Volume 2, Issue 2
May 2009
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Relocation, Relocation By Pete Sant
As I stepped down from the plane and walked across the tarmac into Corfu Inter-national Airport for the first time in 1992, never in my wildest dreams did I think that this would be the place that I would want to retire to.We had always taken our annual holiday in Spain or the Balearics and if I’m honest the only reason that we returned the following year was because our daughter, then aged 8, had enjoyed it so much. This was not a case of love at first sight, rather something that blossomed over 2 or 3 years, now, some 17 years and 25 visits later I cannot imagine going anywhere else, so much so that a few years ago we decided that this place that we, along with many others call “home” would indeed become our home one day.
Once that decision had been made it threw up a host of other ones - should we - sell up & buy a house in Corfu ? - a new one or an old one, sell up & rent, rent our house out & rent in Corfu or, downsize in the U.K. & rent in Corfu?
Something else to consider is furnishing your Corfu home - do you ship your existing furniture
world we would sell our house in the U.K. and have a new home built on a plot of land of our choice within easy reach of Roda & Acharavi.
Next it was time to find out what was involved in making our dream come true. It is not just a matter of putting
Next it was time to find out what was involved in making our dream come true. It is not just a matter of putting
internet to give you a feel for what is on the market and how much it will cost, but you really need to spend time in Corfu actually looking at locations with a view to their proximity to towns, shops and beaches, access from main roads, views etc.
To that end we spent a great day with Lisa & Spyros from “Corfu Forward Planning” last September, looking at various plots of land, houses in various stages of completion, from concrete bases to skeletons to finished projects, although we explained that we were 2 or 3 years away from actually buying a plot & having a house built, nothing was too much trouble and no question too trivial.
We spent a morning at the local office of Corfu Property Agency (C.P.A.) where Anita set up our own portfolio, with details of our
To that end we spent a great day with Lisa & Spyros from “Corfu Forward Planning” last September, looking at various plots of land, houses in various stages of completion, from concrete bases to skeletons to finished projects, although we explained that we were 2 or 3 years away from actually buying a plot & having a house built, nothing was too much trouble and no question too trivial.
We spent a morning at the local office of Corfu Property Agency (C.P.A.) where Anita set up our own portfolio, with details of our
“Something else to consider is furnishing your Corfu home - do you ship your existing furniture out or buy all new once you are in Corfu?”
a “for sale” sign up in the garden & walking into an estate agents and saying “I want that one”.
There is a lot of information available on the internet, as well
There is a lot of information available on the internet, as well
as looking at that, we went down the path of pestering time and again all our friends, both Greek and ex-pat that we have made over the years, all of whom were very helpful - for that we thank you all - you know who you are.
If you are thinking of buying, first of all you need to open a Greek bank account, this is easily done with some I.D. and a few hundred euros. You then need to find a good Greek lawyer, a notary and possibly a translator, if buying a plot of land you will also have to have an archaeological survey
If you are thinking of buying, first of all you need to open a Greek bank account, this is easily done with some I.D. and a few hundred euros. You then need to find a good Greek lawyer, a notary and possibly a translator, if buying a plot of land you will also have to have an archaeological survey
out or buy all new once you are in Corfu? You will have to weigh up the cost of moving it, there are numerous companies that will do it for you for a price. We decided that in an ideal
carried out. There are various fees to pay as you progress the purchase and you should allow about 15/20 % of the total purchase price to cover these.
Whilst home in the U.K. there are plenty of Corfu real estate web sites to look at on the
Whilst home in the U.K. there are plenty of Corfu real estate web sites to look at on the
budget, preferred location & type of house. We also registered our details with Dreamlands Estate Agency & ADC Construction in Roda.
At this moment in time, the collapse of the U.K. housing
At this moment in time, the collapse of the U.K. housing
market, the fall in the value of the pound to the euro and the “recession” in general has put all our plans on hold, but, whilst “the dream” is temporarily on the back burner, it is still very much alive.
“..first of all you need to open a Greek bank account this is easily done with some I.D...”
