New finished houses
There are so many property developers and builders 'producing' new
houses that it is easy to shop around, online or whilst in Crete
and possibly find what you are looking for with the minimum of fuss
and time. It is possibly the best option if you arenot living in
Crete. But take time to look around and compare prices between different
estate agents. Properties are rarely sold exclusively through one
agent and prices can vary a lot for the same house from one estate
agent to the next..
New developments
If your budget is tighter you might prefer to look at property developments
where one large parcel of land has been subdivided into smaller plots
on which small houses are built. These offer real savings in terms
of costs of obtaining building permits, costs of bringing in utilities
and to a lesser extent building costs (because the builder is working
on a large project and can offer some discounts). They also often
offer shared swimming pools (again, much cheaper than having your
own). So worth considering if you want your corner in the sun and
don't mind having neighbours (which you won't be able to choose).
Condominiums
This American word is more or less describing what some new
developments (see above) are starting to offer: a share of land (generally
sharing the freehold) on which apartments or houses are built. The
existing ones are still small projects with a few dozen properties
at the most but some big investors (often from Cyprus) have been
buying large tracts of prime real estate that could support much
larger developments in the not too distant future.
Old houses to be restored
Whilst this is far more romantic than buying a new ready-made house
it will likely cost you more and is possibly very hard to control
unless you already live in Crete. If you go that route, make sure
and double sure that you have a capable and reliable architect who
can supervise the project and keep you well informed of the progress.
I would still say that this type of property is best left to those
who live on the island or don't mind traveling to Crete often to
keep a close control on what is going on. The renovation of an old
house is not as predictable as building a new one so you will invariably
hit some snags and costs overuns.
Plot of land to build your house on
Choosing the right plot of land and buiding your house on it is
the most flexible of all options but with the same drawbacks as above:
do you have a capable and reliable builder and architect who will
make sure that things go according to plans and time scale in your
absence? Here again, I would recommend this option to people living
on Crete but not necessarily to those who only visit occasionally.
If you choose to go down this route without living here, at least
take the time to get some recommendations from others as to the reliability
of the people you will be using.
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