retiring to greece

[trafforda]

Hi Janie

I have heard that to buy land and then have a house built on it is perhaps the best way to get the location and house size/style you want. In your experience, was it difficult to find a builder to build the property you wanted? Did it work out less expensive than trying to buy a similar property already built?
We are looking to retire to Greece or one of the Greek Islands in about 5 years time, and are currently enjoying learning Greek and holidaying in as many of the beautiful Greek Islands that we can - all in the name of research of course!
Alison

[Janie]

Originally Posted by trafforda

Hi Janie

I have heard that to buy land and then have a house built on it is perhaps the best way to get the location and house size/style you want. In your experience, was it difficult to find a builder to build the property you wanted? Did it work out less expensive than trying to buy a similar property already built?
We are looking to retire to Greece or one of the Greek Islands in about 5 years time, and are currently enjoying learning Greek and holidaying in as many of the beautiful Greek Islands that we can - all in the name of research of course!
Alison

Hi Alison, we have actually tried both ways. Our first property purchase in Greece was an old house, which although in good condition structurally, needed internal changes/improvements. It was in a beautiful mountain village in the Pelion region of the mainland and we were lucky enough to meet a local builder to do the work, and he then recommended other tradesmen (electrician, plumber, tiler etc). We loved the house and were pleased with all the work which we had done, but realised quite quickly that the mountain village was a little too remote for us, so we sold it and began looking for a piece of land in another village (very close to original one, but by the coast this time). We are now the very proud owners of a beautiful home in the coastal village of Milina. We bought the land from a local, our .original builder recommended a Mechanical Engineer, we spoke with him and explained what we wanted (number of rooms / sizes / shapes etc) and he produced outline drawings, applied for planning permission on our behalf, and project-managed the build. As in the UK, costs vary depending on location, and coastal villages are more expensive that a few miles outside of the area. Designing your own has many advantages ie you get exactly what you want, and the overall cost for us was certainly much less than buying in the UK but difficult to judge whether we would have paid less for an old property which then needed to be refurbished. Hope this is helpful, but let me know if you have any more questions.

Good Luck with all your plans. Janie

[jacvin]

Originally Posted by dorsetknob

My wife and I are approaching retirement and are looking for somewhere that our pensions will stretch further than in the UK. We've always liked the Greek Islands, so are trying to get as much unbiased practical information as we can.
Especially from anyone who has made a similar move. We are thinking of renting initially, so some idea of long term rental rates would be a help. Plus a guide to the cost of living. Health care issues. Suggestions of the most suitable islands/areas. And any more relevant information that anyone has would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers dorsetknob.

we live between methoni and koroni in the pelopponese we have been here 3 years.we bought land (very cheaply 5 years ago)and built a house.I think you should rent first and see if you like it in greece if you commit to buying its not good if you don`t like it and renting is very cheap.the cost of living for some things are much cheaper but not like they used to be in fact eating out is the same as britain and food can be very expensive in small supermarkets.we own our own house so we don`t need to pay rent but we live very well on 300 euros a week for 2.We drive home twice a year for xmas and july/august as it is horribly hot and busy then but there is very little to do if you need amusing in winter.there are no queues for doctors and dentists and the hospitals are superb going by my friends visits.hope this helps