Editor and photographer · Athens, Attica · Member since 2015 · 5 posts · 1 vote
Hi everyone,
I am a guy from Norway, in the process of investing in apartments in Athens, Greece. Anyone here who have, or are considering, investing in Athens, or other areas in Greece?
The good thing in apartments in Greece, is maintenance is close to 0...that means that your holding costs will be minimal and you can wait for appreciation if we assume that the economy will eventually go better (10 years from now if you ask me)
Consult with a tax accountant for your taxes as a foreigner.
To rent out its a little tricky since tenant law is quite liberal.
Personally because my wife and I already own real estate in Greece (Moschato, Myconos, Voula) from inheritance, I started investing in the rise of the economy through shares of national bank of greece. If real estate will go up 100% I believe that stock will go even more up. Check it out...
I'm still in the research phase. I just came back from a trip to Athens, where I found some very interesting properties, met with a lawyer, a bank, an accountant, and found a great guy to potentially work together with, doing the day to day management. So I'm already starting to build my team!
But I know I still have a lot to learn.
At the same time, the prices in Athens are very low at the moment. Is the the bottom? Nobody knows, but I suspect this could be the perfect time to get in.
I plan to do short term rental to the tourism market. Tourism in Greece is stronger than ever. And Athens? It's an incredible city, witch will always by one of the most attractive and unique destinations in the World.
I would suggest to look into a different area than Psirri unless you only wish to market the property to tourists, in which case it would be ok. Psirri is lovely for shops, restaurants and cafes but I would not personally view it as a good option for renting thourghout the year. In my opinion if you are looking for somewhere really cheap in terms of purchase value I would look into other areas of central Athens, such as Patissia. Very close to city centre, low purchase value and better renting prospects. Plus the public schools in the area are relatively ok so you can get families in which tent to be more stable tenants.
If you want to solely go with the renting to tourists option I would then recommend areas such as Pedion Areos or Eksarchia. Really affordable properties and if you do your research you can find absolute gems there. All of the suggestions above are in close proximity to train or metro stations and buses so giving easy access to the rest of the city.
As I'm targeting the short term tourists market, schools and other qualities that are important to local families looking for long term rental is of less importance to me.
I like Psirri (and the other areas around Monastiraki) because of the walking distance to all the important sights, the direct metro line to the airport as well as to Piraeus, as well as of course the atmosphere and the cool neighborhood.
But I will definitely check out the areas you suggested! I don't know much about those yet.
Is Ekali still the super nice/wealthy part? Moroussi was nice as I recall, felt the most suburban of all the areas I was in, seemed like it could be an option.
Ekali is a great area but it is soooooo expensive! There are parts of Ekali which could easily compete in prices with London. Marousi is indeed excellent but would really suit someone looking for a long term let. Plus for long term lets you could go to Neo Irakleio which is just "next door" to Marousi with cheaper properties and much more convenient train and bus connections.
Love Greece and surely see the appreciation value, but beware and remember to make the money going in.. I am too interested in vacation rentals in europe, are you already in the game? Do you plan on doing so remotely?
This would be my first venture into real estate investing. We plan to do it remotely, but of course with an excellent local team, which we have already started building.
I'm going back to Athens next week to meet with more banks, and to have the apartments we so far have found that are of interest, professionally inspected by an engineer.
This is very exciting! And also a little bit scary... Everything is unknown territory, but we keep learning, every day and through every person we meet. Not least from the helpful community here on BP!
I just came from Greece and if you are targeting vacation rentals you could be OK but the local market is abysmal. There is no practical way to evict someone, I had to pay a renter to leave. In a commercial property that is rented by a bank they just make up their own rent that they want to pay.
But be very careful, the climate it is very hostile to investors.
I just came from Greece and if you are targeting vacation rentals you could be OK but the local market is abysmal. There is no practical way to evict someone, I had to pay a renter to leave. In a commercial property that is rented by a bank they just make up their own rent that they want to pay.
But be very careful, the climate it is very hostile to investors.
Good luck!
Real estate investing and socialist countries dont go good together...lol
I heard the other day they want to tax on rental income that was not received...loool