UTOPIA IS POSSIBLE….

Dear Dimitra,

We would appreciate you using this as a form of reference on your website, so others can benefit, as we have..

I am not usually the type to willingly put pen to paper, but both Julie and I feel that in some way it will act as a thank you for the time and effort you have afforded us during this last year, as I have often said to you - above and beyond the call of duty. Unfortunately for you, now that we have bought the land, you can't get rid of us.

For anyone wishing to purchase land or property on the island, then we can not recommend Dimitra, Vaios and staff at Hibiscus too strongly.

Having visited many islands over the years, we had already decided on Lesvos. The decision mainly being based on the fact it is still not over commercialised. However, we did originally meet another agent, who was unfortunately only concerned with trying to ensure we purchased something / anything through them.

Luckily we had also found Hibiscus on the net and having met up with Dimitra and Vaios a couple of days later, knew immediately we had struck gold.

We had filled a questionnaire in for Dimitra before our arrival. This I found a bit daunting as I like to play my cards close to my chest, my fault, as I am very cynical. However, this proved highly beneficial, for after a brief chat with Dimitra, she was assured of what we were looking for. This also saved endless jaunts into the countryside, on totally fruitless excursions. Unlike the previous agents!

To keep it brief, as I don't want anyone reading this to get bored with my mundane drivel,  Dimitra helped us find what we have classified as our Utopia, at Skala Vassilikon, in the Municipality of Polichnitos. It took us two visits to the island last year ( 2006 ), to find this plot of land, after a false first start.. The best part is, that having found it, Dimitra did everything for us vey effisciently , so within 7 days the land was ours.

We had read all the books - 'Buying Property in Greece', etc, etc -, but this can not compensate for the wealth of knowledge that Dimitra and Vaios posses. They dealt with everything from dealing with the tax office, actuary, architect, opening a bank account and all other aspects. We gave Dimitra power of attorney before returning home so everything was finalised without a hitch.

A return visit was taken in November for me to approve the building plans before they were submitted for planning permission. All the preparatory work was done by e mail between us, Dimitra & the Civil Engineer she had recommended..

The beauty of dealing with Dimitra is that there are plenty of people who have trodden the same path as Julie and I, who you can meet in person on the island. I know when our little abode is complete and we are on the island, then we would be only too pleased to meet people on her behalf.

I have informed Dimitra that I am only too happy to correspond with anybody, should they request my email address from her.

Stan Smith and Julie Smith

ANOTHER SUCCESS STORY…

November 2006

To Whom it may Concern

Buying land or a property in Lesvos is a very different experience from buying in the UK and many other countries. It is also different from some of the more popular islands in Greece where builders and property developers have put their own packages together to persuade the foreign buyer to invest.

Like us, you have probably done plenty of research and discovered that Lesvos has been left behind in the rapid overdevelopment of many parts of the Mediterranean. You will also have watched many TV programmes and read plenty of guidance about how to buy a property and what you should and should not do.

When you get to Lesvos, you need to tear up the rule book and find yourself a licensed, local, experienced, native Greek / English speaking Estate Agent to help you and guide you through the process. If you decide to go it alone, then “caveat emptor”!

Our experience of over 25 years of visiting many Greek islands and indeed the mainland did not really prepare us at all for our property purchase, other than the fact that it was fairly easy to decide that Lesvos was where we wanted to buy.

Once we arrived in Lesvos, we embarked on viewing a range of properties within our budget. We looked at land, ruins and renovations. We looked on the coast and in the villages.We finally bought land on the coast at Skamnioudi, near Lisvori, South Lesvos and we are in the process of a "design and build" which we expect to take 3 to 5 years with local help and support.

In order to buy, you need to have a Tax Number and will need to open a Greek bank account. This will need to be a joint account with your chosen representative. They will also need to accompany you to the local Notary in order to establish title to the property. In our case we also visited the civil engineer who established that we could in fact build on the land. You will read about the “rule of thumb” land sizes applying to plots and whether or not they are within the village boundary or agricultural. In fact, these are simply guidelines and you may find that there are other planning rules which apply. The Civil Engineer will advise you before your purchase. Had we gone ahead and bought without the advice of the engineer, we would have risked wasting our money.

As always, these experiences were not learned from a book, but from good local advice. We appointed the Hibiscus agency and its proprietor Dimitra Balkizas as our agent. She guided us throughout the whole process and acted as power of attorney with access to our Bank Account and funds to complete the process.

We would not hesitate to recommend her.

Yours sincerely

Jean and Andy Johnson

IF YOU LIVE OVER THE BIG POND, YOU CAN TOO…

To all those interested in buying property on Lesvos (especially North Americans):

I was due to retire in early 2005 when I got the idea that it would be an interesting idea to invest in a small house in Greece where my wife and I could spend some of our retirement time. We are from Ontario, Canada; however, we had visited Lesvos for a month in 2002 and were impressed by the island landscape, history, and the old Greek culture, not to mention the lack of tourist traps.

In January 2005, after typing “houses for sale on Lesvos" in Google I got through to Dimitra Balkizas on Lesvos.  Dimitra responded immediately and provided me with pictures of some homes that met my general requirements and provided me with a lot of information concerning Greek law and the requirements regarding Non EU citizen house purchases.

My month’s visit in May 2005 to Lesvos was intended to view properties in the Polichnitos region and make a choice. After several viewings to likely properties, I choose the one I saw first, a house in Polichnitos.

As a Non EU citizen, if you wish to purchase property on an island on the eastern region of Greece, you are required to apply for, and receive Greek military approval first, which is property specific.  The application is prepared by your lawyer after you make an offer on a property (requiring a non-refundable 10% down payment) and then you must wait for the approval.  I had to wait 6 months for military approval (2 months longer than expected) but because the house I purchased was vacant, Dimitra was able to negotiate immediate possession after the pre-agreement was signed and the down payment made. This is by no means “normal” and the exception rather than the rule but Dimitra will do her best each time to smooth things out to everyone’s benefit. She can provide you with the list of documents needed to expedite the process to complete the military approval process and all the steps involved in purchasing property on Lesvos.

Dimitra arranged for an English speaking lawyer to handle the house transaction and the military submission because I did not speak a word of Greek.

In Canada, the lawyer looks after all aspects of a property purchase but not so on Lesvos.  To begin, Dimitra accompanied me to get my tax number and then helped me get my Greek bank account before I made an offer on a house.

Because of the delay in the military approval, it was necessary to leave Dimitra with the Power of Attorney to complete the house purchase for me and handle all the money.  I had no worries or reservations about doing this.  After the purchase, she went with me to transfer the electricity and water accounts and arranged for my house insurance.

Dimitra has contacts with builders, tilers, plumbers and other trades people and professional services who can help with changes you may wish to make to your new property.  She pays close attention to detail and has excellent knowledge of house design and construction and has continued to be a great help to us long after we purchased our house.

My wife and I have now spent 6 1/2 months in the last 1 1/2 years at our home on Lesvos and are looking forward to next year already, and we just got home.

If you would like further information, ask Dimitra to put you in touch with me by email.

Theodore and Marilyn Koehler, Ontario, Canada.

NOT ONE BUT TWO AND THERE IS MORE…..

I had been looking for a place to buy where I could relax during my holidays and then relocate from the UK when I retired. I was viewing property in Almeria, Spain without much success because every time I found a quiet peaceful spot the cranes and golf courses seemed to be moving into the area and ‘improving’ it!

It was then I first found out about Lesvos.  I had arranged to go on holiday there ( Spring 2006) with a very close friend who knew the island well, having been a regular visitor for over 15 years. The photos were enough to get me searching the web for more information. This was when I first heard the name Dimitra Balzikas.

I had been told that it could be quite difficult to buy on Lesvos, that there was a lot of paperwork and formalities to go through so my first contact with Dimitra was to ask for information.

I very quickly received an email containing very comprehensive information, outlining the process, telling me the “on costs” I should expect and inviting me to ask if there was anything else I needed to know. An excellent start, very much in contrast to the pushy sales teams in Spain.

So I browsed the website and fell in love; A small cottage, near the sea, with fruit trees and mountains, in Nyfida, South Lesvos. 

After that everything went surprisingly smoothly. Dimitra opened a bank account for me on Lesvos and I transferred my money. We met Dimitra, when we came for our holiday.  I saw my house and decided to buy it. I asked how long it would take, as it is a long drawn out process in the UK, and was told 2 or 3 weeks. Brilliant!!. A quick trip to the capital, Mytilene, to see the notary, to give Dimitra a limited power of attorney to buy the property on my behalf and it was done.

This is not the whole story, however. Dimitra showed me several properties. I think she knew which one had stolen my heart but being a good agent she wanted me to see all my options. After doing the financial calculations for my beautiful cottage I found I could afford to buy another smaller house near the sea too, this time at Skala Polichnitos, South Lesvos. So Dimitra bought that one for me too, after the sale of the cottage was completed. In fact she is managing the new rental agreement she set up, for the tenant I inherited.

I’m now in the process of improving my cottage. The builders are in, slightly altering the layout, under the watchful eye of Dimitra and then I will set to work planning the kitchen and bathroom.

I have found the whole experience surprisingly easy and trouble free and I look forward to my next visit in a couple of weeks when I will see the work done so far.

Eileen Denbigh-White, UK

WHAT CAN I SAY ?

Dear Dimitra,

Spring and summer have now past and in that time we have found and acquired the Greek home of our dreams!! However, our dream would never have become a reality without your unfailing help.

A process that would have been an impassable minefield was made into a quick and easy passage with your aid and guidance. Indeed, just finding the property may never have occurred had we not filled in the questionnaire on your website which then enabled you to point us in the right direction; (second viewing - we've never found a house that quick in the U.K. )!!

The biggest thank you must be for the help you gave us during the buying process; maybe we were lucky, but we never once seemed to come across and find any obstacles that weren't insurmountable. It was definitely worth putting our trust in you as our power of attorney to carry out the legalities for us; particularly as this meant you undertaking trips to Athens with the lawyer that you also sorted out for us to iron out the minor hiccups that inevitably crop up.

Anyway, here we are now a few short months down the line with a set of keys to our new house in Greece. Although everything was carried out in a foreign tongue the process was probably smoother than when we have bought in the England!!!

We both can't wait to move out to our new home in Vrisa - Lesvos next year and will never stop singing your praises for the help and indeed new friendship we feel we have made with you and your husband Vaios.

Forever yours and in your debt,
Andrew Allton and Donna Neale.

SIMPLE IF YOU KNOW HOW! 

If you're interested in buying a house in Lesvos but feel anxious at the possible difficulties then think again. Our experience of buying a house through Hibiscus Real Estate Services was completely painless.

After browsing the web site one evening we sent Dimitra an email with a description of the sort of property we were looking for. Arriving in Lesvos a few weeks later, we discovered that Dimitra had already put in a considerable amount of time and effort to line up a number of properties that she thought would interest us.

We stayed at Dimitra's own Madonna apartments, just a stone's throw from the fantastic beach at Vatera, from where we had a good base not only to view property, but also the opportunity to relax, enjoy a well-earned holiday, and tour the beautiful local countryside.

We saw several prospective properties and so, before leaving Lesvos, we gave Dimitra power of attorney to continue to act on our behalf. This involved nothing more than a trip into Mytilini with her to spend half and hour in the local notary's office. After this, we had nothing more to do except get back to England and arrange for a money transfer! Dimitra opened a bank account, coordinated all the communications between the vendors, the solicitor, the civil engineer and the notary, and then completed the purchase for us. She even arranged for the electricity and water to be connected and for the locks to be changed.

Since completing our purchase, Dimitra is also now acting as project manager for some building work we'd like done on our property. It’s obviously extremely useful having someone you can trust to organise these sorts of things for you. Lesvos is a beautiful island and property prices in the South of the island are still comparatively cheap.

Shelly Saunders, Brighton, UK

(Shelley is the Winner of the  GREECE Magazine Travel Writing Contest, 

Issue 24 September 2006 )

DOUBLE WHAMMY!

We already lived on Lesvos when we first arranged to meet Dimitra to view properties. We arranged to meet to discuss our requirements and to look through a portfolio of available properties and soon after this we viewed a selection of properties.

Dimitra was excellent at making us feel at ease and giving us sound practical advice and development ideas. We left after narrowing our search down to two possibilities and after some background research on Dimitra’s part, which answered some queries that we had, we went ahead and bought a property in Skala Polichnitos in April 2006.

With Dimitra’s help buying or selling a property on the island can be a friendly and relaxed experience.

Michele Jelf

Eresos, Lesvos