "
But the global economic climate may limit the growth of property prices to a minimum of Crete 5% on the island in the short term, Batty continues. "A place that can appreciate something near and west of Chania, rather than in the east, particularly in the region Apokoronas where price rises were the sharpest in recent years. "
Chania, located on the northern island of the west coast, has been a favorite buyers, thanks to its coastal location and evocative mix of ancient buildings, revealing the roots of the city and history in an eclectic fusion of Byzantine, Venice styles, Turkish and Greek. EasyJet's recent decision to run weekly flights to Chania is testament to its increasing popularity as a destination.
Yet well preserved despite intensive German bombing during World War II, the renovation work to restore ancient city streets and walls is underway, while the east side of the old port is in a dilapidated pier cocoon trendy, loft access point style water.
One project worth worth keeping an eye on is Leptos Chania Corniche Estates scheme, a reworking of the first oil from the island, construction of oil processing plants, which was created by a French chemist in the 1880s. Minutes Ventian the old port city located just west of the center of the old part of Chania, the project is now one of the few systems available downtown in Crete, one of the few places in the Western world does not suffer from an oversupply of apartments. Each of the 200 houses on offer will have sea views, while the site of its original features, two factory chimneys and a series of furnaces, will be restored as part of a plan to create a small museum with objects and tools from the original site use. The final product will be flanked by olive trees and gardens. The work of Onsite construction is set to start in October, when prices of target = "_blank"> Chania property shall be released.
A more traditional project on offer is Leptos Aphrodite Villas scheme, a group of 64 houses and flats surrounding a communal pool, located a few meters from the beach Pyrgos Psilonerou slightly west of Chania. Prices here start at € 434,000 (£ 344,000) for a three-bedroom villa and € 174,615 (£ 138,000) for a one bedroom apartment.
To the west of Chania in Maleme, Cybarco Real Estate Development recently launched the Maleme Project, a beachfront development in the Platanias area comprising 16 two bedroom apartments and eight three bedroom duplex located 17 kilometers from the city. Each house has access to communal gardens and a central pool, while some are duplexes with private pool, while the beach is a few hundred yards away. Designed for tourists and permanent residents of origin, the homes provide plenty of storage space, making it a multi-purpose holiday homes and left yields investment – rental stations in this area can be up to € 1,500 (£ 1,200) a week during the high season.
Similarly, Artemis Cypraaegean Properties' Gardens project in Maleme, two minutes walk from the beach, is located around a series of gardens, surrounded by orange and around a pool Community. A mixture of one and 18 two bedroom bungalows, townhouses and apartments, the company is guaranteeing rental income of 5% over two years. Prices range of € 130,000 (£ 103,000) to the fourth floor of the basement of € 230,000 (£ 182,000) for a two bedroom townhouse.
Buyers then renewal projects in the Crete property resale market (remains can still be bought for as little as € 35,000) have typically been delayed by the difficulty of working through the island's complex system of land ownership in which a single parcel of land can have multiple owners, not everyone can agree for sale. But now Greece has set up his own record of the property, the process is configured to obtain much simpler, says Key. Advocate "Now is as safe from the point of view of property to buy resale property as new construction. A good and surveyor are necessary to verify the legal and technical details before the purchase is made. All sales of goods is effected by the signing of a contract in the presence of two lawyers and a notary public. The contract settles to the title and land records under the name of the new owner. "
As a member of the European Union, Greece, allows buyers to buy abroad in the country and live there permanently, despite a visa and residence permit is required after three months, but only if you want to buy an automobile or obtaining Greek driving licenses. Contact the Greek Embassy in London for more information.
Money Matters
Because credit crisis continues to bite, it is impossible for most buyers even consider buying a house abroad without a mortgage offer in place. But help is at hand, with banks in Greece offers a range of mortgages at favorable rates.
Leptos Estates offers loans of up to three years interest-free credit for buyers who can cough up a down payment for properties outside the plan, make stage payments throughout the construction process and then campaigning until the final amount to the conclusion. "But Greece has good banking facilities anyway, which have improved considerably in recent years," says Christos Pateras, manager marketing of the company. "Most banks prefer to offer mortgages of between 75 and 80% of the value of a property normally paid for a maximum of 30 to 40 years, and are available to buyers aged between 70 and 75. "
Piraeus Bank UK (pbuk) currently offers packages with rates from 6% interest on repayment loans and collects sterling accounts of British bank borrowers, reducing costs for the buyer, by converting the monthly unpaid commissions, and offers market rates to help buyers make the amount in sterling euro deposit needed for the purchase. Piraeus packages offer standard loan rate of 80% value, amortization mortgages with interest rates of 1.75% over Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) for between five and 25 years, and interest-only mortgages for up to ten years. "Buyers should try to let their overseas home for at least part time, to offset some mortgage and maintenance costs, "says Irini Tzortzoglou, head of retail banking pbuk. Crete with its longest season and mature tourist market is one of the best places in Europe to generate rental income. "
Most banks prefer to offer mortgages of between 75 and 80% of the value of a property, although some happy to lend up to 100%, adds number. "There are a lot Mortgage deals that are offered with flat rate from about 3.7% and tracker mortgages from 5.25%. Some banks also offer mortgages in Swiss francs from an interest rate of 2.46% while it is also possible to obtain mortgages in pounds sterling or dollars, which may be a good choice because the fees lower interest in these countries as a result of the current economic situation.
About the Author
Natalia Gameson for Homes Overseas – Search our extensive range of Crete property, read our Greece property articles offering independent expert advice about buying or investing in Crete property and browse our Greece property news.
Overseas property experts since 1965.
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