Amanda Shiel looks at a selection of desirable overseas homes that boast views over some of the finest seas
(Mediterranean / Aegean Sea) Turkey
Artev Homes currently offers three sites in the area surrounding Bodrum. And with each of these, the developer’s very low-cost optional rental service makes investing easy. Not only will Artev use its best efforts to see that your property is rented, but it will also act as a full-service maintenance provider: maid service and inventory checks between guests, key handover and 24-hour reception facilities are part of the Artev Homes rentals plan – all for a £200 annual registration fee.Guests at Hillside will experience what Nihat Uğur, rental supervisor for Artev Homes, calls ‘a hotel system. We are the only ones in Turkey who do this.’Although there is no guaranteed rental income, Artev calculates that buyers will see an annual return of five per cent of their purchase price at its Hillside Garden development. This scheme is a collection of 144 apartments and 40 villas near Yalikavak, about 19km from Bodrum and about 45 minutes from Bodrum airport. These properties are extremely family-friendly, with a wide range of activities for both children and grown-ups. There are ten communal pools, as well as tennis courts and a life-size chess set. The site also boasts a restaurant and gym.The development offers beautiful views across the bay towards Karlak – and there are both sandy and pebble beaches nearby.
Golf courses are also plentiful nearby.
This is a wonderful environment in which to forget work stress and unwind with your family or friends.Hillside Garden is well over 80 per cent sold, a testament to the impressive investment package these properties represent. Near Didim, just a shuttle boat from popular Bozric, Artev Homes offers Apollonia, which will be a perfect idyll for those who want a quiet holiday. Off-plan sales are brisk, and this development, according to Uğur, ‘appeals to both investors and those who plan to settle’. Apollonia will have apartments, link-attached homes and town houses. ‘Seventy per cent of people who buy here are investors,’ he says. ‘The other 30 per cent buy here to live here, maybe six months here and six months in the UK.’This part of the coast enjoys particularly pleasant weather; its low humidity means those who suffer from asthma and other breathing difficulties are particularly keen on the area.
The shallow sandy beach is also a calm, friendly bathing place, and Artev is extending the existing beach inland to create an approximately 400m x 30m area of white sand between the sea and the properties. The beach will be private to the development.Every apartment has a sea view of some kind – a truly excellent draw for holidaymakers and investors alike. Completion is due in May 2009 and already over half are sold. Three-bedroom villas with two-and-a-half baths are priced from around £100,000. The properties are being marketed in The Netherlands, Russia and Scandinavia as well as the UK.Contact The Superior Group on freephone 0800 195 7233 or visit superiorworldwide.com.
(Black Sea) Bulgaria
Just minutes from the centre of Balchik, Waterside Quay offers secluded and rare, front-line marina property set on the famous White Lagoon in Balchik, with 60 luxury apartments having uninterrupted sea views. Facilities at the development include a fabulous rooftop swimming pool, gym, and waterside restaurant and bar. Residents can take a water taxi from the private marina to nearby Balchik for a stroll along the promenade and a delicious meal of the day’s catch at a local fish restaurant.
Prices are from €92,750 (£63,965) for a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment and €128,350 (£88,517) for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment. Contact Bulgarian Dreams on 020 7614 1240 or visit bulgariandreams.com.
(Atlantic Ocean) Cape Verde
Cotton Bay Golf and Resort in the Algodoeiro region on the south-west coast of Sal has been designed with an awareness of the environment and it is bordered by palm-fringed beaches and clear blue seas and enjoys year round sunshine.
The development will have 10 key residential areas - all sympathetically designed to reflect the Cape Verdean culture and personality with an emphasis on open spaces and light.
Many of the villas will enjoy an enviable front line beach location and will range in size from 120sq metres to 350sq metres with two-, three-, four- or five-bedrooms. There will be one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and duplexes with gardens and terraces on the ground floor, terraces on the first and second floors and a communal swimming pool.
Prices start at €124,000. A simple and structured payment plan is in place to ensure investors enjoy a hassle free purchase process.
Call Emerging Real Estate on 0845 601 7293 or visit emergingrealestate.com.
(Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas) Italy
The Calabria region of Italy is a sun-bathed coastal area nestling in Italy’s ‘toe’ and surrounded by warm seas on its three coastlines.
Santa Venere, a private gated development of luxury apartments, is located in the heart of Vibo Marina, close to the resort of Tropea and within easy reach of the airport.
Visitors can choose to wile away their time in the stylish marina with its host of luxury yachts, in the quaint local bars and trattorias or on the immaculate sandy beaches or hidden coves.
These two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments are set in tended green gardens. There are a wide range of amenities available, including a swimming pool, restaurant and entertainment available on-site. Prices start from £91,946 (€135,482).
Fioribello is situated within a few minutes’ drive of Tropea’s shopping and historic districts, as well as some of the best beaches in the region. Located close to the port city of Pizzo and overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, the development comprises of one- and two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments. Each boasts a balcony looking onto the gulf of Santa Eufemia as well as traditional Italian tiling throughout. Prices start from £61,300 (€90,340).
For further details on either of these developments, visit mrioverseasproperty.com.
(Mediterranean) Spain
La Zagaleta, the former private estate of Saudi entrepreneur Adnan Khashoggi, is a highly elite community covering almost 900 hectares and is one of the last remaining private natural reserves in the whole of the region. Set in the Benahavís Hills at 450 metres above sea level, the views of the Rock of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa are priceless.
La Zagaleta owners and their guests are able to indulge in the definitive Country Club lifestyle. The development offers three private lakes, tennis courts and a clubhouse. Khashoggi’s former private home is now a member’s only restaurant, bowling alley, clay pigeon range, swimming pool and billiard room. There is also a private riding club boasting pure Arab and Spanish horses, four arenas, livery for the club’s horses as well as stabling for privately owned horses.
La Zagaleta has twin gated guarded entrances, on-site administration offices, catering and banking services plus an operational heliport for the chopper.
Examples of homes include H31, a four bedroom property built on a magnificent elevated plot, priced at 5.9 million euros and C1-10, a Villarroel designed property comprising three main bedrooms and two guest bedrooms, priced at 8.5 million euros.
Individual plots are available at La Zagaleta. Prices start from 750,000 euros for 4,000m².
Contact Carrington Estates on 00 34 952 810 868 / 00 34 952 778 244, UK Local Rate 0845 094 1168 or visit carrington-estates.com.