Buying a Home in Greece
How to proceed with buying a home and land in Skopelos Greece
Buying a property
We're here to help you find your perfect Greek Island home, working with Real Estate agent Glossa houses or through our direct vendor sales. If you're looking to relocate or for a holiday home, we can help you find exactly what you're looking for. We currently have a selection of of both houses and land for sale on the Island of Skopelos and Skiathos situated in the Sporades. From 'projects' for renovation to homes that you can move into straight away, and land on which to build your dream home.
Just contact us
We recommend that you check all land and homes you want to purchase have the necessary legal paperwork; this can be done with the help of a local lawyer.
Please see our Legal information section for a guide to the legal requirements on how to proceed with buying a property in Skopelos Greece
Buying land, building and renovating in Skopelos Greece
Skopelos Island is a blend of past times and modern times – although most new houses are built very much in the traditional style. This is because Skopelos has been honoured by a presidential decree as a traditional settlement of outstanding beauty. The architectural style is similar to that found in northern Greece, white-washed buildings with wooden balconies and terracotta roof tiles.
How to buy land and build your house on Skopelos
If you decide that you would like to buy land on which to build a home we can help. Glossa Houses have experience and contacts, from Lawyers and Architects to Builders, Carpenters and Plumbers.
It is always advisable to get quotes from independent builders and work with someone you are comfortable with.
All the required certificates should be in place before you buy the property. If you want to build, then the sale should be conditional on proof that a permit to build can be properly obtained.
See our: Legal information
Rough estimate to building costs of a house on the Greek Island of Skopelos
July 2009
Accessibility to the building site can affect the cost
If you have a good road (even a good dirt road) leading to your land with water and an electricity supply nearby, the costs should be as similar to below. Providing you are not too far from the nearest builders' merchants, and the land is fairly level. For difficult sites access may have to resort to bobcats, horses and then hand carriage - all of which increase the cost massively (up to double the cost for a really difficult site).
Quality of build, finish and materials
For example; estimates on tiles cost an average of €20 per square metre, depending on style and you can get good quality and attractive tiles for this price. But, if you’re looking for something more expensive, the sky’s the limit!
For bathrooms, a close coupled WC with ceramic cistern may cost between €180 and €210 for a good quality standard type, but you can also pay €500 for a more expensive one.
So, with all those caveats for a standard construction house - A two storey, reinforced concrete frame; brick and block walls; rendering in and out; standard roof with insulation and ceramic tiles; Swedish pine doors and windows; standard plumbing and electrics; tiles in and random stone tiles outside; painting inside and outside – will cost approx €1,700 – €1,950 per square metre, complete.
Therefore a house of 100 sq metres consisting of a ground floor of 50 sq metres and first floor the same square metres, plus balconies, will be about €170,000 - €195,000 plus the cost of the land.
Building a house does allow you a great deal of choice and can be specified according to your budget, the level of build quality and even choosing the positioning of it on the land you have bought. Allowing you to design it completely the way you want (within the Building codes and restrictions - see below) and to choose all of the features that will make it your unique home.
Remember:
The higher the build quality, the higher the cost.
Access to the site, available electricity and water supply can affect cost.
All planning, certificates and permissions will need to be in place prior to the work starting.
Your house will have to be built within all of the specific building codes, requirements and restrictions for the Island of Skopelos.
€1,700 to €1,950 per square metre, key in hand (complete) is an estimate for a standard build quality house that relates to costing in July 2009.
It is always best to get 3 independent quotes
Keep track of your budget and costs when building or having your house built.
It is also a good idea to have reserve funds available for unforeseen extra expenses. Building costs may also rise while your house is being built. And remember currency fluctuations will have an affect on overall costs.
Skopelos building codes and restrictions
Skopelos and especially Skopelos Town has been honoured by a presidential decree as a Traditional settlement of outstanding beauty. Therefore the building codes mandate that all new constructions must carry the exterior Greek themes, as seen throughout Skopelos. The building code for new constructions and renovation within the town reflects some restrictions due to this Traditional Settlement decree. Some restrictions stipulate that no new buildings shall be more than two stories. There must be a sloped ceramic or stone roof in the traditional Skopelos style. Doors, window frames and balconies should be made of wood ( Skopelos Town only).
You can build on any size of plot within the town plan provided you leave 30% undeveloped.
It is important to take into consideration the legalities involved and building permission must be obtained. Only fully qualified registered architects or engineers are allowed to apply for building permits. The cost is approx. 4% - 5% of the estimated cost of the building.
A permit to build an 85 square metre house for example, will cost approx €10,000. On top of this is IKA – mandatory workers’ insurance of approx €6,000 and VAT on materials of approx €2,000.
Forestry certification and a survey must be carried out by an engineer if you wish to build or renovate your home.
There are no zoning restrictions on Skopelos Island Greece.
You will also have to take into consideration the need to cost in the running of essential services supply to your home, i.e. water, electricity and road access; as most of the land currently available is outside of the nearest Town Plan. If you buy within the Town Plan, water and electricity supply is generally available and easily connected. Municipal taxes and duties are incorporated in electricity bills. The amount added to your two-monthly bill is negligible and includes a compulsory television license.
To build a house within the town plan
You can build on any size of plot within the settlement provided you leave 30% undeveloped. For example on a plot of 100 square metres, you could build a house with a 70 square metre footprint. Say, 70 square metres downstairs and 50 square metres upstairs. Plots of land must also border with a municipal road.
To build a house outside the town plan
Two certificates are needed
If your land is not within the confines of a village or town and is not within the area covered by town planning it must be a minimum of 4,000 sq metres of clear land. That is land which is not classed as forest. In order to obtain a building permit, you must get a certificate from the Forestry Department that at least 4,000 sq metres of your property is non-forest.
In an archaeological area you must also get a certificate from the Archaeological Department. They may impose restrictions on exactly where you can build.
Clearly, it would be imprudent to buy a piece of land which does not have these two certificates.
Remember: Your house would have to adhere to the legal Greek property laws and building requirements of Skopelos Island Greece.
See our: Legal information.
Renovations and Refurbishment in Skopelos Greece
Many people like the idea of buying an old traditional house, rolling up their sleeves and restoring it to its former glory. The materials and skills to carry out a sensitive restoration are readily available on the island and the local craftsmen really care about the quality of their work.
The key is to blend the features we all love – wooden balconies, roofs with open timber work inside, enhancing rather than hiding the old stone – with the comforts of modern indoor bathrooms and well equipped kitchens.
It is to be noted that most houses will need some level of renovation or refurbishment, from the small to larger scale. To obtain renovation permission for an older house on a freehold plot; outside the boundaries of the nearest Town Plan (Skopelos and Glossa) with land less than 4,000 sq meters, legal evidence must be provided by the vendor that states that the house was built prior to 1923.
To obtain renovation permission and electricity supply for houses in need of renovation within the Town Plan, legal evidence must be provided by the vendor that the house was built before 1956.
For your protection, we advise that legal advice must be obtained from a lawyer as to the status and proof of essential legal evidence. Below you will find a link to our legal pages for further information.
Please see: Legal information
Note: We have detailed the current planning regulations on the Island of Skopelos, however these are subject to change. Updates will be posted with new information as received.
