Crete

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Wahaay

Registered User
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I've got around 150k to invest in an overseas property which will ultimately become part of my retirement plans to live part of the year in Ireland and a fair bit of our long winter abroad.
I'm a big fan of the Greek Islands and have really sorted of decided on Crete for its southerly position and good all-year-round weather.
I'm also looking for a renovation project that doesn't have a specific deadline.
Any thoughts/recommendations would be appreciated especially somewhere with an unbiased review of current conditions on the island.
I'm off on a recce in a few weeks.

Thanks.
 
It's easier for me to go via London than Dublin and time/money is not really a constraint.
 
While the idea sounds attractive to me as it is something I would think of doing in the future myself, the word 'invest' scares me a little for the simple reason that with things the way they are at present 'investing' anywhere is not cut and dried and getting your money back out could be difficult. Also transaction cost in Greece are high (up to 16%). If it were me I would think of renting there over one winter to see if it suits you before deciding to commit a large amount of money, Good luck with it.

http://www.livingincrete.net/buyingproperty.html
 
rory22 said:
While the idea sounds attractive to me as it is something I would think of doing in the future myself, the word 'invest' scares me a little for the simple reason that with things the way they are at present 'investing' anywhere is not cut and dried and getting your money back out could be difficult. Also transaction cost in Greece are high (up to 16%). If it were me I would think of renting there over one winter to see if it suits you before deciding to commit a large amount of money, Good luck with it.

http://www.livingincrete.net/buyingproperty.html
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Agree with this poster, try renting to see how you like it. Prices aren't going anywhere for a long time yet.

A word of caution. Crete gets a lot of rain in wintertime, so maybe it's not the best place to try to escape our weather, but if you like the place then that's half the battle. Renting would give you a feel for it though, as well as helping you to suss out the best areas etc.
 
Hi,

This recession will not last forever property prices will start to rise again and if you can get a good deal right now this is the time to buy. You sound like you know what you are looking for and have made up your mind up on Crete. If you listen to too many negative comments from people who always sit on the fence you will never buy anything. Only advice do your homework first enjoy!.
 
If you listen to too many negative comments from people who always sit on the fence you will never buy anything
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Plenty of people got off the fence and found themselves in a mine field in recent years, so I don't think sitting on the fence is such a bad idea at a time when there is no pressure to buy, supply outstrips demand at the moment in most places and prices will not start to increase until this trend reverses, I agree that the recession will not last forever but just because it ends does not mean prices of holiday homes in countries that are worst effected by the recession will start to shot up again, thus putting pressure on people to buy quickly, I’ll stick to my gun’s (fence if you prefer) and say try it before you buy it and don’t be rushed into a decision.
 
Hi,

As this will be a Holiday home for you to enjoy in your long retirement hopefully you will not be selling anytime soon, so enjoy it as long as you can and leave the negative people sitting in the rain back in Ireland waiting for the right time to buy which will never happen for them.
 
so enjoy it as long as you can and leave the negative people sitting in the rain back in Ireland waiting for the right time to buy which will never happen for them.
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That’s a hell of a proclamation; you seem to think waiting till prices drop further equals sitting in Ireland miserable. How do you know it will ‘never happen’ for people who wait? I agree that as a holiday home and therefore longer term investment there maybe no need to sell quickly but couldn’t one be happier if they waited and got a cheaper price or rented and decided if they liked the area before committing to buy? That is a sensible approch and not me being 'miserable back in Ireland' If you want to argue that people should rush in and buy now it would lead me to believe maybe you are in some way envolved in the sale of overseas property as that is the only type of person who would encourage that sort of tactic in the current market.
 
Last chance guys - Stick to the point or I get deleting. Question asked was what do people think of Crete not whether the price of fences are gonna go up or down :)
 
If we can leave opinions aside for a minute and deal with facts please.

The OP asked for advice, and has got good advice from a numner of people with no axe to grind, i.e. rent for a while and see how you like the place. No point in rushing in while the trend is still downwards and the market is dead.

Put this another way, if you buy a place in haste right now in somewhere like Crete, a location that is not popular with mass market property buyers largely due to its wet winter climate and access difficulties, you will have trouble shifting it if you decide to opt out. If you had a place to sell in Crete today, you wouldn't sell it if you offered it at todays prices -- nothing is moving there right now. So the best advice is the advice you got, pace yourself and don't jump in.

Anyone giving you advice to rush in now may well have an agenda themselves, so treat with caution.
 
Hi,

I have no hidden agenda and have nothing to do with sales I also own a holiday home unlike some but not in Crete. But I have been to Crete and enjoyed my holiday in Crete very much. I don’t think you should have any problems with access during the summer months with flights available on charter flights every week, I have not heard of anyone having problems with access. If you check out some people past posts you will find if, you were buying in Paradise they would find problems with the place. My advice is talk to someone who has a holiday home in Crete and who has this experience and will give you good and independent advice.
 
Last chance guys - Stick to the point or I get deleting
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fair point elcato.

OP my advise was given in good faith as I happen to believe, taking price appreciation out of the equation, that you would be best served trying Crete on for size as it were over the winter months especially. for example you might love Crete but maybe you might find a certain area does not suit after living there for a while- too hilly, too remote etc.

OP sorry if I've been involved with taking your post off topic, it was not my intention. I think your idea to get somewhere abroad to miss some of our bad winter is a sound one. Sorry I don't have more info on Crete other than to say I've been there 3 times on holiday and loved it, good luck with your plans and I hope it works out for you.

Timithypaul, there seems a sub-contexed to your post where you feel it necessary to niggle people by saying things like-

If you check out some people past posts you will find if, you were buying in Paradise they would find problems with the place
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Beauty and indeed paradise is in the eye of the beholder and one persons paradise is an others hell, we are all entitled to our opinion. In deed if you check your posts - 12 in total, all property, overseas in particular, coupled with the fact you seem to be pushing a 'buy in now or else you won't be able to' tactic which is employed by greasy overseas estate agents in cheap suits at property expo's. This is why people are suspecting you of having an agenda.

I also own a holiday home unlike some but not in Crete
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So do I, and a mistake I made was that I chose the area badly because I was lead to believe prices were getting beyond my grasp, hence my advice not to rush to the OP.

My advice is talk to someone who has a holiday home in Crete and who has this experience and will give you good and independent advice.
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Very good advice.
 
Wahaay said:
plans to live part of the year in Ireland and a fair bit of our long winter abroad.
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Timithypaul said:
I don’t think you should have any problems with access during the summer months with flights available on charter flights every week, I have not heard of anyone having problems with access.
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hmmm.

here's +1 for the idea of renting for one long Winter, and taking a couple of breaks at various times of year before you buy. It ain't going to cost you much at all to rent for a few months in the Winter and then you can really see what it's like then. I have friends who ran a windsurf school on the south of Crete (Paleochora). It is a very different place in and out of season. I was also shocked by the general cost of living in Greece when I visited recently. Even in November when the Plaka was all but deserted, eating out felt expensive.
 
Martin77 said:
hmmm.

here's +1 for the idea of renting for one long Winter, and taking a couple of breaks at various times of year before you buy. It ain't going to cost you much at all to rent for a few months in the Winter and then you can really see what it's like then. I have friends who ran a windsurf school on the south of Crete (Paleochora). It is a very different place in and out of season. I was also shocked by the general cost of living in Greece when I visited recently. Even in November when the Plaka was all but deserted, eating out felt expensive.
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Hi:
Unfortunately at the moment I can't spend an entire winter there which is why I wondered if anyone had any first-hand experience.
We plan to recce three places this year and rent for a couple of weeks out of season in all three of them ... any opinions of these.


1. Crete.
2. Abruzzo
3. Sarasota/Port Charlotte - South West Florida.

Thanks
 
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