The White Elephant(s) ‘’A possession that is useless or troublesome, especially one that is expensive to maintain or difficult to dispose of’’ - Farlex Dictionary 2
The initial question we found ourselves asking was, why are the buildings abandoned? An obvious answer could be the economic crisis, and whilst this did not help, it was not the first trigger for buildings becoming derelict and unused. The problem existed before the crisis and it has a lot to do with how the industry operates and the attitude of landlords. The majority of buildings in Athens are bought, rather than rented. When owners sell their property, they decide on a number factoring in the attraction of Athens city itself and put it up for said price. Often they are overpriced and there is no interest. Instead of putting the price down, it is sat on and rarely there is a bite. Due to owners wanting to sell, they have no interest in renovating. Property tax is also low so the building can be left to sit and decay.
2 Farlex Dictionary of Idioms, “a white elephant”, Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. 2017, https://bit.ly/3LUsgzq
The White Elephant(s)
