Thinking about it we should have named our brand new Rhodes villa something like “Villa Serendipity”, the definition meaning “happy accident”. And that is just what it was when finding a villa that turned out to be perfect for us in every way-a VERY happy accident. Villa Serendipity never happened, but we are so thankful that Villa Lindos Kalliopi became a reality…
To explain the whole finding, buying and moving in process we are actually only covering the past 8 months. A rather astonishing timescale, a real whirlwind! To give some background to this story we need to delve back to May 2004…..
A surprise wake up call from my partner Philip wakes me up to an even bigger surprise that we are off to Rhodes that morning for my (then) 34th birthday. Rhodes? Why Rhodes? It always sounded nice but it had never been on my (long) list of places around the world I wanted to visit. However a few hours later we are walking around Pefkos, quite intoxicated by the warm weather and the lovely feeling of an island slowly gearing up for a busy season ahead. Philip had always wanted to visit one of the Greek Islands and by the end of our 1 week stay we both commented that Rhodes must have been the best choice of those islands by far.
We had even on this first stay discovered Savvaidis & Associates, but only from a cursory glance at the “FOR SALE” signs and some window shopping of some of the branch property displays. BUT, it has to be confessed, we do that at every country we visit – without fail we spend a couple of days dreaming of a property abroad. And then move on. And we did.
By the end of 2004 we had also completed a 2 month around the world trip. We visited exotic Singapore, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, fell in love with the beauty of New Zealand, relaxed in thatched accommodation on the beaches of Fiji, did the Walk of Fame in Hollywood and we were well and truly dazzled by an amazing winter time in New York. And as marvellous as that long trip had been we both agreed that none of it compared to that 1 week we had spent enjoying those lazy, hazy days on Rhodes.
Keeping Rhodes on the top of our list we returned in 2005 and 2006 exploring, appreciating and understanding the island more and more. Can we just say, here and now, that if you have only ever explored the coastline of the island then change your plans right now! The interior of the island is superlative and the mountain vistas, flora and fauna are breathtaking! Anyway…with hindsight, it is now no surprise that in June 2007, whilst attending a family wedding (that we had recommended be held on Rhodes!) we suddenly found ourselves signing up for a rather swish off plan Rhodes villa…In the first instance, off plan appealed because we suspected it was good entrance level into the Rhodes property market and the value was more likely to see a sharper increase in a shorter time than something established. It was just case of choosing wisely and budgeting carefully….
At this stage we make no apologies for naming some names! As with any property / development viewings done by Savvaidis & Associates one of their consultants will accompany you to offer full assistance. For both of us personally we feel meeting our particular Savvaidis & Associates representative was a stroke of massive good luck. Take a bow Cathy Panteli! Cathy should be used as a case study on how to get the client / representative relationship exactly right! Insightful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic, Cathy also grasped quickly the critical understanding of what type of property suited our needs (and pockets)! Showing us around several properties Cathy guessed correctly that the small development at Vlicha Bay (near Lindos) would tick all the boxes of our criteria and budget. What we viewed was a very raw, virtually off plan development that really was nothing more than a building site, albeit in an amazing position.
Cathy could have been wasting her time of course. As we have mentioned we have happily killed some time on many other holidays to look and just dream about homes abroad. This could have easily been no different. Easily! We loved the villa but lacked the understanding of the process and potential pitfalls. So many must then walk away thinking such a purchase is out of reach. But Cathy had an even greater skill to impart than those we have already mentioned and that was her ability to instil a confidence to us to pursue that dream. And this wasn’t through a tiresome sales patter or false promises- it was her realistic appraisals, explanations and suggestions on exactly how this could work for us! And the confidence she gave to us made us take that important step forward.
The word CONFIDENCE is the single most important word we can use in this story. Happily that confidence did not begin and end with Cathy. Over the next few days (again no apologies for naming names) we dealt with Lynn Usher who took us through some of the finer details and complexities and who listened and reassured us as we did our “sums”! The decision was ours. No pressures, just facts and….confidence! Behind the scenes Lee Tokousi then took over all of the work involved in securing our mortgage, dealing with the developer AND dealing with us (we are sticklers for perfection and wanted to ask lots of questions as things took shape)!! She dealt with all of the above (including us) with super efficiency.
And the end result? We have the most amazing Rhodes villa. Savvaidis & Associates, coupled with a good developer and then mixed in with that little twist of flair from ourselves has all combined to give us something that has exceeded all of our expectations! We spent all of January 2008 making Villa Lindos Kalliopi extra special. The views, design and furnishings have all fused together to make this a much talked about villa. And we are thrilled with everything.
One of the areas Cathy advised us on was the rental potential of the villa and that has already been well and truly realised and has taken us somewhat by surprise! Which is good news for Kim Roberts, Savvaids & Associates Rental Property Manager. Kim is expertly managing the villa when it is rented out to guests. So it is nice that our association with Savvaidis & Associates continues. We can’t recommend Kim and her team highly enough.
Savvaidis & Associates have even been gracious enough to ask how we have managed to get it so right, so fast? All we can say, one final time, is that it is the confidence given to us from the likes of Cathy, Lynn, Lee and Kim. Plus everyone else we dealt with at Savvaidis & Associates has shown great expertise and professionalism.
Individually and collectively this group of experts delivered for us. If you are thinking of taking that next big step, look no further than Rhodes and Savvaidis & Associates.
Peter and Philip