What to expect
| Typical duration | Villa 24–36 months end to end · renovation 6–14 months |
|---|---|
| Cost band | Figures live in the cost index |
| Permit required | Yes — included in the package |
| Seasonal constraint | Programme allows for the closed-season labour peak |
What turnkey includes here
The word is used loosely in the market, so here is the specific boundary that matters.
| Included | Excluded unless agreed |
|---|---|
| Feasibility and plot assessment | Property search and purchase negotiation |
| Architect and engineer appointment and coordination | Legal conveyancing and title work |
| Survey, permit file and all approvals | Tax and residency advice |
| Full construction and external works | Art, personal effects, specialist collections |
| Kitchens, bathrooms, joinery, flooring, glazing | Ongoing property management after the defects period |
| MEP, air conditioning, pool, landscaping | Rental licensing and listing setup |
| Furniture, lighting and soft furnishing where instructed | Anything you specifically want to buy yourself |
| Commissioning, snagging and handover documentation |
The two conditions that make it work
Turnkey fails for the same two reasons every time, and both are avoidable.
- A specification that is actually frozen
- Turnkey pricing assumes a defined output. Changing the kitchen after the joinery is in production is a variation whatever the contract is called. We front-load the specification decisions and put them in a schedule you sign, so that "turnkey" describes a defined building rather than an open-ended intention.
- One named decision-maker with authority
- Where a couple or a family disagree by email across time zones, the programme stops and no contract structure fixes that. A contractor will ask for one nominated person who signs, with whatever internal consultation you want happening before it reaches us.
How you see progress from abroad
Most turnkey clients are not in Greece for most of the project, which makes reporting the product as much as the building.
- A written report every week, whether or not there is news. Silence is what overseas owners complain about, and it is entirely avoidable.
- Dated photographs at the same vantage points each week, so progress is comparable rather than decorative.
- A video walk-through at each stage boundary, and on request.
- The programme reissued whenever it changes, with the reason stated — not quietly re-baselined.
- Variations priced and sent for written approval before the work happens, with the programme impact stated at the same time.
See managing a build from abroad for how this works in practice, including what is asked of you at your end.
Where turnkey is the wrong choice
If you enjoy the process, live nearby, or want to select every fitting personally, a traditional contract with you actively involved will give you a better building and probably a cheaper one. Turnkey prices the removal of your involvement, and if you were not going to be involved anyway that is good value — if you were, you are paying for something you then override.
It is also a poor fit for a project with a deliberately open-ended scope. Turnkey works from a defined output; "we will see how it goes" works from a schedule of rates.
Questions people actually ask
Can you buy the furniture too?
Yes, where instructed, and it is usually sensible — furniture crossing by ferry has the same lead-time exposure as building material, and coordinating it with the handover date avoids a finished house with nothing in it. You approve a schedule with images and prices before anything is ordered.
How are payments staged on a turnkey contract?
Against completed and inspected stages, with retention held to the end of the defects period. Never against the calendar. The stages are set out in your contract before you sign.
Do you charge a percentage or a fixed price?
Both models exist and each suits different projects. A fixed price needs a genuinely frozen specification; a cost-plus or management model suits projects where the scope is still moving and gives you full visibility of the underlying costs. We will recommend one and explain why.
What if I want to change something halfway through?
You can, and it is priced as a variation with the programme impact stated at the same time. The honest warning is that a change after a long-lead item is in production costs far more than the item itself, because it costs the slot on the boat as well.