Holy Monastery of Rousanou, Kalambaka, Greece by Dennis Jarvis

Affordability

Because of the declining tourist market, there has been an increase in the sale of holiday homes in Greece due to dwindling interest and falling rental incomes, often at a loss. This has also had the effect that there has been an increase in interest for people looking to buy a holiday home. At the moment, there has been an influx of property sales in northern Greece from people from neighbouring Bulgaria. The city of Thessaloniki is a popular tourist destination for many Bulgarians, so people are snapping up the chance to purchase their own holiday home at a lower price. Us Brits are starting to take notice too; although many are employing a ‘wait and see’ tactic when it comes to Greek holiday homes, there has been a steady increase in interest.

Know your turf

If you’re thinking of taking advantage of the situation and you’re looking to buy your dream holiday home, make sure you do your research. If you can, talk to locals and ex-pats to get a feel for how the financial crisis is impacting the area. This will also put you in good stead when navigating the sea of red tape that comes with buying a second home in another country. It could be that what you see as a potential honey pot is actually going to cost you more in the long run.

Financing the dream

If you think you’re onto a winner, then you should look to protect yourself in the event that things take a turn for the worse. The current big worry is that Greece will secede from the EU and renounce the Euro as its currency, reverting back to drachma. If you borrow Euros in order to buy a Greek second home, then you will still owe Euros even if the country reverts to drachma. With fluctuating exchange rates, this could potentially put you out of pocket.

One of the most classical photos from Santorini: the boat at Firostefani by Klearchos Kapoutsis

With the current tourist market the way it is, it is likely that any holiday home you purchase will be left unoccupied for a while until things stabilise a little more. With that, it’s a good idea to look into holiday home insurance, which protects the house during periods of vacancy and can also help during times when your rental income is in jeopardy.

Depending on which area of Greece you’re looking at, going for a second home as a source of rental income isn’t going to be the best short term objective. If you’re willing to wait out the crisis, you can grab a potential bargain and enjoy a few weeks or months soaking up the Greek sunshine in your new Greek home.

Written by J. R. Gibbs,  armchair explorer and writer at large for holiday home insurance comparison site Confused.com

The post Finding a Holiday Home in Greece appeared first on Best of European Union.

Photo by admin

Whether you’re an experienced sailor or a complete novice, the good news is that you can find sailing holidays to suit. Take a look at your options:

For Novices

If you’ve never sailed before then why not learn an exciting new skill while on a Stay and Sail holiday? On Neilson sailing holidays you can take a one week learn to sail course that will allow you to then go on to sail your own yacht (with an equally qualified companion) as part of a Flotilla ‘group sail’ headed up by an experienced instructor.

Aegean, Lycian and Ionian sailing holidays are available, so whether you fancy exploring the waters of Greece or Turkey, you’ll find a Flotilla holiday for you.

Some Experience

If you and your companion have already completed a sailing course and spent several days in charge of a yacht then Flotilla holidays are the ideal choice.

Enjoy setting sail among a fleet of yachts, to add an additional social element to your sail.

Very Experienced

Experienced sailors can opt to go it alone on a Bareboat yachting holiday. Going bareboat means that you’re free to set your own itinerary to sail as you please. It offers maximum freedom and a real feeling of it just being you and the ocean.

Whether you’re ready for the challenge of bareboat sailing, or not quite there yet, you can enjoy the best sailing holiday for your level of experience when you book with activity holiday specialist Neilson.

The post Find Sailing Holidays For All Abilities appeared first on Best of European Union.