Home-watch & property-care costs in Greece

01

Define the work before requesting the number

Start with the general property location, property type and the tasks you want to discuss. Describe the accessible areas, particular concerns and the kind of update you need. Explain whether you are asking about scheduled checks, a keyholding arrangement, an individual appointment or several separate tasks.

Avoid a request as broad as ‘look after everything’. It makes it difficult to know whether different providers are pricing the same work. A concise shared brief helps expose differences before you commit, and gives you a reference if the agreed scope changes later.

02

Compare the included scope side by side

Ask each provider to identify the work included in their proposal and what sits outside it. A visit description should tell you more than that someone attends. Look for the agreed areas, purpose and reporting, together with any access requirements that affect the arrangement.

Then compare the proposals line by line. A lower total with less included work is not automatically better or worse; it answers a different brief. Decide which differences matter to you before treating the totals as interchangeable.

• Which tasks and areas are included?
• What visit arrangement is being quoted?
• What reporting is included, and how is it delivered?
• Are appointment attendance or keyholding separate items?
• What exclusions or assumptions affect the proposal?

03

Ask how additional work is priced

A planned check may lead to a question about an assessment or another appointment. Ask how an extra visit, changed instruction or longer appointment would be quoted and approved. The important detail is not only the potential cost, but when you will be asked to make a decision.

Clarify whether any third-party work is contracted and paid for separately. A contractor’s quotation and a coordination charge should be understandable as separate responsibilities if both apply. Do not assume that authorising access approves every cost associated with the visit.

04

Make the commercial terms readable

Before booking, ask for the currency, total payable and a clear explanation of any taxes or charges in the proposal. Confirm payment timing, the period covered and how a change or cancellation is handled. The provider should clarify their own terms; this guide makes no statement about a particular tax treatment or legal entitlement.

If something is expressed as an estimate, ask what remains uncertain and how a revised amount will be agreed. If a price covers a period rather than a single task, check exactly which activity belongs within that period. Keep the final written agreement alongside the scope you used to compare offers.

05

Compare value through an owner scenario

Use a simple hypothetical situation: a scheduled visit records a concern, you request a professional assessment and an access appointment is needed. Ask each provider to explain which steps belong to the original proposal and which would require a new quotation. No invented repair or price is needed to test whether the arrangement is clear.

Finish by checking who will communicate the open decision and what record you receive afterwards. A quotation you can understand before a task begins is more useful than a low headline price that leaves its meaning to be discovered later.