Having recently been out in Cyprus on holiday, I?ve looked at the possibility of buying property, mainly as a buy to let, but also looking at this as an investment for retirement.
There seems to be a huge boom out there right now, with properties being built everywhere - but prices are also well on the way up - so I?m not sure if we've missed the boat, so to speak, as just a year ago prices were a lot lower.
To cut a long story short, we've found a 3 bed villa, with a pool, about 300m from a beach, and in a popular tourist location. Similar nearby villas are being rented out at peak season for a fat wad of cash. Some quick sums suggest the rental income will pay somewhere around 80% of the mortgage costs after I?ve put down a deposit (my calcs are assuming it will be empty for about 6 months of the year) .
I love the location, and the country, and could really see myself living out there when I chose to retire, and this seems a great way to buy a retirement home over the next 15 years or so.
Interested to here any comments from people who have already done this and failed or succeeded..
Any related advice much appreciated.
Thanks
Kameron

Cyprus will crash, there is too much supply, prices are too high and our key overseas market (the English) are staying away in droves.
It's a brilliant place to live, but wait and see what happens before you jump in. I think the downturn will gather pace in 2006 and the first to go to the wall will be the small to medium sized developers.
Thanks
Lorenzo