Personal experience: the purchase of a house in Greece on the island of Thassos
The buyer: the family from Moscow
Region: Greece, the island of Thassos
Object: a house of 110 sq.m. with a land size of 1200 square meters, 1 line of the sea at the beach
Transaction: Purchase in the primary market, summer 2012
The island, where my heart lives...
Our youngest son was born week and was ill for a long; due to doctor's advice, we tried to spent as much time as possible at sea, in a place with clean air and water and good climate, different from the central part of Russia. So there was our first experience with Greece.
We choose the hotel in Halkidiki peninsula, and spent there the whole September. During that trip, we made a small two-day tour to the Northern Greece ( East Macedonia and Thrace). We visited my mother's old friends; a family who moved to Greece 20 years ago and based in the city of Xanthi, the capital of Thrace. From them we learnt about the emerald island of Thassos, a very popular holiday destination for Europeans, but not familiar to Russian tourists. So we decided to try Thassos for next year vacation.
Next spring I found a few offers of renting villas in Thassos via Internet. The Agency of Natalia Kovaleva was the second where we called, and the conditions totally suited us, so we rented a house in Skala Rachoniou, on the northwestern side of the island.
This experience of renting a property abroad was the first for us, and we felt the excitement on the way to the island. Despite the long trip from Thessaloniki to Thassos (about 4 hours), it was not difficult due to the great new highway, picturesque scenery of Northern Greece, and the ferry-boat trip was a real gift for the kids.
At first glance we loved emerald and marble island of Thassos.. Here we always discover something new. There are beautiful white shallow sandy beaches shaded by pine trees suitable for the kids; pines trees give the cool shade in the morning and midday heat. Clean and warm Aegean Sea is rich with underwater world, mountains are covered with dense vegetation, olive groves; sunsets are different and unique every day. Every day we listen to the sea waves, winds between olives, bells ringing when the sheep coming back from pasture. Here the picturesque Greek villages are full of traditional taverns and restaurants with tasty and pretty cheap Greek cuisine and drinks. And, of course, we loved the Greeks; they are very kind, hospitable, open and welcoming, cheerful and sociable, impulsive and emotional people.
After 5 weeks of vacation on the island, I realized that this is the ideal location where I want to keep coming back. So we decided to buy a house on the magical island. The decision was impulsive, but we never regretted it even for a moment.
Search. Select. Decision
Before leaving, we decided to look at offer that Real Estate Services can show us on the island. My husband spent the whole day; together with Natalia, they toured the whole island in a circle.
We Absolutely felt in love with the small gated complex of 8 separate houses on the first line to the sea, on the edge of Skala Rachoniou village which located directly on the beach in the shade of ancient pines. It was built in Greek-style architectural design of the village, it had a large common area and a children's playground in a pine grove, a beautiful sandy beach, an excellent tavern just 50m away and a mini-market with all the necessary range of products just in 2 minutes walking distance.
All four houses on the first line of the settlement had been already sold. The houses In the second line were under construction. All houses on the second line had a big land plots of about 10-12 acres. There we just 3 houses for sale at that moment. Without long hesitation, we have chosen the corner house, with the largest piece of land ( my husband said that he always dreamed of having a house with a lemon grove). Pre-purchase agreement was signed the day before our departure. And one more argument in favor of buying a house in the village was that our neighbors are 2 families with children. The company for us and our children was guaranteed.
Repair and construction
The preliminary contract provided us the six months payment prolongation so we arrived in Thessaloniki to sign the main contract next February and the also prepared home for the summer season. Legal support was totally made by real estate agency and we faced no problems, no difficulties and no delays. Separately I want to note the professionalism of the agency, as well as perfectly made, entertaining, informative and user-friendly website of RealEstateServices.
Since the house was ready in February, as developer has been promised, it was also equipped with kitchen; we had to buy just the necessary furniture and appliances. With a very active assistance of the Realtors, we bought in Thessaloniki and bring to Thassos and all that was required for the coming summer.
Recreation and impressions
Since then, it pasted three years. Every summer we go to our "cottage" in Greece for 2.5 months and even for a week in October. Our visits are restricted by Schengen visa that allow us to stay there with visa for just 90 days per half a year, so we are thinking now about receiving Life Permission.
The younger son has grown up and become stronger. our family and friends also have fallen in love with Greece, Thassos and always want to come back here. We are very good friends with the neighbors. We are friendly and happy to communicate (so far as the knowledge of the language) with all the neighbors during the all year round. We are also very good friends with our realtor’s family.
We bought a large trampoline for the kids, made a bigger kids playground and a playground for basketball, so we plan to arrange friendly neighbor’s basketball tournament.
The garden has been planted last fall, and I am happy to dig there. Apart from the lemon tree there are growing apricots, figs white and black, three kind of plums, pears, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, bay leaves, raspberries, gooseberries, currants, and, of course, walnut. In a couple of years I look forward to have a rich harvest.
Sometimes we are travelling on the mainland, going to see interesting places in Greece: children grow up and it allows traveling more. The phrase once said by Angelos very accurately reflects my thoughts: "here in Thasos my heart lives, I am leaving but it stays here..."
See more reviews on purchasing real estate in Greece:
- Purchasing villa in Halkidiki, Greece and applying for a residence permit – Golden Visa in Greece
- Simultaneous purchase and sale of a villa in Greece with payment in rubles on the territory of the Russian Federation
- Purchasing a large 6-bedroom villa with a pool and seaside plot in Halkidiki
- Real estate investments for long-term rental in Thessaloniki with a 20% yield right from the start of the purchase
- Reselling a luxury villa with 4 bedrooms, a pool, and a cozy garden on the first line of the sea in Halkidiki
- Personal experience: buy a townhouse in the suburb of Thessaloniki, Greece
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