#e-auction

This week's newsletter from AthensLive is out:    

*         Artists struggle continues 

*         Is the law banning a far-right party a bad omen for democracy?

*        Judicial ‘coup’ in favor of vulture funds - Check

- are the main headlines to be found inside this highly informative weekly must-read from and about Greece. The National Theatre Drama School teachers resigned en masse to protest the Presidential Decree undermining Drama School studies. Protests, theatre squats, and more resignations followed, yet the government remains intransigent. A new amendment was voted in, allegedly for blocking a far-right party led by the convicted ex-Golden Dawn member Kasidiaris, raising fears that due to the vagueness of its provisions can lead to the banning of any party not to the liking of a specific establishment. The overturning of landmark Top Court decision protecting debtors from vulture funds was overturned by a new Top Court ruling which provides that these funds can proceed with auctions of debtors' assets. This did not come as a shock as the government had directly intervened through the Bank of Greece to overturn this decision.

It cannot be recommended strongly enough to read and share this week's updates on the events and developments in Greece here:

https://steadyhq.com/en/athenslivegr/posts/d32b6c88-25f4-4000-b240-4360eaa48a42

For anyone with a wish or need to follow and to gain an insight into recent events in Greece and to read and support independent and investigative journalism in English, the weekly newsletter from AthensLive should be a core element in the reading flow.

If you want the best overview of the events and developments in Greece right now, this is the place to go. Not the mainstream Greek news, but independent journalism with sharp analysis and links to interesting and important topics from a variety of sources.

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After more than a decade of austerity measures, recession, and unemployment, Athens has seen a big shift in the makeup of homeownership, a shift that comes at the expense of residents and that benefits big business. In a country where homeownership has historically been high, more and more properties have gone into foreclosure and been sold to nameless buyers as a result of Greece’s financial crisis. Public information on who owns what is not available in Greece, but it’s no secret that big foreign corporations have been buying up  entire apartment blocks to turn them into short-term holiday lets, effectively displacing many long-term residents.

The Filmmaker and the Advocate sit down with Sotiris Sideris, data journalist and co-founder of Athens Live Lab, to discuss who is buying up all the foreclosed properties in Athens and what is happening to the city as a result. Using data scraping, Sotiris has discovered that Greeks are being pushed out - their homes are being auctioned off to investors who want to cash in on Greece's allure as one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world. One low-income community has been basically emptied out of locals, replaced by those wanting a glimpse of the Acropolis and a night in the Plaka. Sotiris hopes his research on private property auctions will shed light on the growing problem and perhaps provide the first steps needed in turning things around.

The latest newsletter from AthensLive is out. This week with a special section with a thorough story and analysis of the new Insolvency or Bankruptcy law, proposed by the Nea Demokratia government: What great looting! The New Insolvency Law. https://us13.campaign-archive.com/... This main story deserves to be read, read again and shared widely, as it risks otherwise disappearing in the often turbulent and overwhelming newsflow of these times. This new law, as a natural part and extension of the austerity that has haunted Greece for years, and that is also deeply aligned with the neoliberal ideology running deep in Nea Demokratia, will have severe and tragic impacts on individuals, families, businesses in Greece for years to come. Even if it has gone mainly unreported in the Greek mainstream press. This is something that will also come to affect YOU, your neighborhood, village and family. And that will make a new wave of poverty and homelessness all over the country. As well as being a gift to big cooperations, foreign investors and hedge funds - as to the Greek elite and core supporters of Nea Demokratia. To repeat: Read, read again and SHARE widely, as it risks otherwise  staying unnoticed and sneaked in. This weeks newsletter also contains news about the conclusion ofthe trial against the neo-nazis of Golden Dawn and the growing role and brutality  of the Greek police.  As well as of the changing labor market and of the Corona virus. And as always a collection of interesting links to other issues. For anyone with a wish or need to follow and to gain an insight into recent events in Greece and to read and support independent and investigative journalism in English, the weekly newsletter from AthensLive should be a core element in the reading flow. If you want the best overview of the events and developments in Greece right now, this is the place to go. Not the mainstream Greek news, but independent journalism with sharp analysis and links to interesting and important topics from a variety of sources. Become a member and get the newsletter in your inbox every week here: http://bit.ly/2GkVuYt

“Protection of the first residence harms the economy,” Development Minister and New Democracy Vice, Adonis Georgiadis, cynically stated over the weekend triggering strong reactions from the opposition.

Addressing a meeting at the Greek Chamber of Commerce, Georgiadis argued that “there is no absolute protection of first residence in any advanced economy” adding that “there should not be one, neither.”

The government has pledged to end the protection of the first residence as of  April 30, when the deadline for submission of debt settlement expires.

In recent negotiations between Greeks and the lenders’ institutions, the latter reportedly made clear that the “social policy of protecting the debtor’s first residence can not continue.”

With the end of the protection, a evictions and auctions tsunami is expected as of upcoming May.

Former SYRIZA Minister, Nikos Pappas described Georgiadis’ statement as “disgusting, inhumane and wrong.”

Piraeus Bank, Greece largest lender, announced on Friday that it has completed its eighth round of e-bidding in November, approving the sale of 30 properties, with sales totaling €3.18 million.

More than 260 individuals and legal entities expressed an interest in participating in the eighth such open electronic auction. Throughout its open e-auctions, Piraeus Bank offers financing to interested property buyers.

Piraeus conducts e-auctions via https://www.properties4sale.gr/, the Piraeus Bank Group’s innovative property auction website, which is already preparing for the next such auction, the dates for which will soon be announced.

Prior to auction day, offers are considered on all properties at the published “Buy Now” price. Following the payment of a deposit on the Buy Now offers, the relevant properties are removed from the e-auction website ahead of auction day.

Greek riot police on Wednesday clashed with members of the communist-affiliated PAME labor union who descended on a notary’s office in downtown Athens to stop the auction of a foreclosed property in Marathonas, eastern Attica.

According to PAME, the property in question was the primary residence of a family that lost their business in a wildfire. The family’s father died in the blaze, the union said.

More than 19,000 applications have been submitted by indebted homeowners seeking to protect their property from being seized since the new system went online 11 weeks ago.

According to the Special Secretariat for Private Debt Management, 19,149 users started the process to have their primary residence protected from foreclosure over debts to the state or to banks from July 1, when the new program began, to September 15.

Eurozone ministers on Monday (11 March) held back granting Greece debt relief because the government failed to implement reforms promised during the massive bailout that ended last year, officials said.

Greece exited its third and final international bailout in August, a turning point in its progress out of the catastrophe that engulfed the country during the financial crisis.

The Greek government has still failed to complete housing insolvency rules that have raised fears in Greece for families threatened with foreclosure on their homes.

European officials however played down the delay, not wanting to rekindle memories of the eurozone debt crisis that nearly destroyed the Europe’s single currency.

“It’s too early to decide formally on the disbursement today,” said EU Economics Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici ahead of a Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers. “We are particularly focused on the reform of the Katseli law”, he tweeted.