By early 2006 Pam was coming to the end of her search for the perfect place to retire. Having studied many of the major European destinations in detail, france, Spain, Portugal and Italy Pam finally settled on Greece and Crete was the obvious choice as two previous visits had been very happy.

Although not having visited Crete for nearly 25 years, it didn't take long before Pam realised that the island was ideal for retirement and had much to offer in addition. Pam was quick to establish that the north western coastline has everything one  needs for a peaceful and relaxed lifestyle. It also offers all the modern conveniences and amenities that people in the UK take for granted. Pam set about researching the property agents and developers selling on that stretch of coastline. Due to retire in two years' time Pam wanted to make sure that everything was in place for that wonderful moment.

Visiting A Place in the Sun Live exhibition in 2006 offered Pam the perfect opportunity to meet some of the more established agents and property developers operating on Crete without having to make the trip to there once again. She decided on four high profile companies that were offering a range of properties and services. Armed with that prior knowledge, she booked her return visit to view the plots and houses each had on offer.

Says Pam, "This was a complicated time as I was new to the market and there is so much on offer and so much to learn about buying in a foreign market. It is difficult to know who to trust so you have to proceed with caution. Making contact initially in the UK was a helpful step for me and allowed me get a feel for the expertise and competence of the agents. Yes, this helped me a lot."

Pam viewed many properties, traditional renovated houses, standard resale properties and off-plan new build projects. She says “the renovations and resales varied enormously in quality and many seemed to have been on the market for some time. Some of the layouts were a little odd and overall I found few that met all of my requirements. The new and off-plan houses I saw were much better suited to me and offered a lot more than the renovations in terms of interior specifications and extras. Ultimately it came down to just two properties from different developers; both of them were off-plan although one was already underway. One of the most difficult things of all was trying to visualise a house on the plot that you are being shown. Of course, the developers do have detailed drawings and plans; it just takes a little time to get used to the idea! Another thing that I struggled with was the idea of buying something I couldn't see. The sales people gave me a lot of confidence in this and after talking through each stage of the process in detail I felt I was able to take the leap of faith."

Pam spent the final weekend of her trip agonising over two properties she had chosen. She comments "Both the houses were in great locations but one had a better view than the other. I took time to weigh up all the pros and cons of each house. There was no difference in price but one house was much bigger than the other, having an additional bedroom and bathroom. I actually decided on the larger house with the slightly worse view. But once I had made the decision I knew it was the home for me. Just standing in the house felt good. The village of Kefalas where it sits is very pretty and the house does have a wonderful view. Everything I need is within walking distance too. The developer, Lifestyle Homes, was very helpful and the salesman Charlie gave me the confidence I needed to sign on the dotted line. I especially liked the fact that he was not pushy, even when he knew he was up against a major competitor. Thanks Lifestyle!"