Real Estate/ Building from Scrathch (Greece/Greek/Crete/Creta/Kriti):

BUILDING FROM SCRATCH

DOS AND DON’TS when buying a plot and building from scratch!

These are tips, and are not meant to put you off buying a plot and building the house of your dreams – but they might help prevent your dreams becoming nightmares!  Please make sure that you have a proper contract for building work with the builder and/or architect in Crete in the same way that you would have in your country if you were getting new building work or renovation done, for your own protection.

Architect and Contracts

DO

Make sure you are completely compatible with the architect you choose. Architects in Greece hold much more power than those in the UK or other European countries, it is not really possible to fire them. Once they have obtained your building permit they are responsible for signing to say the building’s footings are correctly installed and for signing off the job so that you can have your services connected and your building is legal.

Check that IKA, VAT and the cost of the building permit etc., is included in your contract or not – if one quotation seems vastly more expensive than another it could be that the IKA, Vat and building permit price is included and the lower quotation does not include them. In general these costs are outside the contract.

Do have a clause in your architectural contract that you may choose the builder of your house independently of the architect if you so desire. Unlike the UK and other European countries, where an architect cannot also be a builder, in many cases in Greece the architect and the builder are one and this creates a conflict of interest.

Bear in mind that a plot of land within the village limits or one with an old building on it (unless it is protected) poses less problems and expense than a plot outside the village/town limits.

Services

DO

Make sure that if you are buying a plot outside the village limits you know what your costs will be for services.

You might see an electric pole nearby and be told the price of the one you need to your houses is only £600 – however you could be the unlucky one that is just out of range and a transformer might be needed – a transformer costs many thousands of pounds and the cost of it is not shared between you and anyone else who might build near to you later – they are the lucky ones and you could be the unlucky ones.

For detached houses standing in their own plots outside the village or town limit now the electric meter has to be placed in a concrete structure on the edge of your land. This has to be built by a registered electrician and will be an additional cost to the connection and or electricity pole charge.

Water: if there is no mains water nearby your land you might have to allow for a very large water tank to be built because water delivery is a set amount of gallons and it is more economic to have a tank which takes the entire load. If you have bought land which is rocky this could be an expensive item which almost certainly will be additional the quotation of the building.

Sewerage: If the land is rocky building a seepaway tank could be costly because of the drilling involved, this is something you can get some kind of quotation on before you start.

DON’T Be put off buying the land of your dreams if the location is perfect, the price is right and your budget is just a little bit elastic, but if you budget is strictly limited do think twice since all sorts of things can arise with new build which are unforeseen.

Buy land with access problems unless you are prepared to pay for the problem.

Buy land on a steep slope to the road unless you realise it will cost more to build, unforeseen shoring up, mid slide etc.

Law Offices of Savvas Zannetos

Igumenu Gavriil 103-105

74100 Rethimno, Crete

Greece

Tel: (30) 28310-26-258

Fax: (30) 28310-52-263

Please Contact Us today via-

Email: zannetos@creteattorney.com