<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd">
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Real Estate Knowledge base, information & resources - HomeGr]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright Real Estate Knowledge base, information & resources - HomeGr]]></copyright><generator>sNews CMS</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Greek real estate boom defies market doldrums]]></title><description><![CDATA[      By Niki Kitsantonis      
  ATHENS — Increasing numbers of affluent Europeans are buying or building luxury properties on the Greek islands, even as the market for top-end holiday homes in other European destinations like Spain and Bulgaria remains stalled, Greek real estate agents say.   

  Industry experts explain that the range of available properties - from extravagant new villas to bargain plots - has been attracting foreign buyers, some of whom say their investments have doubled or even tripled in value in just a few years.  

  "The islands have something for everyone, and they are close to home for Europeans, so foreign interest is strong," said Yannis Perrotis, head of CB Richard Ellis-Atria real estate consultants in Athens.  

  There are about 70,000 foreign owners with property in Greece and, while there are no official records of house purchases by foreign nationals, there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that the numbers are continuing to grow.  

  The British and the Germans make most purchases, according to agents, who agree that the slump in the British housing market and a weak pound have had little impact on top-end property sales. Next are the French, Italians and Scandinavians. There have been fewer U.S. buyers since the dollar fell against the euro, but fast-growing interest from newly wealthy Russians is absorbing the slack.  

  Agents say most of these customers pay €4,000 to €10,000 per square meter, or $590 to $1,470 per square foot, for new top-end properties, depending on the cachet of the location. These prices, up by about 20 percent since a 2005 real estate boom, are three times as high as those for similar structures in the fledgling second-home markets of Turkey, Bulgaria and Croatia and significantly higher than those for equivalent properties in Spain, where prices have plummeted in the past year.  
  Also, they note that the price of land on the islands and subsequent construction costs are a fraction of the expense of buying something new from a developer.  
  For many prospective buyers, however, completing a sale on one of the several hundred Greek islands can be a Herculean task. "Many are turned off by the endless procedures," Perrotis acknowledged.  

  He and other agents complain that inadequate national laws governing real estate purchases and an incomplete national land register causes complications and delays, complaints that also are heard from developers trying to build luxury vacation complexes.  
  By early next year, a new national zoning law is expected to clarify where construction is allowed and where it is forbidden, although the minimum plot size required for building, now 4,000 square meters, or nearly an acre, is not expected to change.  

  Any prospective buyer must hire a lawyer who can navigate the land register and deal with forestry and archaeological authorities. For older buildings, a civil engineer should be enlisted to check the structures' resistance to earthquakes, which are common in Greece.  

  Just as the islands have different characters - some tranquil, others lively; some with strong Venetian or Turkish influences, others distinctively Cycladic, with white-washed villas - they also have different rules. "Some islands require more paperwork, others are stricter about issuing building licenses, so it is best to talk to an agent first," said Giorgos Zappas of Re/Max Properties in Athens.  
  Generally, EU citizens face the same requirements as Greeks, and all buyers must pay taxes of 19 percent on new construction or about 10 percent for older properties. "There is some extra paperwork for non-EU citizens, like Americans and Russians, but we help with that," Zappas said.  
  Prices for new luxury homes vary. On the popular Aegean islands of Paros, Naxos, Rhodes and Crete, they range from €3,000 to €7,000 per square meter. More tranquil spots, like Antiparos, Patmos and Tinos, have a similar price range.  
  On the more cosmopolitan Mykonos and Santorini, the sky is the limit for property costs. Foreign interest in Santorini is more or less restricted to areas around the caldera, the large central lagoon that was created by a massive eruption 3,600 years ago. Most villas with caldera views cost €3 million to €4 million.  
  Prices are similar on Mykonos, where a well-positioned new home costs €7,000 to €15,000 per square meter. A magnet for jet-setters since the 1960s, the island is divided into two zones - blue, where building is allowed, and brown, where it is not.  
  But there are a lot of "unofficial" rules too.  

  Roy Elsbury, a 52-year-old British property developer, said his first attempt to buy on Mykonos was aborted when the seller asked for payment under the table. "Coming from an environment where everything is done by the book, it was a shock," he said.  
  Elsbury's second attempt was successful. In 2005 he bought two 100-square-meter villas on a cliff overlooking Mykonos's famed Elia Beach. Now the renovated 20-year-old properties have doubled in value and are worth €1 million each, he said.  
  For Keith Miller, 59, an NBC-TV correspondent, building in Greece was surprisingly trouble-free.  

  With a good lawyer and "a great deal of homework," Miller built two villas on the Ionian island of Corfu. He paid €60,000 for the land, which is in the island's coveted northeast region - called Kensington-on-the-Sea because of its growing population of wealthy Londoners. And he spent €500,000 to build the villas.  
  The larger property - a 500-square-meter villa built in 2005 - has tripled in value to €1.8 million, according to Aylesford International, a London-based agency. He rents it out for €7,000 a week in the summer, which covers the maintenance cost on both properties.  
  Corfu has one of the largest expatriate communities of all the islands, accommodating 20,000 Britons alone.  
  The Ashcrofts, a British-Corfiot couple, recently finished renovating a 400-year-old mansion, a relic of the island's Venetian occupation. "It was a real challenge to do it in the original style but we got there in the end," Alex Ashcroft said.  
  He and David Ashcroft, both 65, bought the property 14 years ago for the equivalent of £56,000, or $112,000, and said they had spent "about double that" on renovations. Now, they say, their home has been valued at €1 million.  

  On postcard-pretty Hydra, between the Argolic and Saronic Gulfs, near Athens, a few wealthy Europeans have renovated neoclassical buildings, albeit with difficulty. Cars are banned, so donkeys are used to transport materials, said Alex Calothis, who runs an agency for foreigners scouting Hydra and the southern Peloponnese. Calothis said many Britons had inquired about old houses for renovation but then ended up buying new. "The lure of a no-hassle, key-in-hand villa usually outweighs the romantic dream," he said.  
  The Peloponnese - a peninsula connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land - is attracting buyers, particularly Germans, despite the damage caused by severe fires last summer.  

  The Peloponnese, Crete and Paros have been besieged by developers building luxury complexes with golf courses and "clusters" of high-end villas. Last year, about 400 villas were built just on Paros, an island that totals only 200 square kilometers, or 75 square miles, with a full-time population of about 13,000.  

  The authorities say the recent increase in property sales is just the beginning. "Demand for luxury homes within complexes is constantly rising," said Giorgos Souflias, the country's public works minister, who insists that Greece will not overdevelop its coastland as Spain has done.  
  But Dimitris Bailas, prefect of the Cyclades island group, including Mykonos, wants the islands' character preserved. "Authorities should offer incentives for the renovation of original buildings, not allow construction on every hill and beach," Bailas said.  


      Source:  http://www.nytimes.com/        ]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:38:10 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/greece-real-estate/greek-real-estate-boom-defies-market-doldrums/</link><guid>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/greece-real-estate/greek-real-estate-boom-defies-market-doldrums/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Romania&#039;s real estate market to suffer in &#039;09 - Cushman&amp;Wakefield]]></title><description><![CDATA[The domestic real estate market will face heavy losses in 2009, being hit by the global crunch, Cushman&Wakefield said. ''The scenario will be as follows: less credits, therefore less housing units, less furniture, less home appliances, companies will stop developing, and there will be fewer rentals. As a result, we will witness a 'domino effect', a chain of shortfalls triggered by a flat economy. The absence of credit will lead to declines and restrictions in economy and the adjacent sectors will be severely affected,'' said Razvan Gheorghe, partner managing director of Cushman&Wakefield.  
Gheorge added that amid financial crisis, job losses are inevitable. ''I expect the layoff percentage to reach 10% of the active population,'' he said. 
  
Over 44.000 employees are expected to be laid off by March 2009, the National Employment Agency (ANOFM), has said. ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 19:57:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/romania/romanias-real-estate-market-to-suffer-in-09-cushmanwakefield/</link><guid>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/romania/romanias-real-estate-market-to-suffer-in-09-cushmanwakefield/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Gov&#039;t measures have potential to stimulate housing market]]></title><description><![CDATA[Fitch Ratings says today that mortgage support measures announced earlier this week by the Greek government may have a positive impact on the revival of the domestic housing market. However, the agency notes that their effectiveness ultimately lies on the Greek banks' discretion to extend credit amid the current financial conditions, while regulatory supervision is required to oversee prudent new loan underwriting.  
The new government measures are intended to stimulate mortgage credit demand by reducing transaction costs (i.e notary fees) as well as expanding the tax deductibility scope for residential mortgage loans originated in 2009 and 2010.
  
"Mortgage debt penetration in Greece stands below Eurozone average, and is significantly lower than countries like the Netherlands, where a full tax deductibility regime has promoted market growth over time," says Lara Patrignani, Senior Director, in Fitch's European Structured Finance team in London. "Given also that transaction costs in Greece have traditionally been high by international standards, both of these measures have the potential to stimulate the country's mortgage and property market".
  
Moreover, in an apparent effort to support mortgage credit supply, the Greek government announced that it separately guarantees loan amounts granted in excess of 75% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, and up to 100% LTV, for loans disbursed by the end of 2010.
  
Fitch is cautious with regards to the latter measure; a guarantee for high-LTV loans means that the state itself would be liable for up to the first 25% of credit losses under the new scheme. This could lead to more aggressive loan underwriting from Greek lenders who have recently been reducing mortgage origination volumes in light of ongoing funding challenges and elevated credit concerns.
  
Crucially, LTV is the single most important criterion in Greek mortgage underwriting. Apart from an indicative 75% LTV limit recommended by Bank of Greece (BoG), existing regulatory guidelines also impose a 40% limit on a borrower's debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. In Fitch's view however, both LTV and DTI regulatory guidelines have been largely ineffective as it is ultimately down to the lenders' discretion to override them.
  
"Given that for a creditworthy customer, Greek banks would anyway exceed the 75% LTV threshold, the new scheme may effectively encourage underwriting of marginal credits," says Spyros Michas, Associate Director, in Fitch's European Structured Finance team in London. "The possibility of excessive risk-taking is there, raising the need for adequate regulatory supervision aimed to preserve responsible lending, while increased credit is flowing through the economy."
  
Overall, Fitch expects continuing deterioration in Greek mortgage asset performance. As the new measures aim to stimulate new lending without addressing existing mortgage borrowers, there is no immediate rating impact on the outstanding Greek mortgage-backed issues; securitisations (RMBS) and covered bonds. However, Fitch will consider the potentially inferior credit risk profile of high-LTV-guaranteed loans when assigning new ratings to Greek transactions.
  
Existing Greek RMBS transactions are structurally protected from an inflow of new high-LTV loans, given the tight loan substitution conditions in place. As for the Greek covered bonds, Fitch will closely monitor the evolution of such loans - should they be introduced into the cover pools - as part of its periodical surveillance. Given the reduced costs and increased tax incentives in place, loan prepayments could potentially increase from borrowers seeking to benefit from the new regime. Nevertheless, no major prepayment impact is foreseen at this stage, owing to the high prevailing interest rates on offer.
  
Facing its first recession this year since 1993, Greece has recently seen an increase in the national unemployment rate along with a contraction in residential construction activity. According to the BoG, business and household confidence have also declined significantly, leading to lower residential investment and reduced demand for credit by households. Based on unofficial market sources (in the absence of a timely national house price index), Fitch understands house prices are currently experiencing considerable downward pressures, largely in line with international trends. Nevertheless, the fundamental characteristics of the Greek market - including high home ownership ratio, a relatively debt averse culture, and strong family ties - are expected to support house prices against a severe downfall scenario.
  
It is unclear as to when the new measures take effect. As more information becomes available, Fitch will evaluate the incremental impact of the measures on the market and any subsequent credit implications for the outstanding Greek RMBS transactions and Covered Bond programmes.
  
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 19:53:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/greek-economy/govt-measures-have-potential-to-stimulate-housing-market/</link><guid>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/greek-economy/govt-measures-have-potential-to-stimulate-housing-market/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Useful links for Greece]]></title><description><![CDATA[Here's a list for useful links for any foreigner living - looking to live in Greece. Please feel free to add (by commenting on this articles) any link you also think is useful for an ex-partriot, living anywhere in Greece.   

  
  Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs  
    

  
  Weather: Hellenic National Meteorological Service  
    

  
  Greek Embassies across the world  
    

  
  Public holidays in Greece  
    

  
  Greek cuisine  
    

  
  Culture of Greece  
    

  
  Education in Greece  
    

  
  List of Universities in Greece  
    


]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 19:25:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/legal-other-procedures-greece/useful-links-for-greece/</link><guid>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/legal-other-procedures-greece/useful-links-for-greece/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Renting an apartment or a house in Cyprus]]></title><description><![CDATA[    Information about renting a house or apartment in Cyprus: finding a rental, the deposit, the lease and utilities.      
It is fairly easy to find and rent an apartment or house in Cyprus. Many apartments are intended for short- to medium-term rentals with a surplus of rental properties available in the winter off-season. Some flats are available furnished or partially furnished; the rest typically come equipped with a fully fitted kitchen and built-in cupboards/closets. 
  
Apartments and houses are usually rented on the basis of a contract for a period of one or two years with the possibility of renewal. For these longer-term rentals, landlords usually require the tenant to pay the equivalent of one month’s rent as a deposit and one month’s rent in advance when the contract is signed. The deposit is refunded when the contract expires, except when the owner withholds part or all of it to cover damage. 
  
The tenant generally pays for utilities with water, electricity and heating costs not included in the rental price. For short-term rentals, of less than 6 months, the rent often includes all utilities and is typically paid in advance.
  
The cost of renting depends on the location of the building and on factors such as the level of equipment in the accommodation. Prices are generally highest in Nicosia; rents are lower in Larnaca and Limassol, but properties with sea view or close to the sea do command a premium. Prices may be negotiable with landlords willing to offer a discount on the advertised price.
  
  Finding accommodation    
Rental advertisements in English can be found in newspapers and property guides.  Real estate agencies also represent rental properties. Estate agent website often offer a search capability or prospective renters can ask an agent to take them to a selection of rental properties. The agency fee, normally one month’s rent, is paid by the landlord. Many real estate agencies also offer relocation services.  

  
See The Spitogatos.gr - HomeGreekHome.com directory, Real Estate Agents in Cyprus
  
  
  Signing the Lease    
Before signing the lease it is important to clarify:
  
  
  the duration of the lease
  whether the lease can be renewed
  the amount of the deposit and under what conditions it is refundable
  which utilities are included 
  whether the landlord can raise the rent after the initial rental period is over
  who else has keys to the property 
  It may also be helpful to confirm whether subletting is allowed, whether permission is required to make superficial changes, whether pets and smoking is allowed and whether parking available.
  
  
The renter may insist that a formal lease agreement in English be drafted and signed, laying down the agreement and the renter's rights. All concessions made to the renter or repairs promised should be included, with an appendix stating the current condition of the property, furniture, and fittings. The landlord should confirm, in writing, any additions to the contract as well as the termination of the contract itself.
  
  Terminating the Lease  
  
Only the tenant has the right to terminate the contract. The notice period should be specified in the contract - typically, one or two month’s notice is required. If the renter must leave prior to the expiration of the contract, they are obliged to find another tenant or pay the full rent for the period, provided that the flat remains un-rented. If the landlord rejects three potential tenants presented by the departing renter, the renter has the right to terminate and leave within the regular notice period.
  
  Utilities    
  Electricity    
Domestic electricity is 240 V AC, 50Hz. Plugs used are the British-type 13 amp 3 flat pin.  
  
Registration with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus or at local customer service centres is necessary to get electricity connected/turned on. Sometimes, the landlord will do this and charge the renter according to meter usage. Online bill payment directly with the Electricity Authority of Cyprus is also possible.
  
  Gas    
There is no country-wide gas network and natural gas (LPG gas) often used for cooking and heating is sold in 10 Kg canisters at supermarkets. Larger bottles are available by delivery.
  
  Telephone  
  
Cyta and PrimeTel provide telephone, Internet (and broadband), mobile telephone and digital TV services.
  
  Water  
  
Typically, the landlord will pay for water. This expense may be forwarded to the tenant.
  
The Cyprus Water Development Department manages public water supply to the island but each Municipality has its own water authority. Contact the local Municipal offices for registration if this is required.
    
  Source: cyprus.angloinfo.com  
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 19:13:00 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/cyprus-real-estate/renting-an-apartment-or-a-house-in-cyprus/</link><guid>http://www.homegreekhome.com/info/cyprus-real-estate/renting-an-apartment-or-a-house-in-cyprus/</guid></item></channel></rss>