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Greek House Price Calculator

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Greek House Price Calculator

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Message posted by seaangler (Chat Room Administrator) on 25�March�2005 at 1:25pm - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

seaangler

Hiya tony..Do you think it was a good move giving your lawyer power of attorney with out consorting to you first no matter how good they are as i would like to be the first to know on and anything they do behind your back but i suppose that is of your opinion...chris

Message posted by ecotrails on 25�March�2005 at 2:02pm - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

ecotrails

Corfu

Hi folks

Giving your lawyer power of attorney does not give them the right to do as they please. They cannot for example take money from your account without first getting your approval.

In situations like we often find ourselves i.e. buying in Greece it is usually necessary to put a lot of trust in the professionals we use, this makes us naturally nervous but I haven't heard of any major disasters dealing with lawyers (perhaps you have), 'estate agents' are anoother matter.

The Greek idea of 'legal' and 'illegal' relating to objective property values is an established one and the words should not be taken to mean exactly what we (UK) think about them.

Research, understanding, trust, referrals and buyer beware all come in to property purchase.

Ian

Message posted by seaangler (Chat Room Administrator) on 25�March�2005 at 2:15pm - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

seaangler

Hi Ian the question to your last post is i have and i have pm tony as to why regarding my mum and dad estate( the incompetence to act sooner than later)...chris

Message posted by ecotrails on 25�March�2005 at 2:21pm - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

ecotrails

Corfu

Hi Chris

I am sorry to hear that your family have had problems, I hope you get them sorted.

Looking at what I said above, I have been wrong, of course there will be lawyers that mess up, are incompetent or get greedy - same as in UK.

Ian

Message posted by Skorpidi on 25�March�2005 at 9:42pm - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

Skorpidi

Corfu

Hi Stuart,

Thanks mate, I have just re-read Hilarys post and agree that the Notarys fee should be aligned with the Objective Value for Tax. I shall make the necessary adjustment. Greek House Price Calculator - version 4 coming. (GHPC - V4.0)

Anybody know what the house age to tax break points ratio is? Please let me know then I can then include them into the calculator - I have'nt shown that bit of the spreadsheet publically so far, but it is there.

Skorpidi

Message posted by Skorpidi on 26�March�2005 at 5:43am - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

Skorpidi

Corfu

Calculator updated to make Notarys fee aligned with the Objective Value for Tax.

Does anyone know the following info

House Age and

Tax break Sliding Scale

over X years = ?

over X years = ?

Over 50 years = 70 %

Skorpidi

Message posted by Corfiot Mag on 26�March�2005 at 8:11am - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

Corfiot Mag

Your figures look pretty good, but I do feel that the lawyer's fees are a little on the low side. In theory, yes, they and the Notaries are supposed to take a percentage, but in practise they have a sort of minimum fee. Otherwise they really wouldn't want to deal with people who are looking for properties under 20,000 (and there are plenty of sellers and buyers). This does depend on the solicitor and the notary so is a bit of a loose cannon in the calculation.

I forgot to mention the 5% additional discount you get when a house does not have central heating. If it has, there's 5% extra to pay. Sorry about that - I didn't realise how very diligent you would be!

Also, the agent's fee should be 2% not 3%.

Regarding Power of Attorney. About 90% of our sales take place like this. It is eminently sensible. Some people have almost lost their property because they couldn't get over for the contract, adn the owner has not been prepared to wait (we do have ways of handling this, but it is a pain). Many of the sales closed in summer, especially late summer, actually take place in the winter, so it is difficult and expensive to get over. Many times the date of the contract changes for various reasons, so a quick 3 day visit may be wasted.

It takes half an hour and about 40-50 euros to set it up, so it is absolutely worth it. Never had any problems. And we now have a new system whereby we send a copy of the topographic to the client in advance so they agree to exactly what they are getting, as often information on exact measurements isn't available when they see the property (locals, especially in the villages, WILL NOT pay for a topo until they have a definite buyer).

Sorry, I don't have the info on the exact sliding scale right down the line. This is a very complicated formula, and I need a calculator for even basic maths!

Hilary

Message posted by Skorpidi on 26�March�2005 at 9:40pm - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

Skorpidi

Corfu

Hi Hilary,

thanks for the reply - I'll build in the Central Heating percentage - does it apply to the Sell Price or the Value for Tax?

Any figures I put into the examples can be changed to whatever is appropriate, but what I would like to have eventually is a fairly typical/average example for potential house buyers to have have a look at.

I have just realised from reading your mail that I should also include a section on flights, accommodation and car hire (even if it is just reminder on the Calculator to cost this in) to get a true cost of purchase, typically/on average, how many times do people need to be present in Corfu to complete a purchase?

How long does it take to complete a house purchase? it sounds like it can be a lengthy process.

I have also heard on the grapevine that the size of deposit can have a bearing on the tax paid - is this correct?

Much Appreciated

John

Message posted by Corfiot Mag on 27�March�2005 at 8:38am - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

Corfiot Mag

The central heating discount goes on top of the 70% or whatever.

The time it takes to complete depends on the paperwork. Most of the old houses have no deeds, and if there is no will either the solicitor has to do a search for all potential inheritors. This can take time. I would say that an average is about 2 months, but can go to 4 or even more if the buyer has to get a power of attorney in the UK (this is much more difficult than in Corfu - another reason to get it done here!).

The number of visits? Depends on how quickly the buyer finds the house they want. If people are in touch with us in advance on email, and using our website, we arrange a programme for viewing - depending on the areas and what they want to see, this can take about 3 days of solid viewings, but at least then it's all over and some sort of decision can be made. So providing the buyers find something they want, and if a power of attorney is done at the same time, only the one visit is needed.

There are some people who want to DIY to 'save the 2%' to the agent, and these are the ones who end up coming out here six times to look and thus spending thousands more than they would if the agent had organised everything to fit in one visit! As well as probably paying 1) over the odds because they are not aware of true property values 2) probably paying a walloping kick-back to someone or other anyway as an 'introduction fee'.

The deposit is usually 10% of the actual price and has absolutely no bearing on what tax is paid. Believe it or not, the government is quite happy to get its share based on the objective valuation. Regarding the legality of this, our solicitor's famous explanation is 'it's not illegal'. It is perfectly normal practice in many other countries as well, like France and Italy.

Hope that helps.

Hilary

Message posted by ecotrails on 27�March�2005 at 11:39am - IP Logged Legal Disclaimer

ecotrails

Corfu

Hi folks.

Hilary, thank you as always for the clear explanations of procedure, thank you less, as always, for your 'agent sell' although it provides amusement and I don't blame you for giving it a go.

We have been along this road many times so best not light the fire again but a couple of factual thoughts.

Following my Greek lawyers advice I got power of attorney, while in UK, without signing anything in Greece in less than one week; that involved an email, a visit to my local solicitor to witness asigniture (�5) and sending the signed document to London with an SAE and a cheque (�12). I would say it took me in all about half an hour of my time so where you get 2-4 months I don't know.

3 days of solid viewings with an agent then a decision, OK if thats what folk want to do, how about a cooling off period, how about visiting out of season, how about when back in UK thinking where was that boundary or are we sure that blasted olive tree wasn't in the way? I'm not disagreeing with what you say but saying there are other ways to do things also and they are not necessarilty going to end in disaster without an agent.

You can find shed loads of land/property for sale privately and an agent isn't necessary, but I agree that for most people an agent can smooth the path towards completion. Most of the plots I looked at were not in the hands of an agent, in the end I chose one that was, mainly because of the plot itself, not the comfort factor of an agent.

Think in UK, if you saw a house for sale privately, you went and looked and liked it, would the fact that it is not with an agent put you off, I think not, more likely you would be thinking about the saving of the agents fees.

As for your last paragraph, are you saying that the agent sets the value of the land at a fair price for the benefit of the prospective buyer....? The price asked is certainly not written in stone, you must make a personal valuation for yourself in light of your knowledge and understanding gained through looking at other properties and also take into account agent or no agent fees, backhanders etc etc. I've come to know of agents who regularly bump up the asking price by many thousands of euros, the whys and wherefores I don't care about, in the end I would only offer what I believed was a reasonable price, if others get caught out then more fool them,.... afto ine zoi, ... yes.

Ian

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