Martyn and Anne Golesworthy from Faversham in Kent love Naxos and have wanted a home on the Greek island since they got married there in 2006. Their search began at A Place in the Sun Live in Birmingham five years ago, Martyn reports.
“We met in 1995 and wanted to go on holiday to somewhere we’d both never been to. So it started with Corfu and then we visited different parts every year after that, and we like Naxos best of all. It’s got all the things we liked – it’s got a Venetian castellated town, a real heart of the island, touristy parts but also rustic aspects. It is much nicer than both Mykonos and Rhodes, which we disliked,” says Martyn, 61, who runs his own business.
“Naxos is one of the Cyclades islands and it’s easiest to reach by flying to Mykonos nearby and then getting a 40-minute ferry. You can also get a flight on a small plane from Athens but the flight's connection (from the UK to Athens) doesn’t quite work for us.
“I proposed to Anne on Naxos and ended up getting married there. It seemed natural that we might buy a home there and we attended the A Place in the Sun Live exhibition in Birmingham to get some ideas.
After some fruitless searching, we went there again in 2016 and a screen test led to the trip out for filming last June. We went out with Scarlette Douglas and had a fantastic time. The banter with the crew was great and the whole thing was fun. Our budget was £175,000 and we wanted outside space, maybe a pool and two bedrooms. There isn’t much for sale in Naxos, as we had been looking online for some time.
*You can find out more about the episode in Naxos, with Scarlotte Douglas, by clicking here.
“We ended up with a very nice property with a shared garden in Stelida, close to Naxos town. It offers small, friendly village life, quite seasonal. The property is a three-bedroom, three-bathroom house within a complex of nine homes in the traditional whitewashed Greek style, with bougainvillaea pouring over the balconies, built less than ten years ago. There is a shared garden and swimming pool.
“We paid €187,500 for the property plus the closing costs – it came completely turnkey with lovely high-standard furniture left by the Austrian owner who had done a very nice job on the décor and furnishings. He has now become a friend. The agent was Manolis Lagogiannis at Naxos Real Estate.
“The purchase process was very easy and the experience fun. We have been out three times this year and have rented it out while we are not there for €200 per night. We haven’t bought it as an investment, but the rental income will cover our costs.
“Economically, Greece is still struggling but good-quality tourism is keeping it going, even if it is quite seasonal.
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