You can afford to buy property for a second home or rental income on the beautiful island of legends.
Prices on Crete for apartments of all sizes are rising. The island is big enough to have the infrastrucure (health services, shopping, entertainiments and civic government) necessary to ensure you can live in comfort.
According to recent figures, over seven million people from Northern Europe want to but a property in the sun*
Agios Nikolaos, in the east and Chania (or Hania) in the west have already proved popular for people seeking to relocate to the island to find their dream home.
For a more authentic greek experience some people are looking at the villages on the west of the island such as Sfinari, Kolymbari
Foreign immigration for EU nationals poses few problems and
as long as you master one or two words of greek, friendly locals will do
a great deal to make the transition to island life easy for you.
The land ownership laws are as stringent and exacting here as in any other european country. You will require a good lawyer who specialises in this sort of work. Do not let your head rule your heart when viewing properties to buy on Crete. Be professional about it to ensure success.
You should get a civil engineer (there are no surveyors or valuers in Crete) to complete an independent survey of the property. Although not able to formally advise you of the property's value, a cicil engineer can to point out potential problems with that particular property.
Ensure the civil engineer compares the original building permit with building that is currently standing. Cretains are reknown for altering the fabric of buildings without permission and such actions by a previous owner might might render you as the current owner liable to fines.
* - according to "Sun Coast Realty" mailing 2005