Hi Everyone,

I, would if you don't mind, like some information.

We have finally made the decision to buy in Crete. We have found some houses that we like the look of and intend coming out to Crete in August to view.

The properties that we have found are with 3 different Estate Agents and I would like any information (good or bad) from Forum members who have used them or know others that have.


The agents are: Crete Property Consultants, Poseidon and A Property in Greece.
Many Thanks

Mark

Yes Fowles is right,I know of a few homes for sale and properties are usually sold here by word of mouth .
Estate Agents are a relatively new development , most locals own many houses or parts of houses and they do not need estate agents in the same way that they are used in the UK.
Sold two homes in England over the years and both times I was personally approached by the buyers and in hindsight did not need an agent.
Crete Property Consultants are one of the oldest established agents and sold us our property when we came here nine years ago.

A word of caution.
If you do not use an estate agent be very careful. I am currently dealing with people who did this and have now got all sorts of problems because relevant paperwork was not available or checked.  The lawyer picked up on it but instead of the sale taking a couple of weeks it is dragging on  and may fall through because of this, Not to mention the hassle of getting the deposit back - which the people paid direct ( because someone in the village said "this is my friend/cousin/uncle etc) With a reputable agent all the paperwork and legalities will have been checked before the property was offered. It is also costing them extra fee s for someone to chase up the papers and they are now realising  what the estate agents do.
It is normal for both parties to be charged over here. If a company charges extra to the seller it is fairly certain that the price of the property will have been adjusted accordingly so you are not likely to actually make a saving!

Sent you a PM Mark

Kathleen

In the 7 years we have been in Crete we have used three different agents.  One for buying our first house another for selling that house and yet another for buying land and building a new house.  All the agents we used were good at the time.  We now have this house up for sale due to circumstances beyond our control.  Each time we have used a well recommended local lawyer which is very important.  The agent can find the property or buyer for you but a good lawyer does all the searching and is worth paying for.

But that is only our opinion

to Lyndonthompson -  No crossing of swords, you have your own experiences and are entitled to your own opinion based on these. 

The problem with a lot of people is that they don't have the time, knowledge or experience to do homework and experience properly. Many times they seem to prefer the opinion of the man in the pub to those people who have experience. They believe what they want to believe. I shouldn't complain I suppose as I am getting a lot of work from clients who have come a cropper and need the situation sorting out- but I would prefer it was otherwise!

Hi,

I must agree with Lyndonthompson, I am an agent myself, and I try to get all the paperwork in my hands before advertising for sale, but the sellers are not always that cooperative, but I keep bothering them untill they give me what I ask for......

Even with the papers in my hands, one can never be sure if there is no 'charge' on the property unless a lawyer does the check of this all..............

So yes, you need a lawyer to sort everything out, and not all agents are the same, I started this business because I wanted to make a diffference, I was born and raised abroad and have learned different things and different ways of working, the mentality of the Greeks is mostlly my biggest problem (and YES, I AM GREEK BY BIRTH) This is the irony of it all, even when discussing with Greeks I always say, THE GREEKS, and they always laugh about it and remind me that I am also Greek.  Perhaps so, but I was braught up in a different way and have different manners.

If I thaught bad of all Greeks I would not survive another day here, but everywhere there are good and bad (things and people and more...)..........I am here 4 years now and have brought my family with me, my children are going to school here and they have adapted very well and love it here, so do I.........

But a foreigner should be careful when buying a property here, the system for the agents here is not like abroad.....

I would like it very much that there would be a change in the system and they would make some laws around it, because now it's not that clear............

There are sad things that I could tell about my experience in the business from people I know, but I think this would create a war and there is too much war in the world already, just be careful......

One last thing I can say, is that people tell me I talk too much, I inform too much............the truth be told, I sometimes have the feeling that people don't always appreciate the truth, you can't do good for everybody, in a country were miscommunication is the biggest problem you can't have it all...................and never compare what you see and want with what you are used to anywhere else abroad.......this doesn't get you anywhere...........

I'll stop now before being accused of talking to much again....

Best of luck to everybody in their search for their dream home on Crete..........
Best regards,
Gaby