The outside of this Kamini Property for sale as apartment, shop or taverna

Looking into the room at the back right corner showing step up and door to WC's & Shower

Looking from the WC's to the front corner next to the front door to the street

Kitchen with window and door to street at rear of property

the other end of the kitchen showing industiral sized extractor from days when it used to be a taverna

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The outside of this Kamini Property for sale as apartment, shop or taverna

I suggest you squint at the pictures and imagine the main room without any furniture. It's is almost square, very slightly wider than it is deep (from the front to back).

The room is very light with big windows and a partially glazed door at the front. There is an open serving window in the back left corner between the kitchen and the main room which lets light in at the back through the kitchen window and back door (partially glazed).

The "bathroom" is impossible to photograph because currently it's all cubicles, but isn't a bad size, roughly 2m wide and the same depth as the kitchen (approximately 3m). There isn't a window but an extractor fan could be installed opening onto the path behind.

Some thoughts as an apartment:

This is definitely a property for someone who just wants a simple base on Hydra at a low price (if there is such a thing on Hydra!) that doesn't require a fortune to sort out and make very comfortable. As an apartment it would be ideal for a single person or couple who spend most of their time out and are not too worried about the lack of outside space or not having a view.

You could buy this property and use it exactly as the current owners are doing, ie making a bit of income from renting it to young workers on the island who don't mind sharing a dormitory. (The current tenants don't come with the property I hasten to add, you would buy it with vacant possession of course.)

You could buy this property and live with it exactly as it is. A bit basic, but it is completely sound and structurally there is nothing wrong with it so no extra immediate costs once you're bought it.

Or you could add up to €20,000 on top of the purchase price and your legal fees to modify it a little. Personally I wouldn't invest more than this because it would be over the top and you wouldn't get your money back for a few years if you decided to sell and upgrade. Being realistic this is only ever going to be a starter home and won't ever compete with other properties on Hydra that have views and outside space which increase in value more quickly.

The woodwork of the windows is at the moment sound but in need of rubbing down and repainting as a minimum. Because the street is a busy thoroughfare I would personally replace the windows with new double glazed ones and the same with the front door. This will not only cut down the noise but also help with the internal temperature control. (Budget approx 2 * 1,500 for the windows and 2,000 for the door completely finished and painted, total 5,000)

The ceiling of the main room is particularly high and boarded over. I would be tempted to investigate whether it would be possible to remove the boards and open up the ceiling to the rafters to get even more height. But even if not possible/viable, there is sufficient height to make a mezzanine floor in the back corner (see 2nd picture) for a double bed and side cabinets. Not right into the corner because you need access to the WC but attached to the right wall as you look into the room from the front. Then underneath I would build wardrobes and draws to make a dressing room using curtains for privacy (you could possibly incorporate a sofa bed too for guests). It would take up about a quarter of the main room. I'd put the stairs up to it on the same side as the bathroom so they wouldn't intrude into the middle of the main room. (Budget about €6,000 to do this.)

Next I would enlarge the serving window and merge it with the door to the kitchen to open it up so more light comes into the main room (budget about a €1,000 but maybe a bit less if you don't have to fit an RSJ). Rip out the existing kitchen (budget €1,000 to get rid of the rubbish), replace with simple white kitchen cupboards from IKEA (budget about €1,000) install normal house hold appliances (oven, hob, extractor fan, fridge freezer budget about another €1,000 if you buy on the island to avoid the hassle of getting them over from Athens).

Gut the bathroom and fit with simple shower, WC and hand basin (another €1,000 plus the cost of a washing machine if you want one).

I'd knock myself out in IKEA going for a minimalistic look for furniture spending no more than €800 on key pieces of furniture, rugs and huge mirrors.

The flooring is of fairly good ceramic floor tiles so I'd be inclined to live with them but use rugs to create areas in the room.

Paint the place from top to bottom in white including the ceiling (or rafters) probably spending about €800 including paint.

I would then buy 3 or 4 of the largest indoor shrubs I could lay my hands on at Ermioni plus some chunky pots to put them in spending about €600.

And the final touch would be to find some old solid wood panels, doors or even old weathered planks, to make into a 4 of 5 panel screen which I would put about 1.5 meters away from the front door to screen the interior from view when the front door is open.

Add some payment for a project manager to supervise the work for you if you're not on the island and you should be able to stay under a budget of €20,000.

And if you wanted to earn some income when you aren't using it, a place like this could be rented on a weekly basis at a sensible rate of €560 per week for probably 16 weeks of the year.

Some thoughts as a shop:

The street that this property on is the main thoroughfare on the inland route from Hydra Town to Kamini and it gets a lot of passing trade. What type of shop that would be successful here would have to be carefully considered though. Definitely not a tourist shop and not another supermarket. But perhaps an interior design/home furnishing shop would do well here IF you were catering to home owners rather than tourists. The island desperately needs somewhere that homeowners can obtain upholstery fabric and soft furnishings and even furniture (from catalogues) but careful consideration as to how you would get stock up from the harbour would be necessary.

Some thoughts as a taverna:

I'm not particularly enthusiastic about the idea of reopening this property as a taverna - I can't help thinking that there was a good reason why it shut in the first place! I would seriously doubt whether a taverna in this location with no outside space could possibly compete with the Pirofani, the Kodylenia, Chirstina's or the Petroleka tavernas in Kamini. BUT what I suspect would go down extremely well would be a take-away food shop selling souvlaki, pizza, jacket potatoes with different toppings, burgers and pasta dishes. Somewhere that was open from 6 - 10:30 each evening I suspect would do well and be very popular in Kamini - if you throw in home delivery by donkey I think you'd be onto a winner. And of course you could move the kitchen to the front and have a small apartment behind.

To summarise, if you're looking for a foot hold on Hydra, don't dismiss this property - it does have some potential especially as you wouldn't need to get planning permission to make internal alterations and change the windows. You would be able to start immediately upon completion of the sale.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions or to arrange a viewing.