It has been a uphill battle, a true polemic for sure and it continues to be. I'm having trouble securing the elusive 700sqm needed to round out my property to equal 4 acres (stremmata στρέμματα) and as a result I may end up paying a huge fine. My fists are up and I'm ready to dodge and weave. I'm not down for the count.
It would have been a lot worse, however, if I had never found Peter Boufeas, my engineer/builder (mihanikos μηχανικος). Some would say that I played "Internet roulette" and lucked out that I didn't get the bullet in the head. But I don't gamble. I'm a risk taker, methodical and well researched, but not a gambler. You'll never find me pulling the handle on a slot machine, crossing my fingers and holding a plastic cup waiting for the coins to spill out. Moronic. You may find me however waiting in line at Caesars Palace with a martini to get tickets for the Cher concert.
His company, Naquatec S.A. (http://www.naquatec.gr/), was one of six that I had contacted 3 years ago. Dad died in April of that year and I made contact with Boufeas and the others in July. I needed to fire the original builder/mihanikos μηχανικος, known here only as PI, but I needed to find another first.
Based on what my father revealed to me during his last few months, he did not trust PI anymore. Actually, "trust" is the wrong word...dad didn't trust anyone. More along the lines that PI did not have my father's best interests at heart. From what I recall, the roof construction was the tipping point for dad, so he asked his brother Nikita, may his memory be eternal, for another builder. Nikita found some one else to put the roof on at half the price. As a result of this, the relationship soured between PI and dad and thus the project lapsed. If only dad really knew how bad the situation was with the house...but his instincts were correct. So with that limited information, I trusted my father and ventured forth looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack; an honest builder in Greece.
Vetting the 6 builders was certainly a process of elimination and it wasn't necessarily what Boufeas said, but rather what the others did not say. They were vague and evasive and didn't take my enquires seriously. While a couple of them did respond, it wasn't with eagerness or enthusiasm, but almost like I was bothering them. Perhaps if I was male, they would have regarded the queries as legitimate. I needed answers right away and I pressed one builder so hard with questions that he just gave up! Peter Boufeas, confronted with the same series of questions, gave it as good as he got it. Not only did he answer all my questions with specifics and details, he also offered to visit the property and meet with my Uncle (Theo θείο ), Mr. Parthenios. Excellent.
Turns out that Boufeas is from the very same town, Kalamata and not only has he built houses in the region of Messinia, but also has done works for the town. So I knew he was connected. Look, I interview people for a living. And over my 12 years in the media business I've spoken to Prime Minister's, Police Chief's, movie stars, doctors, lawyers, horse whisperers, Mayors, authors, journalists, drug addicts, bank robbers, psychics and porn stars...I'm not afraid to talk to anyone. Besides, the cream always rises to the top.
So, if you haven't heard me speak of him before, be prepared because he plays a significant role in the telling of this corrupt story. He is the protagonist, the leading man and if I had to cast a Hollywood actor to play his part for the making of this movie, it would be Hugh Grant. But not the self-deprecating introvert character that Grant often portrays. Boufeas is half English, half Greek which automatically gives him an edgier vibe. Uber confident, smart, bursting with flare and drama, a real man's man, yet has a refined coolness that reigns him in from time to time.
He is a good family man, preppy and slightly overly domesticated, and he can be paternalistic with me on occasion, which annoys me, but secretly welcomed...especially when negatives things have been said about my father. He once said to me, early on, which surprised me, "Don't go into that meeting with that tone and body language. You'll get their back up and nothing will get accomplished." Damn, am I that antagonistic? He is actually quite intuitive, for a man.
Boufeas did a lot of the early leg work revealing the illegalities of the house and property on spec, which of course we all know was a shock to me and quite unbelievable. And he offered solutions that were honest and forthright, not convoluted and deceptive. And he continues to battle for me, which goes above and beyond his job description. He is a real patriot and I think he sees himself as a warrior of sorts, a demi-god, fighting through all the negative branding that Greek people have endured, rightly or wrongly, and by default unfortunately, he is also lumped into.
So in the immortal questions that Bonnie Tyler begs the answers to, "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods? Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds? " He is right here ladies and gentlemen, Mr Peter Boufeas.
Sure, I'm paying a premium for Boufeas' full service business, I know that. But he brings peace of mind knowing that he is operating an honourable company, above board and without a tainted history.
He is a straight shooter and can roll with the corrupt red necks in Verga, because if it weren't for him, I may have broken a few.
It would have been a lot worse, however, if I had never found Peter Boufeas, my engineer/builder (mihanikos μηχανικος). Some would say that I played "Internet roulette" and lucked out that I didn't get the bullet in the head. But I don't gamble. I'm a risk taker, methodical and well researched, but not a gambler. You'll never find me pulling the handle on a slot machine, crossing my fingers and holding a plastic cup waiting for the coins to spill out. Moronic. You may find me however waiting in line at Caesars Palace with a martini to get tickets for the Cher concert.
His company, Naquatec S.A. (http://www.naquatec.gr/), was one of six that I had contacted 3 years ago. Dad died in April of that year and I made contact with Boufeas and the others in July. I needed to fire the original builder/mihanikos μηχανικος, known here only as PI, but I needed to find another first.
Based on what my father revealed to me during his last few months, he did not trust PI anymore. Actually, "trust" is the wrong word...dad didn't trust anyone. More along the lines that PI did not have my father's best interests at heart. From what I recall, the roof construction was the tipping point for dad, so he asked his brother Nikita, may his memory be eternal, for another builder. Nikita found some one else to put the roof on at half the price. As a result of this, the relationship soured between PI and dad and thus the project lapsed. If only dad really knew how bad the situation was with the house...but his instincts were correct. So with that limited information, I trusted my father and ventured forth looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack; an honest builder in Greece.
Vetting the 6 builders was certainly a process of elimination and it wasn't necessarily what Boufeas said, but rather what the others did not say. They were vague and evasive and didn't take my enquires seriously. While a couple of them did respond, it wasn't with eagerness or enthusiasm, but almost like I was bothering them. Perhaps if I was male, they would have regarded the queries as legitimate. I needed answers right away and I pressed one builder so hard with questions that he just gave up! Peter Boufeas, confronted with the same series of questions, gave it as good as he got it. Not only did he answer all my questions with specifics and details, he also offered to visit the property and meet with my Uncle (Theo θείο ), Mr. Parthenios. Excellent.Turns out that Boufeas is from the very same town, Kalamata and not only has he built houses in the region of Messinia, but also has done works for the town. So I knew he was connected. Look, I interview people for a living. And over my 12 years in the media business I've spoken to Prime Minister's, Police Chief's, movie stars, doctors, lawyers, horse whisperers, Mayors, authors, journalists, drug addicts, bank robbers, psychics and porn stars...I'm not afraid to talk to anyone. Besides, the cream always rises to the top.
So, if you haven't heard me speak of him before, be prepared because he plays a significant role in the telling of this corrupt story. He is the protagonist, the leading man and if I had to cast a Hollywood actor to play his part for the making of this movie, it would be Hugh Grant. But not the self-deprecating introvert character that Grant often portrays. Boufeas is half English, half Greek which automatically gives him an edgier vibe. Uber confident, smart, bursting with flare and drama, a real man's man, yet has a refined coolness that reigns him in from time to time.
He is a good family man, preppy and slightly overly domesticated, and he can be paternalistic with me on occasion, which annoys me, but secretly welcomed...especially when negatives things have been said about my father. He once said to me, early on, which surprised me, "Don't go into that meeting with that tone and body language. You'll get their back up and nothing will get accomplished." Damn, am I that antagonistic? He is actually quite intuitive, for a man.
Boufeas did a lot of the early leg work revealing the illegalities of the house and property on spec, which of course we all know was a shock to me and quite unbelievable. And he offered solutions that were honest and forthright, not convoluted and deceptive. And he continues to battle for me, which goes above and beyond his job description. He is a real patriot and I think he sees himself as a warrior of sorts, a demi-god, fighting through all the negative branding that Greek people have endured, rightly or wrongly, and by default unfortunately, he is also lumped into.
So in the immortal questions that Bonnie Tyler begs the answers to, "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods? Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds? " He is right here ladies and gentlemen, Mr Peter Boufeas.
Sure, I'm paying a premium for Boufeas' full service business, I know that. But he brings peace of mind knowing that he is operating an honourable company, above board and without a tainted history.
He is a straight shooter and can roll with the corrupt red necks in Verga, because if it weren't for him, I may have broken a few.
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