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Back You are here: Home Property Buying, Selling, Renting Buying a New Build on the Greek Islands

Buying a New Build on the Greek Islands

When considering buying your Greek holiday home, most foreigners immediately think of a quaint whitewashed Greek cottage overlooking sparkling seas and sandy beaches. However these properties can involve lots of work and turnkey cottages of this nature are often few and far between. There are however many spectacular new builds on all of the islands, which are worth considering or you may decide to start from scratch and build your own luxurious dream home. Take a look at our useful tips on what to look for when you buy a newly built property.

The Benefits of a New Build

There are so many positive factors to buying new and certainly it’s what the Greeks prefer! Most second homes purchased on the islands by Greek buyers are new builds either constructed to personal specifications or bought off plan. Off plan builds take away the stress and hassle of supervising a building programme, but both off plan and building yourself ensure that you will end up with a property built to today’s rigorous EU building standards. A new build means that your walls will be defined by clean straight lines without bumps and blemishes to the plaster work and that you will have sufficient storage space, a brand new kitchen adequate lighting and sockets. Many off plan developers will also throw in furniture packages, which again saves time hunting around for the best buys. If you are buying a new build on a complex you will also have the benefit of landscaped gardens and other amenities like swimming pools and fitness rooms.

Buying Building Land

One way to get the home of your dreams is to buy the plot of land yourself and then commission an architect to design it and a builder to build your home for you. Before parting with any cash, get your architect to check with the local municipality beforehand as to what size of land you need to build on, as some islands have varying rules on plot sizes dependant on where on the island the land is situated. There are also strict building laws about the height of each building, which your architect can advise on. You also need to check out where the nearest utility connections are and how much it will cost to get hooked up to them.

Choosing the Building Team

If you are building yourself rather than buying off plan, you need to ensure that you have a strong team behind you. This will include an architect who will be able to understand your needs and draw up plans accordingly as well as obtain planning permission, a lawyer to draw up contracts with the builders and a reliable building firm. The best way to find a good builder is to ask around and look at other new builds in the area. If you like a particular finish then it is worth finding out more about the builder. You may even need to employ a project manager if you are not going to be around to check the work on an ongoing basis. Obviously buying off plan from a tried and tested developer saves a lot of the time and hassle associated with building yourself.

Check the Site and the Plans

Whilst your dream property is still under construction, you should keep checking the site to ensure that work is going to plan and to the deadlines set out in the contract, as well as making sure that the builders are keeping the site tidy. You certainly don’t want to be left with piles of building waste when you come to move in. Ask neighbours about the state of the site when they moved into their properties and most of all let your builder know what your expectations are. Constantly recheck the plans of your future home to ensure that the builders are working to accurate specifications. The plan is what you bought into and there can be no excuse for deviating from this.

Taking Measurements

Measure out the size of your doors and windows and the entrance to your garage to make sure your furniture will fit into the property and your car into the garage and that they have been built to the right specifications. Pay special attention to the stairs to ensure that bedroom furniture will be easy to carry.

Snagging

You might associate buying a new build as a safe option, free from hassle and the problems associated with renovation projects. However, once your home is built there will be little ‘snags’ that need to be rectified, things like dents in the plaster, paint marks on wood work, chips on tiles and dripping taps. These are all minor issues, but you need to make up a snagging list to hand to your builder before you make the final payment. Make sure that you test all appliances included in the sale as well as the boilers and heating, security alarms and lighting.