April 2022

Judgment of the Nafplio Court of First Instance on the doubling of the price of the First Auction Offer

The decision No. 107/2022 of the Nafplio Court of First Instance was issued, based on which our request for an increase in the first bid price in a property auction was accepted. Specifically, the first bid price was increased from 230.000 Euro to 460.000 Euro and thus doubled. This naturally has the effect that our client does not risk losing his asset for a very low price. An important point of this decision was the assumption that where the valuation of the property is based only on an external survey of the property, taking into account the internal layout and construction may alter (in this case double) the market value upwards.

The relevant passage from the decision in question is quoted: 'The architect also states that the materials used are of excellent quality, tasteful and above average cost for a house, the interior layout is highly functional and the exterior aesthetics are impressive, which is also clear from a review of the photographs submitted, and the property has complete plumbing and mechanical installations. All of the above, in particular the condition of the interior of the property and its luxurious construction, was in fact impossible for the certified valuer to take into account, as he was unable to carry out an internal inspection. However, the aforementioned architect in her report arrives at the value of the property by assessing mainly the cost of its construction, whereas it is clear from the lessons of common experience and common practice that the value of a property is not identical to the value of its construction, as the aforementioned architect claims in her report, but is determined by a set of factors which have not been taken into account in this case'.

It is important to point out that the bailiff is allowed by law to enter the property to be seized, which would enable him to proceed to a description of its interior, but in practice this rarely happens for fear of friction. So the bailiff and the valuer for the interiors of the property have no insight, with the result that the first offer price can be corrected by a large amount, provided the court is given a proper valuation that includes the interiors of the property.