Starting Out - Asking For Directions

[Adam Cohen]

Hello everyone!

I'm not sure how to tackle this.

Short story is - I want to try my hand at owning vacation properties that are oversea for me - I do not know where to start.

Basically I am asking for information resources. 

I am looking at the guides and the recommended books, I am not trying to get some magical shortcuts. It's just that the whole subject is too big for me, and I'd like help directing my attention.

The longer story.
I've been on a trip abroad, to Crete to be specific. I've seen many vacation villas and studio apartments for vacation goers. Thing is, for a big villa, I can pay what I would pay for a small apartment where I live. 
I earn more than average (around here) and did not yet buy my own house because I felt it was too expensive and just not worth it, especially as I do not have my own family yet.

As such, at the price of one house here, I can buy even two villas, or a few smaller studios over there. And that's just when looking at the market in Crete in a glance. I figured I should look into it in general, so I want to study all there is to it.

I am not into flipping or playing with papers and deals. Rather I'd prefer to hold property and gain from it on a monthly basis.

I know it's more complicated from that, which is why I want to learn.

So basically, I'd like to know if you have any specific material for off-country investment, vacation property that may only work half the year (In Crete, I understand the island is not active during the winter), management, and biographies/success stories/mistake stories of such cases.

I type as I think, so I might be all over the place, apologies for that.

Thank you very much!