Name of your website?Crete Househunters
Your name?
Neil Cockburn
Your Location (city, etc)
Kissamos, Chania, Crete
Please give us a short summary of your website?
We help people find land or houses in West Crete. We try to be a one-stop shop for people wishing to buy property in Crete. We are totally independent of any estate agent and we try to match customers to property by talikng to numerous estate agents in the area to see whether or not they can fulfil our customer's requirements. If the customer decides to buy then the commission is split between us and the estate agent.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
Our own experiences! When we were looking for our new home in Crete, we had certain criteria that had to be met. We wanted an old property that would be easy to renovate and extend if neccessary, it had to be close to the sea and it had to be close to a town where all facilities were at hand and it had to be within a certain budget. Whenever we visited an estate agent, they only seemed to be interested in the budget, not what our needs were and, of course, once you are in the agent's office you are trapped. They put you in a car and show you everything on their list that is within your budget. We were taken halfway up a mountain to see a plot of land where we could build a new house and told 'Picture it flat!'. We were taken to the very west edge of Crete to a place called Sfinari which was 20 km from the nearest big town (Kissamos), only to be shown a total ruin with a mud floor, no access and no roof! We decided to create Crete Househunters to prevent other buyers from having to go through this process and we now have agreements with numerous estate agents to whom we pass on the buyer's needs. If the needs are met, we then visit the property so that we can give the buyer the information he/she requires - with complete honesty and no soft soaping. We will tell them the good and the bad points so that they can make an INFORMED decision on whether or not to see it for themselves.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
This is our first website and we launched it last year.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
The name was easy. We do actually search for land and property for people so Househunters just fell into place.
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
We are not limited to the property of one estate agent. We can search around for buyers to find exactly what they want, be that land, an old house, a modern property or a new build off-plan. Unlike some other property companies in the UK that just list overseas properties, we can and do actually visit the property and give an honest opinion of what we see.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
Same as now. To help people find the right home in Crete.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
We are not out to make a fortune and the investment in time and money is small. We work from home and any properties we go to view are generally in the estate agent's car so we have very few overheads.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
We wouldn't. we want to stay part-time.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
We don't want it to, so we shall wait and see.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
None so far
What has been your biggest challenge?
Finding certain properties for customers. The range of requirements can make some searches extremely difficult, if not impossible,
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
I don't really know or care. We only know we get enough customers for us to cope with.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It hasn't really.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
We have run this site for two years now, steadily building up a list of estate agents willing to work with us. We will continue until we don't want to do it anymore.
What is your website address?
Crete Househunters
