Oia Santorini… a notebook about life in Oia

(cont. from “A cave to call home” page – on the sidebar )

Niko looked up and said “are you interested in that house”? I said “I could be”…. it doesn’t really suit my needs, but I guess it all depends on the price”.

With that short exchange started a year long process of buying the two cave houses. Nothing is simple on Santorini…or anywhere in Europe for that matter. The paperwork is considerable, even for a Greek national. I can tell you that without Niko’s help, as well as the always friendly and polite Saki…. it may never have happened. As the agent… this little guy went out of his way to get all parties talking and finally agreeing on price, time, paperwork completion and the myriad other things that you need in order to make the sale go through to completion. Especially as I had to do a lot of it by proxy, flying to and from Australia when things were ready to be signed. A good agent is invaluable…and if you find a good one make him your friend. Niko and I spent hours discussing things via online chat, email and even telephone. Although my Greek is fluent, the fact that Niko and I could communicate in English made things even easier (would hate to think of the same process attempted on a Greek-only basis with another agent).   

Buying a house in another country is always about trust, patience, knowing what you want and ’stickwithitness’. My charming little Canadian/Greek friend was someone I could trust and the rest was pretty much up to me. I had seen so many houses and caves over the years, spoken to so many people, that I pretty much knew prices, locations and the pros and cons of living in any of the main villages on Santorini. To say this wasn’t an impulse purchase is an understatement. Twenty years of homework had gone into it…. and countless of hours of walking around and exploring caves, while the family was swimming or enjoying a lovely lunch at a beach-side taverna. There were times….in 38C+ heat (that’s a touch over 100F), that the whole thing seemed crazy, absurd even, but then I’d look at the view and imagine what it would be like to have that on my door step…..

I think the line goes something like “if you dont know where you’re going…you’re likely to be taken anywhere”. I knew where I wanted to be and I certainly knew what I wanted in terms of location and view. Thankfully Niko had this property on his books and I knew as soon as I stood in front of it that this was “home”. 

It’s the possibility of having dreams come true that makes life interesting”

                                                                                                                         Paolo Cohelo

The entire process of buying a property on the Greek islands is lengthy, confusing at times and, if you don’t have the patience (or a good agent and/or lawyer…preferably both) it can be off-putting. There are no straight lines, there are no rules that sellers “must” follow. There are guidelines and laws sure… but its very much a battle of wits and continuous improvisation. Perseverance and persistence are essential.

It took a year….one long year from the day I saw the house to the day we finally signed the papers. There were many reasons for that of course, one being that I wasn’t here to work on it daily. But nevertheless it takes time and if it wasn’t for the Canadian/Greek it may have taken even longer. Sellers always want the money, but they are never keen on getting their paperwork in order. Three times I flew over from Australia during that year, each time there were meetings and papers and bank discussions and and and….

In the end all was done and after what some would say was a ridiculous amount of time…. the house on Santorini was ours. Well, the derelict     cave-house and the huge pile of rocks next door was ours. The first house had to be completely renovated and the pile of rocks….which “supposedly” had a cave-house under it, had to be dug out and turned into a home. Then the two had to be joined together via tunnels…. Oh, and by the way, the caves are a long way down which means NOTHING by way of transport or rock carrying/lifting equipment could ever hope to get here. All had  to be done by donkey or mule. But that’s just details…..the house was ours, thats the main thing…right?

“Under these rocks there is a cave” they said,

“there  #@%*#&#  better be” I thought…..

Having spoken to neighbours and confirmed all that was being said to me, we started the back-braking process of removing the rocks to see what was there. I knew it wasn’t going to be much and whatever was there would need to be gutted. But here is the funny thing…from the second we started lifting rocks there was a short film playing in my head. I could see how the whole thing was going to happen and what it would look like in the end. Everything was crystal clear in my mind….I guess twenty years of thinking does that. Its either that or I had gone insane and didn’t realise it. 

By the way the short film in my head was a very idealised production….no problems, no hassles, no noise, no dirt. Just a gorgeous little home in place of the rock-pile. But reality has this terrible habit of getting in the way…..

More on the discovering, digging & building adventure soon!

The unsung heroes of Santorini. Nothing gets built on the cliff face without these incredible animals.

If you’re interested in finding a house, shop or property in Oia you can contact me on:  oiadweller@yahoo.com