It was May 2022, the time was right, we’d finally reached the other side of the education minefield. Who’d have thought our kids would actually end up with qualifications and paying jobs, there were times, as many parents will relate to, that that fact seemed almost beyond realistic. However, such was the case and freedom beckoned!

Options… We could stay in our comfortable yet fairly stressful jobs continuing to pay off the last two years of our mortgage, or take advantage of the opportunity knocking on our door – to fulfil our retirement dream of moving to France. We had been offered the chance to purchase a family property abroad. The property had been in the family for thirty years and it had been our summer holiday destination throughout that time. Caprera was about to go on the market.

Any property owners selling-up and leaving Guernsey in 2022 could make a financial killing, such was the demand for Guernsey property, particularly mid-range family homes, following COVID. However, it was a major challenge to purchase a Guernsey property during that period. This is where we found ourselves. Because our two boys were just setting out on their career paths, Guernsey mortgages and rent just weren’t an option for them, so it made sense for us to sell our much loved, large family home and down-size, buy a place in a low price bracket where the boys could live until they had saved enough to move forward and use any money left over to purchase our French dream. Finding a place in Guernsey was easier said than done.