Surviving our first month!

The first month flew by. Living in the annexe was basic and a kin to what I imagine squatting is like. Even after our deep clean there were still cobwebs, mould on the internal doors and ceilings. It was so hot and stuffy. We aren't blessed with air conditioning yet and our measly portable fan was hopeless! We were getting eaten alive, daily, by the thousands of mosquitoes around the villa and were struggling to work out what one cooks in the #Med when you're hot as balls and are not on holiday, when eating out most nights is acceptable. We couldn't complain though! We were here, living the dream and as we approached the end of September it would be getting cooler soon.

After the first few weeks of getting settled in and slowly transitioning from feeling like we were on a permanent holiday to the reality - drinking every day is not ok and eating out every evening is unsustainable. We began to turn our attention to the renovation.

A little background info about us and renovations, in the UK we have done several property renovations, the most recent - a big renovation at Oriel house in Warkworth, Northumberland which we finished in April 2021 and is successfully renting as a holiday home on Airbnb and Vrbo.

Oriel House, Warkworth

We are not however builders, Joe is the self proclaimed lifter and shifter and I am the interior designer. Together we make a good team when it comes to renovating. Doing a renovation in Greece (without speaking much Greek) however has been a little daunting but we're giving it a go. Unlike our other properties the villa is going to be our home for the foreseeable with the two annexes being holiday lets.

Originally, during our dealings with the estate agent at RoulaRouva we were put in touch with their building consultant who was very lovely and knowledgeable. However, we waited months for a breakdown of the costs for the renovation and when we got the quote it was eye watering and vague, full of investigate X, Y and Z. We were disappointed to begin with as we had waited a long time for the quote and being in the UK at the time, we had not been able to explore any other options. Now officially moved and in Corfu, we were keen to get started before the winter and to get into the main Villa asap, it was time to call big T. (*Names have been changed for privacy).

In June after spending a few weeks in Corfu to take delivery of our belongings we met by chance a builder on our return flight to the UK. He was one of the last two passengers to board the nearly deserted flight to Birmingham. The two latecomers were both larger than life, sporting tight footy tops and jazzy face masks. The bigger one out of the two sat opposite me, just across the isle. Giving me a cheeky wink as he sat down saying "well someones gotta be the last one on". I instantly liked him and we all talked, non stop, the whole flight back. Turned out Big T was a builder who has lived in Corfu for decades. He showed us photos of luxury villa renovations he'd done on surrounding islands and regaled us with hilarious drunken tales of millionaires and near death experiences. We departed the plane our faces sore from laughing with his number in hand and assurances not to worry he'd help with the house.

So after our first few weeks we called him and asked if he would mind coming to have a look at the villa. A few days later he arrived. Giving a low whistle as he surveyed the place. He walked round the properties with us, listening to my ideas, tapping the blown plaster, wincing when checking the levels of the roof terrace and after an hour or so concluded in one word that the villa was "sh*gged!".

'Not the word we had hoped or expected to hear but we valued his honesty!'

We agreed a 'one room at a time' approach was the way forward so after his assurances nothing we wanted to knock down was structural.We began removing the three internal walls and ceilings in the upstairs of the main villa.

He left us some tools that we needed and hadn't brought from the UK. For example 'Big Linda' his sledge hammer and 'Crazy Carol' his crowbar. Big T gave us the confidence to get started with the renovation and then had to leave us to it for another job. It was just us again. No team of tradies like we were used to, just Joe and I trying not to kill each other as we removed wires, pulled down the ceilings and walls.

After a few long days full of dirt, debris and so much dust we had done it! We had removed the ceiling and bedroom walls making the upstairs of the villa one large space which in time will become the master bedroom. We had saved ourselves around €1,800 doing it ourselves and bonus we survived to tell the tale!

Next on the agenda - to find a good local joiner, plumber and electrician how hard could it be?!