http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php Copyright 2013, Snobby Snobby en-US SPHPBLOG 0.5.1 http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130403-044452
Are we close? We shouldn’t be too far out, as those assumptions are based on the results of a recent survey, based on a poll of 1,200 people planning to buy a place in the sun.

For example, we now know what topics you would like more information about: legal advice is most in demand, voted for by 89.8% of respondents, followed by tax advice 85.6%, insurance 78.9% health cover 78.2% and gaining residency in a new country 77.8%.

Also 72% have a budget to buy overseas of up to £200,000, with a further 16% stretching to £300,000. The difference between those of you buying a second home and those buying to emigrate is small, with the first group accounting for 45% of respondents and the second 51% - the remainder buying for investment.

Crucially though, some of the findings indicated that many of you could benefit from talking to specialists in certain fields of the overseas property sector, and here’s why:

1) More than 80% of respondents planning to move abroad said they would receive their income from either a pension, investments or a combination of the two. If this applies to you, it could be worthwhile consulting two types of specialist before leaving the UK – a financial advisor/tax specialist, and a currency exchange specialist.

Why? Firstly, there may well be a more tax-friendly way to arrange your financial affairs and assets once you are no longer a tax resident of the UK. The Greece Buying Guide can put you in touch with an established financial planning firm that specialises in helping expats, or soon-to-be expats. Secondly, if you will be receiving your pension or income in Sterling or another currency that’s different to your new local currency, you’ll need to make regular currency transfers.

2) When it comes to viewing properties, 50% of respondents said their preferred way was to arrange to visit properties making prior arrangements before travelling, with agents or developers and organising their own time, travel and accommodation, rather than letting an agent organise their trip for them.

3) Half of survey respondents are unnecessarily at risk of paying more for their new overseas property than they need to, for no other reason than failing to plan their currency transfers properly. This is either because they don’t realise how exchange rates can affect the cost of their overseas purchase, or because they don’t pay any attention to exchange rates until the time they come to complete. If this is you, using a currency exchange specialist will guarantee you get a much better exchange rate than you would from your bank, but it also means you can secure an exchange rate the minute you reserve a property, meaning the price in Sterling won’t change before you come to complete. In addition, if you will be receiving your pension or income in sterling then you’ll need to make regular currency transfers and a registered currency exchange company can do this without charging you commission or transfer costs.

We regularly cover all these topics in our FREE monthly publication - a bumper 36 pager - e-mailed to you during the last week of every month. To receive your copy go to our website www.creteonlinemagazine.co.uk and order your copy today!
]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130403-044452 Snobby Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:44:52 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130309-014929
Research by HSBC shows the average Briton wants to retire ‘punctually’ at 65 and believes they would need about £22,500 a year to live comfortably. This could come from State pension, company pension, income from savings and dividends from investments. But the report warns that savings will typically run out after seven years.

The most common age of death in England and Wales is 85 for men and 89 for women, according to the Office for National Statistics, yet for those retiring at 65, their nest egg will have shrunk to zero by the age of 72.

At the current abysmal exchange rate of 1.15 of sterling against the euro, the perceived £22,500 a year to live comfortably is equivalent to 25,875€. When you consider you can typically live on 12,000€ per annum in Crete then you can see your money goes twice as far. Stay in the UK and what happens? Your nest egg will run out, you'll pay a fortune for energy bills with heating running for several months a year and be brought down by all the doom and gloom of a UK lifestyle.

Move to Crete and what do you get? Property is cheaper so you should have a nice little nest egg left over after selling your property in the UK, you will enjoy a far better lifestyle for less money and then there's the weather - 320 days of sunshine every year and far lower energy bills because you don't need so much heating. It's a no brainer.

If you are really serious about enjoying the rest of your life, do the maths, embrace the excitement of adventure and let yourself go. Come on over!
]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130309-014929 Snobby Sat, 09 Mar 2013 07:49:29 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130208-060243
Let's take it step by step, as there does seem to be a lot of confusion and concern.

The vast majority of those buying a Snobby are people who have retired - or will be retiring in a few years time - and all intend to move to Crete either permanently or stay for several months of the year. In virtually all cases they will not generate any income in Greece and are reliant upon capital, savings and pensions, taxed in the UK.

Do you fit into one of the following?

1 - Couple own a property in the UK and receive a UK pension which is taxed in the UK. However they spend 90% of their time living in their Crete property which they own.

2 - Couple only own a property in Crete. They receive a UK pension which is taxed in the UK.

3 - Couple own a property in the UK AND in Crete. They receive a UK pension which is taxed in the UK and spend 6 months a year living in each property.

4 - Couple work in the UK, own and live in a UK property and own a property in Crete where they holiday for several weeks each year. Their income is taxed in the UK.

In all these examples each person would qualify as a UK resident, free to travel between Greece and the UK whenever they wish.

However, as a property owner in Crete there is a statutory requirement to file an annual return with the Greek tax department. This simply shows you own an asset in Greece - your house - and you have brought sufficient money into the country at a level sufficient to maintain the property and pay utilities. This money is verified by obtaining a 'pink slip' from your Greek bank showing you transferred money into your Greek account from the UK.
]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130208-060243 Snobby Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:02:43 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130103-043840
The first consideration is price and location. Anyone who hasn't yet sold their property in 2012 needs to seriously think about whether they drop the price. Research throughout 2012 from a variety of sources has shown that a property at the right price will sell. So this means taking advice from experienced agents and also looking at what similar properties in the area are achieving.

While national average property prices have remained stable over 2012, if you are serious about selling you need to be aware of what is happening locally as the UK property market is now dividing into thousands of markets with demand and supply differing according to the postcode and property type.

To help work out what's happening in the market now, you need to better understand the relationship between demand for property in today's market and what's happening with supply. This will help to understand whether now is a good time to sell, or whether you need to drop the price. The average time to sell a property is down from 10.2 weeks in January to 9.8 weeks in November 2012 and this suggests the property market is improving. But it is still much longer than the average six to eight weeks before the credit crunch.

Reducing the price of your house is always emotive as you don't want to lose 'profit'. Unfortunately many people are living in the past, believing their house is worth the same as it was in 2007, but in reality the price may well have dropped by 25% or more! Be realistic. Do the sums. What if you make your house price really competitive, a real bargain. How much would that leave you after the sale? Then equate how much it would cost to stay where you are for two years if you don't sell - council tax, heating costs, and house insurance. Chances are that would total around several thousand pounds - nearly 10,000€ - which you wouldn't be paying if you lived in Crete!

Recent years have seen a growth in online estate agents and they have proved attractive because selling is generally cheaper than with a traditional high street agent. But you need to work out if cheaper is best. For example, a high street agent will have an intimate knowledge of the local market and what is selling at what price and this kind of knowledge can be invaluable. Also a traditional agent gets to hear about who might be looking in the area from other agents, potential buyers who have lost out on a sale and also buyers who may be looking from abroad.
So if you are really serious about making that dream of moving to Crete a reality, do your research. Check out similar houses to yours in the locality. Position the price of yours so it stands out from the rest and make 2013 the year to start a new life in the sun.

Happy New Year


]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry130103-043840 Snobby Thu, 03 Jan 2013 10:38:40 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry121112-074619
Following instructions from the Troika on where to cut, where to save amid drastic reform, Greece’s government sailed through a vote on the 2013 national budget shortly after midnight on Sunday 11th November backing the economic plan after two days of debate.

A total of 167 voted in favour of the budget and 128 voted against.

In his speech moments before the vote, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras insisted that the coalition was on the right track to keep Greece in the euro. “Within a few days, we are changing all those things that have not been changed in decades,” said Samaras, and insisted the government would lead Greece out of the crisis. “Greece will exit the nightmare,” he said. “We will either exit united or we will not exit at all.”

Samaras said that the government aims to improve on the deficit and recession figures in the budget and added he would make a personal effort to bring more investments to Greece through economic diplomacy. He also called on Greece’s lenders to stop holding back the country’s loan tranches and to agree on a comprehensive solution to its debt sustainability problem. “The technical solutions to Greek debt problems are straightforward and easy,” he said.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said he was certain Greece would receive its next loan tranche on time. “Nobody can say Greece is not meeting its commitments. We are doing so, and then some,” he told MPs.

Now it is the IMF and the ECB who are in disagreement. Greece has stepped up to the plate and satisfied all the conditions laid down by the Troika, but they cannot agree how to, or when they will provide the funds they have promised Greece can borrow.

Imagine you have asked your bank for a personal life saving loan, and they have agreed provided you jump through every conceivable hoop, hock all your assets as security and pay back the loan at a swingeing rate of interest. You sign up only to be told Head Office needs to discuss it and you have to wait despite meeting all the criteria requested. What do you do?

Give Greece a break. For the man in the street.

]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry121112-074619 Snobby Mon, 12 Nov 2012 13:46:19 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120912-093017
While we'll still keep banging on in our Blog trying to keep you informed with the truth of what's happening in Greece, we have decided to set the bar a little higher.

Some of you may remember Greece Magazine - a monthly periodical sold in the UK, focussed solely on Greece. At its height it was extremely popular with a circulation of 15,000, but with the onset of the economic crisis in 2007 it stopped publishing. In our own way Snobby is taking a small step to pick up their baton, publishing a monthly Newsletter - Crete - The Inside Story . You may well have seen a pop-up announcement on the Snobby home page inviting you to subscribe for free.

Please don't think this is just a vehicle for selling Snobbys. It isn't. We intend to publish up to date news about western Crete with articles about living here and keeping you abreast with what's actually happening and not the distorted views you are fed in the UK.

Many people have a dream of moving to Crete and the western part of the island is the perfect place to retire to, with 320 days of sunshine each year, no freezing cold winters and a cost of living where you can enjoy a lifestyle which is just not affordable in the doom and gloom of the UK. We will keep you honestly informed and hope to encourage a dialogue with readers, and answering any queries they may have. We appreciate making a move abroad is never easy, but we hope Crete - The Inside Story will be a fundamental source of information you will come to rely on. Who knows, if its popularity grows, and more articles and features appear, it may well become a real magazine!
]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120912-093017 Snobby Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:30:17 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120820-050540
And still we push the bar higher above all other builders in western Crete, who construct their properties below Snobby standards. Not one builds to the same eco-build quality you get with a Snobby. Insulation in a property is vitally important to keep energy costs down and living comfort high. With a Snobby build you get just that.

Most builders in Crete, build without any form of damp proofing. Snobby lays a waterproof plastic membrane, topped by polystyrene blocks beneath the screed floor to insulate and protect against rising damp.

All Snobbys are constructed using YTONG insulated bricks - an advanced German product based on calcium silicate enclosing millions of air pores, making it extremely strong and gives excellent sound insulation. It’s also insect and termite proof, as well as being fire and water resistant. Thermal properties of YTONG significantly save on energy costs and Figures from the Centre of Renewable Energy Sources show that a house constructed with YTONG bricks achieve a 6.6% reduction in the energy used for heating and a massive 41.4% reduction on energy spent cooling the house. Also approved and exceeding international anti-seismic standards a house built with YTONG bricks provide a far better construction and more energy efficient solution than a conventional clay fired brick construction with cavity walls.

All Snobbys are fitted with low maintenance aluminium frames and double glazing to provide a snug, draught free home.

To further provide a barrier against energy loss, Snobby interior ceilings are in natural wood supported by timber beams, above which is laid an insulation layer of polystyrene.

With a solar system installed as standard, water is heated for free during the months of April until end October and while the sun shines for many days during the winter, there is an immersion fitted which boosts the water temperature as required.

Heating is provided by a traditional Cretan somba - woodburner - which burns olive wood, a plentiful and economic fuel in Crete as mature olive trees grow quickly and need to be pruned each year. Our After Sales Manager Giorgos Papatherakis, whose family has many trees is always at hand to provide wood.

So all in all, when you do your research, carefully compare what you get with a Snobby. We try our hardest to tick all the boxes, with a totally transparent pricing policy that clearly sets out what you get for your money, without any hidden costs to give you a shock. Buy a Snobby and you know precisely what you're buying - and the total all-inclusive cost, including taxes, legal fees and all purchase costs .
]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120820-050540 Snobby Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:05:40 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120706-075441
Not a lot really.

With over 80% of Greeks committed to the euro, the right decision was made and a pro-European government was formed. The media spotlight then switched to Spain, brought to its knees by banks who lent billions in a property boom so vast it imploded, bringing down prices and sending companies into liquidation. There was never overdevelopment in Crete and prices have therefore remained fairly stable - but still very affordable.

With rumbles about Italy and even France, leaders in Europe have, at long last, began to take decisions to strengthen the euro. Germany has conceded that a strategy for growth is needed, supported by a pan-European banking system.

All the furore about the economy - in the EU or in the UK - is all just fodder for the media and actually makes little difference to everyday life. To the man in the street, provided he is one of the vast majority who has a job, life carries on as normal. You get paid and you spend it. The question is, does your money stretch as far as it might?

Research shows the main reason people make a move overseas is because they're fed up with the rain and cold in the UK, the increase in crime and the poor standard of service provided by utility companies and the NHS.

Well stop your world and get off.

Can you see retirement beckoning? It's the time of your life when you can start living. A time when you can have your cake and eat it too! Research shows that over 40% of over 55's are planning to move to a place in the sun and what better place to consider than Crete? The weather is glorious, there's no ice or frost in winter and the cost of living is lower than in the UK. We reckon a couple can live comfortably on £1,000 per month - and that includes running a small car and eating out a few times each month.

Snobbys are designed for low maintenance and easy living. Eco-built, stylish with a traditional feel, set in a spacious private walled garden at all-inclusive prices that are the lowest you'll find in Crete for new build detached homes. Don't take our word for it. Come on over and see for yourself.

]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120706-075441 Snobby Fri, 06 Jul 2012 12:54:41 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120528-063212
A rich German drives into the village. He stops at the local hotel and lays a €100 note on the desk, saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs, before deciding whether to spend the night there. The owner gives him the keys and, as soon as the visitor has walked upstairs, grabs the €100 note and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the €100 note and runs down the street to repay the money he owes to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the €100 note and heads off to settle his bill with the animal feed supplier.

The feed supplier takes the €100 note and runs to pay his drinks bill at the taverna.

The owner slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit.

The hooker then rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill to the hotel owner with the €100 note.

The hotel proprietor then places the €100 note back on the counter so the German will not suspect anything.

At that moment the German comes down the stairs, picks up the €100 note, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves.

No one produced anything. Nobody earned anything. However, the whole village is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that is how the Greek bailout package is supposed to work!
]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120528-063212 Snobby Mon, 28 May 2012 11:32:12 GMT http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120517-052240
The UK media has drawn attention away from the UK recession and its economic woes by highlighting the political confusion raging in Europe with a new French President questioning austerity, and the inability of Greece to form a government. However, from a European perspective on the ground, matters here are far more relaxed, with a firewall of billions having been built to protect the euro and prevent contagion spreading from country to country.

The Greek voters 'punished' the two main political parties by voting for minority parties, but as 77% of the electorate still wish to remain in the Euro, pundits in the know expect the new election, in June, to return a strong government that will continue with the Greek programme of cutting costs and making the country more competitive.

With the pound set to get even stronger this means a new build two bedroom detached home, in western Crete, costing 136,950€ just got a whole lot cheaper. Instead of costing you £123,378, a few months ago, the price has dropped today by a whacking £13,000 to a fantastic £109,560!

BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF GREECE GOES BACK TO THE DRACHMA?

There would be a short-term shock, as people rushed to put their savings abroad and there might need to be temporary capital controls to regulate the amount of money leaving the country.

Soon, though, the effect of cheaper exports would start to tell. That is what has happened in Iceland which, following a banking crash four years ago, is now comfortably outgrowing the eurozone.

Imagine, as you book your summer holiday, that the new exchange rate suddenly makes Greek resorts 40% or 50% cheaper than their competitors. Now imagine every business making a similar calculation when it comes to sourcing goods.

The blood-curdling threats being issued by Eurocrats should sound familiar. The UK went through precisely the same experience 20 years ago, when we were stuck with an over-valued exchange rate in the Exchange Rate Mechanism.

As in Greece, our leaders – all the main parties, the CBI, the TUC, the Bank of England – assured us that leaving the ERM would be disastrous. On September 11, 1992, John Major solemnly told us that withdrawal was ‘the soft option, the inflationary option, the devaluer’s option, a betrayal of our country’s future’.

Four days later, we left the system and our recovery began immediately. Inflation, interest rates and unemployment started falling, and we enjoyed 15 years of unbroken growth – until Gordon Brown came along and blew it away.

So with the savings to be made on your dream of buying a home in Crete, what price would you put on 320 days of sunshine a year and a quality of life which costs far less than living in the doom and gloom and cold of the UK.
]]> http://www.snobbyhomes.co.uk/snobbyblog/index.php?entry=entry120517-052240 Snobby Thu, 17 May 2012 10:22:40 GMT