Be vigilant when buying in Greece

[VERGIS92]

Originally Posted by jessicatam

What sort of certifications would it be good to look for, when dealing with Greece?

It's pretty easy to claim you're certified, and make up something fancy sounding, and the average person looking for a holiday home wouldn't know if the certification was genuine or not.

All estate agents are licensed but some are cowboy builders or run
illegal scams on desputed land,
The serious ones stay with you after the sale, the house is bult according to
international standards, offer a guaranty and insurance, what is very obvious
at a glance is the size of the company, small agents and construction companies
cannot afford to hire all these financial/legal advisors and just refer you to someone else,
I think there's some ISO code they have, ISO 9001 2000, but when you decide
to buy/shop around you will need a lawer, he is the best in determining the status
of the company,
most misleading ads come from these joker , small agents promising excessive
growth like 20%, limited time offers, they usually over rate Crete and Greece
without mentioning the down sides at all,

my clients always work with offers, they are given various offers from several
agents, and they choose on free will, don't let anyone hurry you or make you
commit to buying while on viewing trip, in fact avoid viewing trip ofers alltogether!
one company I represent offers trips but I disagree with this technique

[VERGIS92]

Originally Posted by jessicatam

What sort of certifications would it be good to look for, when dealing with Greece?

It's pretty easy to claim you're certified, and make up something fancy sounding, and the average person looking for a holiday home wouldn't know if the certification was genuine or not.

For Clients from the UK it is highly reccomended to find a solicitor through the
british embassy in athens, it will be a greek speaking, certified solicitor,
then they will come to view the property together and go through the buying process or the solicitor comes on his own if he is granted power of atterney
by the client, the solicitor is the first thing to get right
people who bought troubled properties wouldn't have done so had they
used a good solicitor recomended by their embassy in the first place,

don't try to save money on Solicitors-accountants it will cost you more
eventually, always get the best