Lenders speed up sale of properties
Banks are accelerating the procedures for the sale of properties that come into their ownership from debtors, as the administrative costs are on the rise.
Among the increasing costs is the upcoming requirement for a certificate from a civil engineer stating that the property does not violate any town-planning laws. Furthermore, unless a legislative intervention is made, the start of 2017 will see the return of the capital gains tax on property sales, eating into sellers’ profits.
On top of that is the Single Property Tax (ENFIA), which as of this year does not have a 20 percent discount for apartments that are empty and have no power supply, which are typically those that come into banks’ ownership.
Therefore, in the last few weeks there has been an increase in the number of ads asking interested investors to participate in public tenders that banks conduct with sealed offers. For instance, Piraeus Bank has scheduled the sale of properties with a total value of 61.5 million euros up to November 14.
The lists of properties for sale include assets in the banks’ portfolios from nonperforming loans, most of them corporate. Therefore, this is not about auctions in court, but rather direct sales to interested buyers conducted by the banks’ competent agencies.
