My return to lender
£795pcm (0800 525 174/girlings.co.uk). One expat who describes her Girlings flat as a life-saver is former vocational ballet school principal Diana Carteur, who lived on the Greek island of Lesvos for nine years until ill health and the Greek financial crisis forced her to return home.
UNABLE to sell her island property she could not afford to buy in the UK and, after spending a few years in a north London council flat, she decided to move to Dorset – where her family was from – focusing on Weymouth.
“I visited various estate agents in the area but on hearing that I would need to claim housing benefit, none of them would allow me to view their properties,” says Diana, now 65.
Then a friend told her about Girlings Retirement Rentals. “I talked to the team at Girlings about my situation and they weren’t fazed at all,” she says. “They helped me calculate how much housing benefit I would be entitled to and if I would be able to afford the apartment.
“I was able to reserve the apartment without any issues. The clincher was that Girlings could offer me an assured tenancy.”
A year later Diana’s health has improved – her blood pressure was dangerously high in Harrow – and she has started her own art design business, making greetings cards under her brand Swansong Creations.
“I found everyone at Girlings so helpful and I feel so supported by them,” she says.
“For me, and I’m sure for a lot of other older people, I need to know that I have extra support at home and that I’m safe – because I don’t have a family network around me.
“Girlings has given me that sense of security.
“I find it really reassuring that I can stay in my home as long as I like, especially after the upheaval of the last few years.
“It gives me peace of mind to know that Girlings are always on the end of the phone and reassuring that there is an onsite manager – these things are a lifeline for me.”