For Brits Jane and Roger Cripps, finding their idyllic Greek island getaway turned out to be even more satisfying than they were expecting, thanks to the couple finding a way to save several thousand pounds in the buying process.
When the Cripps bought their second home on the unspoilt island of Meganissi, located in the Ionian Sea between Lefkada and the Greek mainland, they used currency transfer specialist Smart Currency Exchange to send money to Greece from the UK. The excellent exchange rate they received meant the property cost them considerably less in pounds than if they’d used their bank to transfer the money.
“I took the precaution of comparing exchange rates with the banks but I didn’t feel the need to check other currency company rates,” recounts Roger. “It was so easy to deal with Smart that it didn’t seem worthwhile. The service was splendid and they saved me several thousand pounds. My trader did discuss various options – things like ‘forward buying’, where you put down a small deposit and fix your currency exchange rate for future money transfers but I decided just to go with the rate given me on the day.”
The Cripps discovered the benefits of using Smart Currency Exchange through reading the free Greece Buying Guide, available from the Overseas Guides Company. “The advice and help provided by OGC, via the Buying Guide, was incredibly useful,” continues Roger. “As they had advised, we retained our own independent lawyer – we knew people on the island who pointed us in the direction of a good English-speaking lawyer. I insisted that everything was done in English as I didn’t trust my fairly rudimentary Greek to be up to the legalities, but all went very well.”
Roger and Jane’s Meganissi house is in the village of Spartochori, one of the main ports where ferries from Lefkada arrive and fishing boats moor. Having been used as a holiday rental property meant it came fully furnished, down to the last knife and fork. There was only one problem: “The biggest snag we hit was in transferring the electricity account into our name,” warns Roger. “It took forever. Here again our lawyer was invaluable as he got his assistant to accompany us to the relevant offices and after a slow start it was all sorted out.”
The Cripps visit their property a number of times during the year, usually avoiding the heat of mid-summer. “Buying our Greek home was the best thing we ever did,” says Roger. “Our children and grandchildren come out to the island regularly and they love it as much as we do.”
Search for properties in Greece on Rightmove Overseas. If you’re planning to buy in or move to Greece and need to transfer a large sum of money there, remember to use a currency specialist to exchange your pounds into euros. For more information, visit the Currency Zone or Smart Currency Exchange.
To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in Greece, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Greece Property Buying Guide’