Its taken a year and we still don't have a mortgage!!

When we started this project, nearly 3 years ago, we were told that the houses (for there were 2 in the beginning) would be ready in a little over 12 months.  So, by rights, we should now be visiting on a regular basis.  However, since that time, we had a change of heart (there were reasons - in a forthcoming update), and are only building one house.  

Last May, we started to talk in earnest to HSBC in Athens about a small mortgage for part of the building costs for this one house.   We did think of going with Alpha Bank at first - there is a branch locally on the island.  We wanted an 'in principle' agreement in writing from them, after a brief conversation with the local branch manager, stating that we could borrow the funds he had verablly agreed we could, after his cursory inspection of our financial papers.  This was not forthcoming - 'It is sorted, we do not do this in writing'.  We decided that this was not sorted enough for us.  Instead, we tried to get a mortgage through a broker in the UK, and got so far down the line with this broker and Piraeus Bank.  Piraeus wanted to see that the land we had bought had been registered in the Land Registry for at least 7 years before lending against it.  Unlike the UK, the Land Registry in Greece is not comprehensive, although it is growing.  But, our land had been passed between family members prior to being sold to us.  There had been no need to register the land until we bought it, and that was not 7 years ago.  Piraeus turned us down for this reason.

So we discovered that HSBC offered a Premier Customer scheme, which, amongst other things, meant that you could bank internationally, and have an account manager looking after your interests in each country.  We transferred funds so that we could take advantage of this, and applied for a mortgage.  Since then, HSBC Athens have very patiently worked with us, and yet, nearly a year on, we still do not have a mortgage! At first, we needed a copy of the planning permit to give to them, to show that we were genuinely allowed to build.  That was due to be produced about April last year.  It finally came through in about October/November.   Various reasons, week by week, were given as to why the planning committee could not complete the permit, including a suggestion at one point that the lady chairman had a hair appointment (this may have been an ironic comment of course...).  Family crises are very common in Greece - a baptism, a sick relative, a cousin's wedding - they are all good reasons why something which was going to happen suddenly does not.  Recently I read John Humphrys book  'Blue Skies and Black Olives: A Survivor's Tale of Housebuilding and Peacock Chasing in Greece', and was heartily relieved to discover that this is not personal to us.  It happens all the time.  Deadlines and appointments in Greece are not the definite things they are in the UK.  I'm not saying one way is better than the other, as sometimes, it would be nice to take advantage of that flexibility myself.  But prepare yourself if you are thinking of doing something with a deadline in Greece - chances are, it won't happen.  (Incidentally, JH's book is very interesting to those of you contemplating or embarking on a similar project.  If that's you, don't read it and think 'It won't happen to me' - because it will!)

HSBC requested some additional legal papers relating to the land purchase at the end of February this year.  By this time, HSBC had agreed that we were good for the money, they were doing their due diligence on  the land as security.  The 7 year registry requirement as raised by Piraeus, did not get flagged up.  However, there were some queries over the previous owner's family's rights, and a couple of relevant papers were missing from the pack.  We called the solicitor who acted for us in the original purchase, and were told that this was not a problem, the papers would be sent the following day.  It is now mid May, and guess what, the papers have still not been sent to HSBC.  Well, maybe they have - perhaps even as I type, they are with a courier.  But without a tracking reference number, or a receipt confirmation from HSBC, I no longer believe that this will be the case.  One of these papers is, apparently, a paper which needs to be signed by a dead man, to agree he has no claim to the land!  At least, that was what was being requested at one point - presumably a death certificate will be adequate proof.  We cannot fault HSBC, their care is also peace of mind for us - if they will lend on the land, we can be pretty sure that there is no doubt it is ours.  To be honest, I didn't doubt this until we started being asked for paperwork relating to the purchase.  I didn't even doubt it when the solicitor told us that it would be sent.  I did begin to doubt it 4 weeks later when nothing had yet happened.  Perhaps the paperwork did not actually exist, and the solicitor was simply stringing us along - everything felt very uncomfortable.  Our agent on the island literally camped outside the solicitor's office one afternoon, to get in to see them, and to make sure this paperwork existed, could be copied, and would be sent.  And even after that, that paperwork did not arrive when it was promised.  On reflection, I think it is too British of me to expect that a solicitor will act upon their promises, and be surprised when they don't. I must learn to be more Mediterranean.


Hopefully, we will get these funds sorted soon.  Assuming this hiccup gets resolved this week, next we have got to receive a copy of the bank's contract and get it translated.  Now, I wonder what surprises lay in store when that happens...

10 things to consider about the process of buying land in Greece

We bought our gorgeous plot of land.  We made a few mistakes - we didn't actually realise we had made mistakes at first, because we were so delighted with the land, and the people we met were so helpful.  Our pink-tinted specs were firmly across our noses.  We considered ourselves savvy - lol.  Here are some considerations we now think are important, but we were too excited/naive/stupid to think of all of them at the time.  Hindsight is a great teacher - blogs enable other people to learn from our hindsight.  Please note, I am not putting myself up as an expert on buying land in Greece here, I am being honest with you about things we learnt, sometimes to our cost.  If you want to know all the ins and outs of buying land in Greece, you should consult a Greek lawyer who specialises in land contracts.  I have not found any English books which really go into detail about all the steps that are included, but did buy one which gives a functional overview - I will remind myself what it is called, and post it next time.

1.  You cannot buy land in a week, so you will need someone to act on your behalf in the country, to sign contracts that need to be signed, whilst you are not there (unless you can afford to stay for the duration, or pop in and out of the country as required).  This can be achieved by giving them your Power of Attorney.  You go to a Public Notary's office (there will be several in any town), with your chosen person, and sign a legal document which achieves this.  The contract will be in Greek, so you should get a translator or interpreter to accompany you.  Some Notaries can offer this service, but you should not expect it.  You can give someone a POA to do only specific things for you, or you can give a POA to do a number of things.  Whoever you give it to, to be on the safe side, they should be someone who can act for you who does not have a vested (other) interest in the land purchase.  I would say the same is true of a house purchase too.  Ideally, you should find an English-speaking solicitor to act for you.  Ideally, you would not give POA to the estate agent selling the land, because you are giving them the right to buy that land on your behalf, and their vested interest is in selling that land, so their judgement on your behalf may not be as clear-cut as if, say, a solicitor was acting for you.

2.  You will also, obviously, need a solicitor to ensure that the sale is legal.  If you intend to build on the land, you need to make sure the solicitor understands this is your intention, so that they can ensure that the purchase only goes ahead if the land is buildable.  Make sure the solicitor is English-speaking, assuming you do not speak Greek.

3.  If your estate agent speaks English, and your solicitor speaks English, in fact, if anyone you need to deal with during the process speaks English, insist that all meetings at which you are present are also conducted in English.  This is to reduce any doubt you may have about what is actually being said on your behalf.

4.  Get some written documentation from the estate agent, which details what is for sale, and what the sales price is.  It has been known for land to be sold without this being written down, and the price you are told may not be the price the vendor is told.  Someone may get to keep the difference, and it won't be you.  This is illegal, but without documentation, what proof would you have that this has happened?

5.  Consider whether electricity and water are nearby your plot - you will have to pay to get them there, if not.  You may have to take wires and pipes over other peoples' land - you need to know if this will be necessary, because you will need to have these people agree to do this when you get around to building, and they may not!

6.  Land Registry as we know it in the UK is in its infancy in Greece.  Make sure your solicitor investigates whether anyone other than the vendor could have a claim on the land - this is highly likely as land is passed through from generation to generation.  If there are people who could claim that the land (or part of it) is theirs, then your solicitor should have them sign an affidavit stating that they will make no claim on your land once you have bought it.  It is possible for a family to give a plot of land to a son, who marries, and has children, one of whom takes the land (with general agreement at the time).  However, unless the rest of the family sign to say they relinquish their claim to that plot at that point, when the son comes to sell the land, they still have rights to it. Your solicitor is responsible for ensuring that all possible claimants are discovered and sign an affidavit.

7.  If you are fortunate enough to be able to buy the land for cash, consider whether this gives you the best protection if there are legal queries down the line.  If you were to get a loan from a bank that operates in Greece for part of the price, you get an additional measure of protection in the purchase, because of course, the bank will want to satisfy themselves that the purchase is legal, and will, effectively, check the work your solicitor is doing.

8.  You will need to transfer your money across when the purchase is made.  You do not need to open a joint account with anyone else, such as your POA, to do this.  You can transfer money from your account to theirs, either by having on-line access to do it yourself, or by communicating with your bank to request they do it for you.  Transferring money into the country entitles you to tax rebates later on (more info on that in subsequent posts).  We use HSBC, and have an account in the UK and in Athens.  Athens will transfer funds electronically to other people's accounts - your solicitors, for example, when payment is due.

9.  Do not let anyone convince you that receipts are not necessary, or that it is not the Greeks' way to use receipts.  They do, and you should be given one.  You may be fed a lot of bullsh*t about tax avoidance, as justification for why a receipt will not be given.  Don't listen to it, you are entitled to receipts.  If you go through your solicitor, this ought not to be a problem.

10.  Ask for copies of all paperwork, once the sale is complete, and keep them in a safe place.  You will need them again when you get around to applying for a building permit, or if you apply for a mortgage to fund the building costs.  It is much handier if you have copies that you can send, than having to go back to your solicitor each time.  Sometimes, however, certified copies are required, which will need to be stamped by your solicitor.  But having a copy of everything yourself helps.

I stress, this is my list of thoughts, not a guide to buying land, but it might help you avoid a few problems further down the line.  What is life if not a learning opportunity?!   Next post I'll talk about more practical issues with purchasing land for building in Greece.  This post has been quite cathartic :)

We just wanted a week away...

It started back in 2007. We'd just had some major redevelopment work done on our house in the UK, and fortunately, had managed to sell it just before the credit crunch started, and property prices dropped.  One of those all too rare times,  when we were in the right place at the right time, but only knew that afterwards.

Because we'd had the development work done, we hadn't managed to get away for what was becoming our 'regular' holiday some time between January and March that year.  It was early autumn, we had a stash of money burning a hole in our pockets, but more importantly, we wanted a cheap holiday.  We were looking for a suitable plot of land in the UK, on which to build something gorgeous - and as anyone who has done this will tell you, finding that is like finding a hen's tooth, or a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

We decided a week in Greece sounded like a nice option for a cheap holiday, and booked it.  I intended to read for a week, my husband intended to get brown.  We had no intention of doing anything other than relaxing for a week.  In fact, the closest to Greece we'd ever been before was to Cyprus, so we expected it would be just the same as that.  The plane rounded the island before landing, and our earliest impression was that it was surprisingly mountainous - see how little homework we'd done?  (For those of you new to Greece, it is mountainous!). 

For the first couple of days, we lounged around our holiday villa.  We appreciated the intense blue sky, the food, the quaint little village we were in, but in truth, we'd accidentally let the battery on the hire car get flat, and couldn't be that bothered about getting it sorted, so didn't go anywhere.  Then my husband got cabin fever, so we emerged and went into the island's main town for a wander.  Still fixated on property, we browsed estate agent's windows, out of habit rather than out of any real intent to act. We saw something that interested us, and went in to enquire further.  One thing led to another, and the following day, we were back there, apropos an island tour of plots of land.  And Then We Saw It.  A small plot, atop a local mountain, quiet, a short walk into a little village that looked as if time had forgotten about it, with views to the larger mountains in the west, a view over one of the many bays to the north, and quiet shrubland to the south.  Views of other Greek islands to the east.  The air was vibrant with the smell of herbs, and quivered with the hum of insects in the heat.  We enquired the price, and were astounded at how cheap it was (compared to UK land prices) - I will be blogging more about this in future posts.  The next thing to do was discover how we could go about buying it, given that we were only there a week, knew nobody, and didn't speak Greek.  If only we had realised then what we were setting ourselves up for!

Next time, I will explain more about what we learnt in the early days of this project - how to go about buying land in Greece, including advice on how to avoid some of the mistakes we made.