Bespoke Homes
Custom-Built Villas in Kefalonia
No-one is better placed than we are to help you build your dream house on Kefalonia. We are unique, and every villa we build is unique - in character, location, style, fittings, colours, interiors and features. While our seamless end-to-end service ensures that it is a hassle free and enjoyable experience.
Sourcing and acquiring land in Kefalonia
We own the largest portfolio of prime building land on the island - the result of years of careful research and investment. All our sites have beautiful and undisturbed sea views, are close to restaurants and amenities, and no more than 2 km from the nearest beach.
This gives you an amazing choice of perfect locations, as well as the peace of mind of knowing that there will be no problems with title or proving legal ownership, as some people have found in other holiday destinations.
Once you’ve chosen your ideal spot we can introduce you to reputable local specialists who can help you register the purchase with the local authorities, and complete the documentation for transfer duty. If you wish, we can also organise a lawyer, a translator and a notary public, who is a local official representing the Greek authorities. They can do all the necessary searches, and draw you up the purchase contract.
We can arrange for all of this to be done in your absence, right up to the exchange of contracts - our end-to-end service means that once your location has been chosen there’s no need to return to the island until your villa is completed. The next time you see the site will be when you enjoy your first drink by your private pool, with lemons from your own trees to slice for your gin and tonic.
Architecture
The next stage is to create your unique design. We often start by asking you to collect cuttings of houses and features that appeal to you, and a wish list of everything you want your villa to have. Our highly regarded architects will then work with you to fashion a plan that exactly matches your needs in every respect. We’ll keep you in touch by phone, fax or email to get your views on the drawings, and nothing is finalised until every detail is exactly right.
At this point one of our civil engineers will prepare the documents for the building permit, which includes working with the city engineer. If you plan to rent your villa we will prepare a separate application to the Board of Tourism for a holiday accommodation permit. Both of these processes can be very time-consuming, but we will handle all the details on your behalf.
Once everything is in place we will draw up an itemised construction contract with you, covering the full design and build specification for your villa, and a detailed breakdown of the budget.
Development and construction
We have the largest construction team on the island, including the most skilled tradesmen in every field, and master craftsmen for working in stone, marble and ceramics. We also have experienced project managers who ensure that deadlines are met, budgets observed, and the highest level of finish achieved.
Interior design and finishing
When you buy a Unique villa the services of a full-time team of interior designers is part of the package. They can style your whole home for you, or work to your precise brief, whichever you prefer. Our position in the market means that we have excellent relationships with some of the best kitchen and bathroom designers in Europe, as well as some of the finest furniture makers. This ensures you get superb quality fittings at very reasonable prices.
Once the house is finished our gardeners and landscape designers can shape your outside space, and create terraces and shady areas for alfresco living and dining. With our local expertise and plantsmanship you will have beautiful gardens that complement your house, and thrive in the special location you’ve chosen to build it.
Finance
If you need to take out a mortgage to cover the cost of your villa we have very good relationships with a number of leading banks in Greece. This can be quite a complex process, given the number of different parties involved, and we can handle every step of the application for you. Local banks will typically be prepared to finance up to 80% of the cost of the project, depending on individual circumstances.
Rental income
We are Kefalonia’s sole agents for leading tour operators like Thomson, Simply Travel, Villa Select, CV Travel and Villa Plus, which means that we’re responsible for finding suitable villas for their portfolios. It also means that we can help you set up a rental contract for those times of the year when you won’t be using the villa yourself. We can advise you on the best way to rent your villa, and give you guidance about how you should design it to optimise your income, if that’s a high priority for you. We can then organise to sign a rental contract directly between you and the tour operator, often before the villa is even completed.
In general, high-quality properties rent very well on Kefalonia, with villas we’ve built rarely being less than 90% full during the summer season.
Management and maintenance
Many people worry about the upkeep of a home abroad, but our full maintenance service (currently managing in excess of 100 properties) ensures that owning a Unique villa is always a happy and stress-free experience.
We have our own team of cleaning staff, gardeners, and pool technicians, as well as professional tradesmen on 24 hour call-out who can deal with any problem that arises, either when you’re staying in the villa yourself, or when it’s rented out. You can leave all the maintenance to us, and concentrate on making the most of your time on Kefalonia.
