Life in Rhodes Island

What our clients say

March 2009

Dear Mr.Savvaidis

We have recently returned from one of your Property Inspection Tours on Rhodes island. 

Our host for the five days was Cathy Pantelis. After much deliberation and an abundance of emotional rollercoastering, in the end we decided not to purchase a property at this present time. However, we must comment that this decision was by no means a negative reflection on your company or on Cathy herself. We felt the present time was not right for us as we feel jittery about the global economic crisis and its possible effect on Rhodes property prices.  

We would like to take this opportunity to commend the manner in which Cathy represented your company. She was highly professional, articulate, knowledgeable, helpful, patient and above all a very nice human being 

In our past experiences in dealing with real estate agents, dealing with your company has been a breath of fresh air. Cathy was a walking 'Oracle'- guiding us through all of the necessary processes that was required to purchase property on Rhodes Island . She also played a large part in our future decision making. Firstly, we will definitely eventually buy in Rhodes and secondly, we have settled on the Haraki/Masari region.

When we do eventually go ahead and purchase our dream villa on Rhodes , we will not hesitate to come knocking at your door! 

Once again, we would like to thank Cathy, yourself and your staff for your unrivalled hospitality extended to us both.

With kind regards and warm wishes.

Cornel & Ania Chin

July 2008

The first time I went to Rhodes I fell in love. The scenery, fabulous beaches, friendliness of the locals and relaxed pace of life took my breath away, and from thereon in I was hooked, returning year after year with friends and family. On one visit, I met Colin, after a brief holiday romance in Lindos, we both returned to the UK, met up again, moved in together and are now planning our wedding in Lindos on the anniversary of the day we met. When Colin and I met, it was his first visit to the island, I soon discovered that he shared my affinity for Lindos, and we travel back together as often as annual leave allows!

Early into the relationship, I explained to Colin that my dream in life was to eventually leave England and live on Rhodes permanently; I was thrilled that he felt the same, and we discussed the idea regularly, but it always felt like a distant dream.

We regularly passed the Savvaidis & Associates estate agents in Lindos on our trips, and always stopped to admire the properties on sale, wishing we could make our dream come true. One day, we decided to just pop in and enquire about what would be available for our budget, and Amina Salem showed us a selection of properties available, explaining to us fully the processes and financial requirements for a buy-to-let property, an option we hadn’t even considered.

She immediately took us to see a particular property we liked, and as soon as we arrived at the plot, we knew it would be perfect and have never looked back. The whole process from then on was incredibly straightforward and well explained by Amina, we really felt that she and the rest of the team were objective and really cared about our needs, and were not just trying to make a quick sale.

We were introduced to Kim, who deals with the letting side of the business, she was extremely efficient and informative, she instilled a great sense of confidence in our decision to go ahead and purchase the property for letting purposes. We discovered that Savvaidis offer a very professional and competitive service in property management, and Kim Roperts will also help us arrange furnishings, deliveries and other start-up requirements, for which we are very grateful, to ensure the completion of our home goes smoothly and enjoyably.

The following day Amina personally took us up to Rhodes town where we were introduced to Lee Tokuzis and the rest of the sales team. Lee patiently and expertly took us through the financial aspects of the purchase, and with the much appreciated, help of Amina, we dealt with the legal and financial necessities, in particular I was over the moon to apply for my Greek residency card!

The whole process while in Rhodes was simple and well explained, and we left Rhodes knowing that we had made the right decision to go ahead, and were even kicking ourselves that we hadn’t done it sooner! Since we have returned to the UK, we have developed a very good relationship with the Savvaidis team, in particular Amina, and if we have any questions regarding the house, sale, advertising or property management they always respond quickly and efficiently.

We are both extremely confident that our interests are being well looked after by this highly professional, experienced and friendly team from Savaidis associates.

The villa is on schedule to be completed by April 2009, and our website, www.olivegrovevilla.co.uk, is now operational and we have already begun accepting bookings for next year.

Our dream of moving to Rhodes is now several steps closer, and we have the Savvaidis team to thank for making the process so easy, enjoyable and real.

March 2007

Dear Lynn and Savvas,

This is just a short note to say thanks for all your efforts surrounding our villa purchase in Rhodes. From the outset you and the rest of the Savvaidis crew have been extremely approachable and professional. Steve & I have felt "taken care of" from the outset.  Whilst we are not yet "home & dry" we are confident that our villa at Blue Line will be completed on schedule and to our satisfaction. We are also confident that any issues that may crop up prior to completion will be attended to promptly and efficiently by yourselves.

We will be in Rhodes in a few weeks and very much look forward to seeing you then.

Kind regards

James Watson & Steve Munn

In February 2006 we began to look at properties available to buy In Greece. Having explored other European countries we felt that the investment and rental potential was greater than that in France and Spain. We had holidayed on a number of Greek islands but Rhodes has always been a favourite and we liked the idea of spending time on an island that didn’t close down out of season. The culture and it’s heritage appealed.

The Savvaidis site was easy to access and we were able to view the properties in our own home, giving us the opportunity to make comparisons with other sites and properties. We knew the general area we were interested in and having identified a number of houses we contacted the Estate Agents. The response was very prompt and Lynn Usher, telephoned and helped us arrange flights to visit. We specified that we wished our two teenage children ( age 18 and 17 years) be  involved in the decision making and Lynn appreciated that their view was important to us.

At the end of May we visited the island and were personally met by a representative of the company and provided with a detailed itinerary including properties to visit over the 3 day stay. It was evident that Lynn had taken note of our requirements and we did not in any way feel pressurised into making a decision. We had the opportunity to meet the Savvaidis team, as a family we spent an evening with them which was a great way to hear about the island from people who lived there.

Lynn and colleagues escorted us around our selection of houses and there was at no time any ‘hard sell’. They answered questions, provided second viewings and gave us invaluable information about the island and procedures and legal requirements for purchasing a property on Rhodes. We were introduced to a lawyer and on our return to the U.K Lynn assisted by providing advice and ensuring our purchase went extremely smoothly. What has impressed us above all has been her commitment to providing help and advice post purchase which as first time buyers abroad has been essential. As Lynn always responded to the barrage of e mails we sent and as a family we have felt that we have been welcomed and made some lasting friendships.

We would certainly recommend Savvaidis to others and would have no hesitation in using them again in the future. As an individual, Lynn Usher acted in a helpful and professional manner and clearly understood the property market and process of purchasing in Greece which ensured we had a successful property story to tell!.

Lynda and Martin Hackett

This email was addressed to Mr Savvaidis on 13th March 2007

Dear Mr Savvaidis

We recently attended a property weekend from 12th - 15th September 2007 and stayed at Esperos Hotel.

Our Property Consultant Kara was outstanding and excellent in the service she provided and even more so in her personal warmth, which made it a very pleasant experience. Kara combined excellent business skills with genuine personal warmth, she not only did her job well she also took a personal interest in us as individuals rather than just potential buyers. At all times she kept us comfortable, relaxed and informed, not to mention her patience through out the whole process. As first time buyers she made it a reassuring undertaking and took us through the procedure step by step with great clarity so that we felt confident at each decision making stage.

We were surprised to learn that she had only been a Property Consultant with Savvaidis just over a year as it was assumed that due to her professionalism, knowledge and interpersonal skills she had been with the company much longer. We feel that she is a real asset to your company. We are happy to say that as a result of Kara being our Property Consultant, in a short space of time we found the property of our dreams and we are looking forward to its completion in 2008.

We look forward to seeing Kara and the team at the London Rhodes show.

Yours sincerely,

Pamella Campbell, Shauna Grant, Michelle Shippie

VILLA CLEOBOULOS – COMPLETED JUNE 2010

It was never out intention to buy a property in Greece - for years I had been dreaming of doing a restoration project in Italy: after several years and mounds of magazines all talking about Italian food(and wine) culture and houses, I was no nearer to doing anything about it. I guess one of the reasons was that everywhere I looked I was trying to find a bit of Greece – the countryside – olive trees - the climate and those damn cicadas not to mention the beaches, the azure sea and of course the people. You see I grew up in Cyprus and my earliest recollections included all the above. Add to this many trips over the last 25+ years and Lawrence Durrell. His time in Rhodes after the war is written up in “Reflections on a Marine Venus” – and if you read it, then you will know why Rhodes is one of the most beautiful and interesting of Greek islands.

After an absence of some years we decided to come back to Lindos in 2008. This was the start - Murray went to watch Arsenal, and I went for a stroll round Lindos which just happened to include a quick trip to Savvaidis & Associates. Fast forward to a few months later and we became owners of an olive grove near Pylona, and then several months later a beautiful villa.

Savvaidis completed the villa in one year – this is an incredible feat. One of my friends built a house near Rhodes town – it took her five years to complete and this is without garden or swimming pool! I am a project manager myself and I must say that the whole operation went pretty smoothly – any hiccups were cleared up quickly and efficiently.

Comments from various people confirm our view of the work done….”stunning secluded villa…beautifully designed”, “a beautiful villa with amazing views and great facilities”.

The project has meant involvement with pretty well the whole team at Savvaidis: I would like to commend each of them for their dedication to the job and their professionalism. Lynn for having found us the most gorgeous plot of land, Lee for her patience and sense of humour, Nitsa for her hard work and long hours (weekends included) - I guess my constant memory will be of her arriving for a meeting on site in a cloud of dust, at least two mobile phones ringing at the same time and in her jet stream a variety of artisans from all corners of Rhodes and finally Savvas for getting the villa to us within the timeframe agreed.

Ours is then an experience of buying, build and now rental – all through one company and I would not hesitate to recommend them for their professionalism and support : we have experience of buying abroad (France) and we were left to sort out all the hassle of mortgages, fees, lawyers ourselves with no advice whatsoever, not to mention after sales activities of builders, artisans , you name it. We did not get anywhere near the support or advice or service which I think could be over and above the normal service of an estate agent. Obviously buying anywhere carries a risk, and any buyer needs to have his/her eyes open and understand and do their homework before starting, but I can say ours has been a good experience.

On a personal level, I hope we keep in touch!

Our Dream House

For a good twenty years John and I have been searching for 'our dream house'. We have fallen 'in love' with many places, had many cockeyed ideas for moneymaking schemes in far off places i.e a catamaran around Barbados, beach bars in Koh Lanta, practically anything in W.A, when we started looking ,property in Perth was practically being given away! None of these plans ever materialised, mainly due to the fact that we could never agree on anything. Seven years ago we finally agreed and bought a boat, in Ramsgate, for a lot of money, the plan was to do her up, then take her across the channel, then down through France to Spain and finally settle in Barcelona where we would have a lot of fun on her. It was never going to happen, although we had heaps of fun in Ramsgate, she never made it anywhere, something to do with the electrics!!! Five years ago we sold her. It was a very happy day! So the search continued until four years ago, while looking for a long weekend in the sun around the end of September we discovered Lindos (which, incidentally was the warmest place in Europe at that time) spent five blissful days at the Melenos Hotel, came home with yet more plans to buy 'our dream house'. Of course life goes on and nothing more was done, we had a look at a couple of new properties, which were not our cup of tea, so shelved the idea (so I thought), meanwhile John was still busy looking on the internet. We went back to Lindos a couple of times for long weekends, still found we loved it, then one night John came home, said he had seen a lovely house on the internet, in Lindos, would I like to have a look. Well I looked, told him he was mad, who would pay that for what is in essence a bedsit with an outdoor loo and a lovely view??? Finally he persuaded me to go and have a look, I was just humouring him and had no intention of buying the place. BUT fell madly in love with it, and not realising the minefield we were treading on agreed to put an offer in. After some bartering, we agreed a price with the lovely lady that owned it and then the fun began. You hear stories about buying in Greece, but nothing could have prepared us for the dance that started in April 2009 and sort of ended in April 2010. We now have our dream house, but I think if it had not been for Lynn at Savvaides and several others who went beyond the call of duty to purchase this property, it just would have not happened, every problem that arose was dealt with quickly (or as quickly as can be in Greece!) thoroughly (very important) and with kindness and humour (essential when dealing with,at times, a virtually hysterical woman - ME). We look back now, friends, (when you speak to someone every day for a year this happens) and cant believe that we really did get there in the end (Lynn's words). Friends and family all said 'are you sure you are doing the right thing buying in Greece at the

Bev & John Marley

Lindos House

When we decided to look for property in our favourite place of Rhodes, after holidaying in Lindos for over 15 years, we contacted Savvaidis & Associates to arrange with them to book one of their property week-ends. moment??) But we knew we were, and are still sure we have, and know for a fact that without Lynn it really would not have got there. So, alls well that ends well, mind you the electric is still not in our name. A big thanks to Lee and MC also.

Brilliant move on our behalf!

Lynn Usher was the poor female landed with us.

Nothing was a problem.

We were asked prior to arrival to choose a few properties from their portfolio which we may be interested in viewing and basically that’s as much as we had to do.

They arranged flights, transfers, hotel, etc.

We were taken to view the properties of our choice – with NO HARD SELL –which is what we really appreciated. It meant we could really concentrate on what WE wanted and not what THEY wanted us to buy.

Lynn was more than generous with her time and information.

Due to her efficiency and patience (!!) we now have a cute little house in Haraki – which we will be holidaying in and hopefully living in full time eventually.

Our thanks to all that helped us to achieve this.

Garry & Maxine Stanley

The Long and Winding Road To Rhodes

(with apologies to John Lennon for the title)

Or maybe I should say (as I seem to be on a Beatles theme) “It was 20 years ago today “ I first came to Rhodes as a transit point in my journey to a holiday on the Island of Symi (for those of you who do not know, Symi is a small island which is a 45 minute ferry ride from Rhodes harbour and is VERY hot in the summer months of July and August)

Ever since that first visit my family and I (gosh I sound like the Queen now !!) have been back to the Dodecanese Islands most years for our holidays but settled on Rhodes and Symi as our favourites for the last quite a number of years.

It was in 2006 that I picked up a copy of the brochure that Savvaidis had produced on the ferry back from Symi.

As well as obviously having a lot of property details within it’s pages it also had useful background information on the purchasing process in Rhodes – enough to tempt me to go along to their road show in Birmingham one Saturday morning on a grey autumn morning.

It was a good experience with a lot of information to be digested and discussed after the formal presentations over a coffee (or glass of local Rhodes wine) with the representatives from Savvaidis all of whom turned out to be the people who worked in the local offices in Rhodes and were the ones responsible for showing people around the different areas and properties available in Rhodes. It transpired that they were all long term employees of the agency, seemed to enjoy their work, were very helpful and knowledgeable . They were definitely not the “fly by night” people you sometimes get in Spain selling timeshares (if you have ever met any you will know what I mean)

It was at this road show that we met a consultant from Savvaidis Kalathos office which is where we finally ended up a year or so on.

It was to be another year or so (daughter going to university type of delay) before we decided that an exploratory visit to the south eastern part of Rhodes would be a good place to start looking for properties.

It was September 2008 that we set off to explore what was to us an unknown part of the island.

We had by this time decided that we wanted a traditional property in a small village which was not overrun with tourists, the idea being that we would be able to live with the local people, hopefully be a part of the community and definitely not be part of an ex-pat community.

Savvaidis spent a lot of time with us, showed us many villages and towns in the south eastern part of Rhodes, and properties which ranged from off plan, to new, to old and renovation, they know the area well and it was good to have them as a contact point and a fund of local knowledge.

We only had a couple of days that year to look around but managed to cover a lot of ground and see enough to be convinced that this area was a serious contender for our plans of a holiday home in the sun.

The web-site proved to be a great tool for keeping an eye open for any suitable properties on the island and it was in summer of 2009 that we saw a renovation property for sale in the village of Gennadi which seemed to be a good fit for our thoughts of what we wanted.

I was unable to go across on short notice due to work commitments but my wife decided to go across on her own for a few days, stay in Gennadi and look at the property (in-between sunbathing, drinking and eating) All this whilst I was working in good old rainy UK

It could have been a bit daunting for a woman on her own in a strange greek town which she does not know but the people from Savvaidis were on hand and looked after her very well (even having to go out eating and drinking in the evening, obviously well above normal call of duty !!!! )

The property (which required major renovation) fitted our criteria very closely and so it transpired that during our planned holiday in September that we negotiated the purchase of a property with courtyard right in the centre of the village of Gennadi. The staff from Savvaidis were very good during the strange experience of purchasing a property in Greece (well it is strange if you are from the UK and never done it before _ I’m told it gets easier the next time around !!) We negotiated the purchase whilst being in the Gennadi area and then had to head to Rhodes town to do the paperwork and other necessary things – like opening a bank account, appointing a lawyer to act on your behalf, sort out a local mortgage etc etc. At this point it seemed good to take a deep breath, have a large Ouzo and sort out how to pay the deposit to take the property off the market.

At this point of the proceedings Lee , who works in the Savvaidis office in Rhodes town, came into her own. Lee personally took us to see the lawyer whom we appointed to have power of attorney on our behalf as this means you do not have to fly across to Rhodes every time a bit of paper needs signing. It was from the lawyer quickly on to the bank where 2 hours later we had set up a joint account and had been issued cash cards for the ATM ….. very impressive compared with banks in the UK, it is worth mentioning that the banking facilities offered are very good and makes managing money from the UK a doddle if you can use the internet. Lee knows her way around the paperwork and requirements during a purchase very well. She has been an invaluable resource during the process and inevitable delays which have occurred (you will have to get used to Greek time if you purchase a property in Rhodes – it goes slower than in the UK).

As I write this in Feb 2010 we have now completed our purchase with the help of the staff at Savvaidis but there is more to come, did I mention it was a property needing renovation? If not or you missed that bit it needs a lot of renovation !!

It so happens that Savvaidis have a renovation division which is run by a lady called Nitsa who we met during 2009 and have inspected several projects she has worked on and completed. The standard of work was very good and we have entrusted the renovation project to Nitsa and hoping it will be completed during this summer – fingers crossed….

Our thanks go to the staff at Savvaidis who have made purchasing in Rhodes an enjoyable experience and eased our way through the local customs and paperwork systems.

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