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cc5171 - THE OLD OLIVE PRESS NEAR VRISSES - RESTORATION PROJECT
DIARY -
Price - €185,000 approximate (once renovated)
July
2006 - Project Overview
 Purchased by Charles an English architect who has
built up a reputation for sympathetic renovations, this ruin in its
current state would not normally appeal to the passer by. It did
however represent a challenge to Charles and this is really a case
of ‘beauty being in the eye of the beholder’.
Risking life and limb, clambering over the remains of machinery,
grinding wheels, and weed strewn rubble, designing and redesigning,
submitting plans, getting them approved, appointing reliable
builders is all part of the enjoyment of the project says Charles.
For most of us, peering at the crumbling walls, wondering where the
roof went, walking gingerly under a not too safe arch would
immediately reduce our pioneering spirit to one of timidity and
perhaps in error we would chose a modern formulae build. Anyway at
long last the project is due to start. All that is now required is
the ‘one more bit of paperwork’ due any time. This bit
of outstanding paper is standard in Greece regardless of the type
of permission one is applying for.  Work is expected to
commence in about 3 weeks time and it is Crete-Connection’s
plan to continually update our web site with the progress (or lack
of such) as the renovations get underway.
Charles is using in particular two Russian builders who have worked
for him in the past and understand his quirks, and peculiar
requirements and in return Charles understands why they like to
screw empty Vodka bottles into the branches of the nearest tree;
Apparently it’s a Russian ‘man thing’. As per
usual, there will be arguments including some shouting, but in the
end total agreement on the finished product and a sense of pride as
the last empty bottle is screwed to the tree.
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August
2006
Charles writes -
"At present the situation is very Greek : we have applied for
the renovation permit which will entitle us to connect the water
and electricity; we have all of the necessary papers except one and
the chap who is to do this has gone on holiday... so we
wait"
12 September 2006
We have just received word from Charles of more Greek bureaucracy,
he tells us that -
"The olive press is certainly becoming frustrating affair, the
latest news is that our planning officer (the one who seems to
spend all his time on holiday) now believes that we will require a
different form of permission. Our civil engineer, like the rest of
us, is exasperated; however she does believe that over the next
week we may be in a position to lay our hands upon the now mythical
piece of paper. I am still being told the paper is good!"
3 October 2006
Even Charles runs into problems despite renovating property in
Crete for sometime. Greek bureaucracy is renowned for being
difficult, but one must obtain the correct authorisation before
proceeding. One would not think that simply renovating a property
would be so complicated. Charles informs us;
"The saga of the olive press is becoming farcical. The elusive
officer in the planning department (the one who was apparently on
holiday for most of July and August) finally came back to work in
September. His contribution since that has not been positive: it
seems that he regarded the paper as not being ‘good’ as
was always previously suggested. The fact that we intended to
re-roof entirely the olive press seems to him to mean that we
should regard the project as a new building. The civil engineer
that we had engaged for this project has been sub-optimal to say
the least. She only seems interested in her own new house and baby
and has not been pursuing our case with the vigour which it
deserves. To this end we have decided to appointed a new, rather
more |
energetic, civil
engineer. It transpires that the planning official does have a
point on the Greek law, however there is another Greek law which
encourages the renovation of old buildings (at last a little common
sense). He intends to make an application for renovation consent
under this other law. We all might have thought that this was the
way to go in the first place, however our previous civil engineer
missed this rather important point. Unfortunately for us all, this
renovation licence together with a small building permit for the
new bathroom is going to take about five months. As you can imagine
at this point in time all of us involved in the project are feeling
rather dejected. So may the winter pass quickly and we will be able
legally to commence our build in the spring".
29 April 2007
"The extraordinary delays that occurred with the planning department have
all but been resolved and now have it on good authority that a
protocol number is about to be given and work should commence
towards the end of May.
As this olive press is such an outstanding property ripe for renovation and
after listening to clients it has
been decided that the renovation is to be upgraded and central
heating and feature fireplace added.
When completed the internal size of the house will be a huge 130m2
which can be (at this stage) reconfigured to the client's
specification [within reason]. If central heating is not a requirement then the price
can be reduced accordingly.
New plans have of course been submitted and there are minor changes
to the original plans offering various improvements".
The renovation is
now expected to be completed in September and now is the time to
purchase this property, in order to add your own specification
regarding colour schemes, tiles, kitchen and appliances.
We will be pleased to take you to see Charles and his architect and to answer
any questions you may have. |
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Should anyone express an interest we will be pleased to take
them to view this project. It could offer the opportunity for an
early purchaser to add their own input, choice of kitchen units,
ceramic tile colour etc
Interested in this property then email
property@crete-connections.com quoting the reference
number |
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