Taking Over an Apartment from Another Contractor
At Renty, we don’t just sell investment properties—we also handle their setup for rental and ongoing management. In practice, we often encounter situations where clients ask us to audit the quality of renovations in their newly purchased apartments. That’s exactly what happened in this case.
A client was referred to us through our partners with a request to purchase an apartment in Greece for the Golden Visa program. Their main goal was to acquire a property that met the program’s requirements while also generating rental income.
At the time of the request, we presented two options:
We strongly recommended the first option, as we have full confidence in the quality of our properties. However, the client hesitated. They were concerned about renovation costs and believed that they could achieve the same quality at a lower price than what Renty offered.
Initially, the client considered purchasing an apartment from us but ultimately decided to search independently. We assisted in selecting a property with a focus on rental income—one in a prime location, suitable both for leasing and for Golden Visa eligibility.
The investor acquired a run-down apartment intending to renovate and resell it. With prior experience in the Greek real estate market, they expected everything to go smoothly. On paper, the deal seemed flawless: legal due diligence was conducted, and all documents were in order.
The renovation was carried out by a third-party team without supervision. The result? A disaster. Instead of a ready-to-rent investment property, the client was left with a major headache. The apartment was unlivable, let alone suitable for leasing.
Even worse, after completing the subpar work, the contractors left the keys on a construction site and disappeared, barely responding to messages. Unfortunately, this is a common issue for investors applying for the Golden Visa. Developers know that clients live abroad and often treat projects with indifference—taking the money, doing poor-quality renovations, and vanishing.
When we arrived for the inspection, we were, to put it mildly, unpleasantly surprised.
The client paid a significant amount (around €250,000) but was left with serious issues. Just imagine: you invest your money, expecting a profitable real estate asset, only to be met with complete disregard.
Several months later, the client has lost time, money, and trust in the market. We stepped in to help fix the situation, but the renovation still requires significant additional investment, and legal proceedings are ongoing.
Due to the poor workmanship, the client was forced to pay twice for certain repairs. Additionally, they lost potential rental income—the time spent on corrections could have been used for leasing the apartment and generating profit.
✔ Conducted a full inspection of the property and documented all defects and violations.
✔ Engaged legal experts to file claims against the contractor, pushing for rectification of the work. Acknowledging the complexities of litigation in Greece, we also suggested alternative solutions.
✔ To minimize losses, we proposed two scenarios:
We are actively working to bring the apartment up to rental standards. Despite the setbacks, our main goal remains clear:
✅ Minimize the client’s losses
✅ Preserve the property’s investment potential
✅ Ensure stable rental income
A critical takeaway from this case is the importance of handling property purchase, renovation, and management within a single trusted company. This creates a shared objective—to complete the renovation quickly and get the apartment rented and profitable as soon as possible.
.png){kind=spacer}
.jpg)
