New House Purchase

[Ladyt25]

Hi!

New to this forum but thought it looked to be a good place to come for advice/tips.

Having been coming to Crete since 1995 I am currently going through the process of buying a property (with my family). Hoping this will be finalised and we can collect the keys this month.

There will be bits of work/sprucing up to do and I wondered if anyone had tips on the best places to buy nice but reasonably priced indoor and outdoor furniture from?

The intention is to rent the property through the summer months and also use for ourselves.

The house is in Hersonissos so I'm looking at shops in the heraklion area.

Thanks in advance

[filippos]

Sorry but I can't help with shops in Iraklio area but a couple of questions.

The intention is to rent the property through the summer months and also use for ourselves.

Are you aware of the different types of letting that are allowed?
Have you been through the registration process for whatever type you chose?
Holiday letting here is, to put it mildly, not straightforward.

[Kilkis]

There is an IKEA pick up and order point in Heraklio if their style of furniture floats your boat. Not a store. They order from Athens. Candia Strom are quite good for beds.

Warwick

[mouche]

The intention is to rent the property through the summer months and also use for ourselves.

https://news.gtp.gr/2018/08/31/greeces- ... 7-64940301

[chrissyg]

We are doing the same and they bring in new rules all the time. It has been a nightmare with the EOT rules but we have finally got it sorted and we are doing the 13 week, non- business let and just started rentals with holiday lettings. No doubt you will have questions when it comes to all that, but as this question was about furniture, i would just like to say we brought some over from uk, got quite a few bits of household from Ikea but my fave shop was Oikos in Chania ( dont know if they have a branch on your side) expensive but lovely stuff, and Biotza in Rethymno for outdoor stuff.

[Ladyt25]

Hi, thanks - there is furniture being left in.tje property but it needs some things to bring it a bit more up to date and usable!

Do you use a management company for the lettings?

I've contacted one but, until I get the keys and sort stuff it's a bit hard getting it all together. Could almost do with someone to rent it for a few months during the winter!

I don't know much about the rental rules as the more u read the more confused I get but am hoping some contacts I have will be able to help and (hopefully) tips from here!

[Ladyt25]

Sorry but I can't help with shops in Iraklio area but a couple of questions.

The intention is to rent the property through the summer months and also use for ourselves.

Are you aware of the different types of letting that are allowed?
Have you been through the registration process for whatever type you chose?
Holiday letting here is, to put it mildly, not straightforward.

Hi, I don't have all the details as such no but have some friends and contacts in the area as we have some family friends in heraklion and I have others from when I worked there in 1998. I understand there are things to be aware of but I don't know all the ins and outs no.

[filippos]

I'd suggest you contact the EOT office in Heraklion for info about the available schemes and a good accountant.

We have friends who had a very successful holiday villa once they had spent about 2-3 years satisfying the EOT requirements that seemed to change on a monthly basis. 100% occupancy from the first to last summer flights (i.e.early April-early November) for several years. After the most recent changes and alternative schemes they changed to the "13 weeks scheme" and have found that the returns are barely worth the effort and expense; they're considering withdrawing from the lettings market after this season despite full occupancy during the allowable 13 weeks rental period. Penalties for getting it wrong are usually harsh.

[Kathleen]

For furniture and garden items (though now at the end of season so selling off) take a look at http://www.praktiker.gr . They now have a fairly large range, slightly better quality than it used to be and often reasonable priced. Also good for electricals, builders materials and other DIY essentials.

To reach the store drive past the airport entrance for arrivals/departures pass BP filling station and army barracks, at road junction with filling station on the corner, turn left and follow the signs.

Incidentally, Warwick mentioned Ikea, they are on the main road on the right a couple of hundred metres straight ahead from where you would turn off for Praktiker.

Jumbo keep a fairly reasonable range of soft furnishings. You will find, however, bedding and towels can be much more expensive than UK so may be better off getting them sent out with Nomad, depending on the quantities you require.

Kathleen

[Forsto]

I use John Lewis international delivery service for my bedding as you can have as much as you want delivered very quickly for a set delivery charge of 10 GBP. Well worth it, in my experience. I also order clothes for delivery to Greece without any problem.

[Kilkis]

... bedding and towels can be much more expensive than UK so may be better off getting them sent out with Nomad, depending on the quantities you require.

Kathleen

Dunelm Mill is very competitive for bedding and towels and the quality is good. I've also used them for made to measure curtains but that is more difficult as someone has to collect them from the store where they were ordered.

Warwick

[Eleni13]

I second Philippos’ remarks about 13 week letting.
It would not be very profitable to use an agency as their fees are around 25%. The advent of AirB&B has caused a massive amount of competition in this market, so to cover costs of cleaning, laundry and maintenance, utilities etc the only people who will make a good profit are those who can use family members or friends.
I am just in the process of extracting myself from the business requirement for a full EOT. It is long-winded and expensive.
Keeep the house for yourself and family, is my advice.

[chrissyg]

I agree the letting is complicated. You have to have EOT and we had terrible trouble getting it as we dont speak greek. Maybe the Heraklion office is better, the web-site us not helpful. In the end we made a contact thru our accountant who got it done for us. The accountant is key! He explained all the letting options and you cant just " let it out for the winter', not legally anyway unless you have set up a business which even our accountant said dont attempt as it is terribly complicated. The 13 wk option suits us atm because we can rent ( we advertise on holiday lettings) during the very hot months and we come out either end. If we end up retiring here we wont bother. I know we wont make any money but it might be enough to just pay for our trips out here. We do have a management company nearby ( thats important)who keep it clean for the rentals and keep an eye on it over the winter. We have only just started renting this year and it hasnt been easy ( esp as we had our villa built) but we are hopefully getting there. Good luck.
.

[Ladyt25]

Thanks for all the advice. Ideally it does need to pay for itself as much as possible as sadly I am not a cash buyer so have borrowed to afford it.

I can't really let under Airbnb as don't quite understand how that works with cleaning, exchange of keys etc. But these are things I need to look into and weigh.up. I have some local friends who I know will help me even if it's just checking on it out of season. It will need someone to look after the garden though.

The problems with Airbnb are places are cracking down on them so I'd prefer to avoid in case that turns out to be the same in Greece.

[chrissyg]

Yeah im not sure how airbnb works and i thought you sort of had to be around for that and that it was more for odd days and weeks. Even using holiday lettings has been a rather steep learning curve for us. There are so many options but they do take a big cut. Still, you will get there in the end, just dont let the greek bureaucracy get you down! If you have friends here already then you should be fine.