Buying For 'Investment'

It would be possible to write reams and reams about 'investment' property, and many people want their overseas purchase to offer them investment potential as well as a new home or a holiday home in the sun.

There are several ways of looking at this. One is if you are looking for a 'lifestyle change' and have always dreamed of moving to live in the sun and perhaps having a block of apartments, small hotel, restaurant or bar. Generally the first rule of thumb is if it looks to be too good to be true it probably is! Corfu is awash with elderly 1970s and 80s blocks of apartments, built for the boom years of tourism in Corfu. They are usually small studios, basically equipped and furnished, and often on the edge of a village or resort. The temptation is to think that you can buy them and let them as they are. Unless they are right on the beach - WRONG! Usually the reason for sale is that the owners, who probably have many years experience, cannot make them work. This means that unless you have funds for considerable refurbishment as well as the purchase price, you are probably not going to make them work either.

If you budget for a 'refurb' then you are on the right track. With imagination, studio blocks can be transformed into a smaller number of comfortable and well-equipped apartments, offering a home for you plus a letting investment. These days, unless you are virtually on the beach, you need to have space and funds for a swimming pool. Once you have made your transformation, you are ready to begin. An economic choice could be St George Studios where the studios are unfinished but only a very short distance to the beach. An alternative would be Afionas Studios or on a higher budget Kyknos Pension in Doukades.

Another option is to buy just two or three units of accommodation and live in one whilst you let and manage the others during the summer season. Examples are Katsaros Apartments in Pirgi which have stunning views or Kaminaki View Apartments located in one of most sought-after areas of the north-east coast.

For a similar investment to a small block of studios you could buy several apartments with scope for upgrading and then let for a good rental return. Another choice could be a new build - either two or three of the same size or a combination of one and two bedroom homes. Properties like Daffodil, Mimosa and Daisy Cottages in St. George South which would bring in good summer revenues.

Buying a villa to let when you are not using it has always been popular and there are several excellent properties, some of which have ongoing tour operator contracts plus periods blocked off for your own use and represent a steady investment. Typical examples are Verde Blu Villas in Barbati, Rastoni in Vigla, Villa Cicada in Kalami or Villa Serena in Avlaki. Any one of these fit the bill perfectly - offering a tried and tested property, with a good letting history.

Overall, Corfu offers excellent investment opportunities. Nowhere will you find that you have thousands of other properties in direct competition, as in Spain or Bulgaria. You probably won't find an instant 'get rich quick' solution but you will find a great selection of possibilities to offer you either that all important 'lifestyle change' or even just a perfect holiday home which not only pays for itself but also represents a steady investment and provides all your family holidays into the bargain. What more could anyone ask?
Diana

Of Course It's Not Dfficult To Get Anything Done In Corfu...

We are building a small new development of villas and we have been through almost exactly six months of bank holidays, strikes etc. waiting to get the necessary paperwork for the build. Finally we did get most of them but one of the most important steps is to pay the deposit for IKA (this is the builder's social security committment which you have to partly prepay in order for the building licence ot be valid). This should be relatively simple - you go the IKA office with your paperwork and pay.

Well not quite! Our civil engineer went to the IKA office in Corfu Town, where we have previously always paid, to be told that it now had to be paid in Lefkimmi. This was on a Friday at 11.30 when we are fully committed in our apartments for departures and arrivals. Never mind it had to be done so one of our guys sets off from Moraitika to Town to collect the paperwork from the civil engineer. Three sets of roadwork traffic lights and one hour later he arrived, 'quadruple' parked outside the engineer's office, grabbed the paperwork and set off back towards Moraitika. Another hour later he arrived and my husband Spiros set off for the IKA office in Lefkimmi, where he arrived at 13.50 with ten minutes to spare before the official 14.00 hours closing time.

However, it being Friday, he was told the computers had been turned off. The assistant was hapy to turn them back on for, what was after all just a few minutes work - but the manageress said "No, come back Monday. Oh no, don't come back Monday it is a holiday, come Tuesday". Spiros has other obligations on Tuesday so he asked if he could send someone in his place to pay. "Absolutely not," was the reply, "you have to come in person." (As if some other fraudulent person might rush in a pay our IKA bill. I wish!) So he went in person - but they were all at aseminar. "Come Thursday." So he went on Thursday and they were not back from the seminar BUT the manageress (not quite sure why she could not do the small amount of work and take the money) said that she would make sure that the girl who can do the work would come in to work on Friday (why wouldn't she, it's a working day?) and all would be sorted.

Friday morning Spiros went back to Lefkimmi and the paperwork was duly dealt with, money paid and he set off to Corfu Town to hand it over to the civil engineer, who in turn would register the payment with the planning department. Just as Spiros, arrived in Town he received a call from IKA in Lefkimmi - very sorry, they had made a mistake and would he please come back to Lefkimmi so it could be corrected. By this time he was past being surprised by anything so he turned around and went back to Lefkimmi where they apologised, corrected the mistake and he was free to go back yet again to Corfu Town to the civil engineer who could then go to the planning department. Only it was already virtually closing time in Corfu Town so yet AGAIN it wasn't done and who goes to do it early on Monday morning - me, of course. I suppose we will get there in the end.

It's not surprising the government is short of money when they make it so difficult to pay them.
Diana