Town house in Rethimno, Kastellos

In the hills just east of Rethymno, among the olive groves around the village of Pigi, this detached house is arranged as two separate apartments, one on each floor. They are connected by an exterior staircase, so each functions as a home in its own right.

The house measures 148 sqm across the two floors and stands on a plot of 896 sqm. The ground-floor apartment has one bedroom, a bathroom, a separate kitchen, and a living and dining room that opens onto a covered terrace over the garden, the natural place for a long lunch out of the sun. The first-floor apartment is a little larger: two bedrooms, a bathroom, a separate kitchen, and a living and dining room that opens onto a balcony facing the sea. Each bedroom has its own balcony overlooking the countryside and mountains, and the living room has a fireplace for cooler evenings. The plot also carries a residual building allowance, leaving scope to extend.

The garden currently features a variety of local flora, as well as a kitchen garden where a variety of vegetables are grown for home cooking. There is ample space to build a swimming pool, subject, of course, to obtaining the mandatory permits. Finally, the premises can accommodate parking for several vehicles.

Rental potential
The layout is the strongest rental argument. Two self-contained apartments, each with its own kitchen, bathroom, and living area, with the upper one accessed via a separate exterior staircase. An owner can let both floors independently or live on one and let the other, which widens the range of guests the house can take, from couples to two families travelling together. Crete has one of the longest visitor seasons in Greece, reaching well into spring and autumn on either side of the summer peak, and Rethymno is a year-round town rather than a resort that empties in October. With the town and the north-coast beaches a short drive away, sea views from the upper floor, and open countryside around it, the property sits in the kind of setting short-stay guests look for.

Location – distances
Pigi is a traditional inland village in the hills just east of Rethymno, set among olive groves and built around the usual Cretan mix of a village square, churches, kafeneia, a taverna or two, a bakery, and a mini-market, with the small locality of Agios Dimitrios adjoining it. It keeps a genuine year-round population rather than emptying out after summer. Rethymno town, with its Venetian harbour, old town, shops, and services, is about 9 km away, roughly a 15-minute drive.

• Pigi: 900 m

• Platanes Beach: 5.5 km

• Rethymno: 9 km

• Spilies Beach: 13 km

• Chania International Airport: 76 km

• Chania (Centre): 68 km

• Heraklion: 77.5 km

• Heraklion International Airport: 78.5 km