CRETE is Greece’s southernmost island and one of the EU’s furthest outposts, located as near to Asia as it is to the European mainland. The islanders are welcoming to the British — a legacy of the Allies’ defence of Crete during the Second World War — extending the hand of friendship to an increasing number of us drawn to their shores by sunshine and the promise of some of Europe’s cheapest house prices.
“Crete is an excellent choice for a holiday home, retirement home, or simply if you want to move somewhere much cheaper than the UK that has plenty of sunshine, low crime, low pollution levels, friendly people and great food,” says the estate agent Cassandra Karanjia, of Crete Property Consultants. “There’s also the added bonus that it’s wholly possible to buy a traditional stone property for around £15,000 to £20,000 in the island’s southeast, although for this sort of budget you should expect to have to fully renovate anything you buy.”
Jenny King, 33, an accountant from Brentwood, Essex, decided to do just that, renovating an old house in the village of Agios Stefanos in the mountains above Makrygialos, on the island’s southeast coast, having enjoyed a holiday there in 2001.
“When I got home from the holiday, I started to look at property on the internet and was amazed at how cheap a small village house was,” says King. “I was working in banking at the time and decided that I could buy a house with the bonus that I was soon due to receive. I visited the area a couple more times and looked at properties in five or six different villages before finally making an offer on the house at the end of 2001.”
Although the property was extremely cheap by British standards, costing about £13,000, King was under no illusions about the amount of work required to make it habitable. “It needed total renovation. It was only really a shell when I bought it,” she says. “All the plumbing and electrics had to be replaced. It needed new windows and doors. A kitchen and bathroom were fitted. All the walls were replastered. The floors were tiled. A spiral staircase was installed to allow access to the lower floor from the main floor, and iron railings were added to the external staircase and around the roof terrace.”
Fortunately for King, she had the help of Stelios, a local jack-of-all-trades, to manage the restoration that has transformed it into a stunning two-bedroom house with a kitchen, bathroom, dining room and — King’s pride and joy — a roof terrace. “The renovation took around nine months — a little longer than the five months that I’d hoped for — but, as I have learnt, nothing really happens on time in Crete,” she says. “And, now, when we are sitting on the roof terrace, looking up at the stars and listening to the sounds of the village, the extra few months’ wait doesn’t matter at all.”
Neither did King experience any undue concern when she received the final bill for the restoration work — about £17,000 for the complete refit, making a total of approximately £30,000 including the purchase price. The result is that not only does she have a beautifully restored traditional island property, but she has also seen her investment increase in value over the past four years.
“Prices on Crete are far outstripping the Greek average and, conservatively, rising by 8 to 9 per cent per annum,” says Xavier Wiggins, of the property search company www.newskys.co.uk. “Crete has learnt from the mistakes of other countries and there are no large-scale developments blighting the landscape or building sites at every turn.”
The procedure for buying property on Crete is similar to Britain’s, but there are a few quirks to be aware of. Remember that a 10 per cent deposit is required on acceptance of an offer that the purchaser loses if he backs out of the deal. If the seller backs out and a pre-contract has been signed, he will have to pay a sum equal to the deposit. Secondly, a purchase tax of 10 per cent to 15 per cent is charged based on the assessed taxable value of the property (not necessarily the purchase price).
Thirdly, an annual tax is levied on “expensive” properties — those priced higher than approximately €175,000 (£120,00) for a single registered owner; double for a couple. For example, on a property with a value estimated at €322,000 and with one registered owner, the annual tax would be about €440.
Fourthly, the seller and the purchaser must have different lawyers; the estate agent will recommend an English-speaking solicitor. The signing of the deeds and land registry takes place in front of a public notary; the purchaser may sign the documents himself in person or grant a power of attorney to his solicitor.
Any restoration work requires the agreement of the local authorities, particularly in areas of archaeological importance — Crete was home to the Bronze Age Minoan civilisation — and it pays to work with local builders and to get to know the neighbours, as King did.
“The local people are wonderful and so generous,” says King. “At different times of the year it is normal to receive regular deliveries of olive oil, local wine, grapes, pomegranates, oranges, almonds, tomatoes, onions and mountain herbs. The people live very simple, but seemingly contented, lives. They produce the majority of their own food, wine and raki. We were invited to a raki factory last year to drink it straight from the still, which was a real Cretan experience.”
A further bonus for King, her partner, David Bloomfield, 37, with whom she is expecting her first child in September, and others is that the local people are very amenable to foreigners buying on Crete, perceiving them as helping to preserve the island’s heritage.
“The population is property-rich and does not resent foreigners buying on the island at all,” says Karanjia. “Especially when buying an old village house to renovate, because this breathes life back into villages where properties may have lain empty, and it is of benefit to the community to have people living there again.”
- Crete Property Consultants 020-7328 8209, www.creteproperty.co.uk; Property Finders International 0845 3301449; www.newskys.co.uk
House proud
A house in Vassilika Anogia in need of some renovation, comes with a courtyard and a garden. Price: £24,300. A two-floor house is in Grigoria, which has fantastic views over the bay of Messara. The property needs updating but has a garden, vines and a roof terrace. Price: £24,000. Both for sale via Crete Property Consultants, 020-7328 8209.
