There is a version of property ownership that almost nobody talks about — the one where the property earns money for most of the year, covers its own costs, and is still entirely available to you whenever you want it. It is not a compromise. It is, for many of our clients in Loutraki and the Corinthia region, the best arrangement they have ever made.
This is how it works in practice.
The basic idea
You buy a property in Loutraki. For most of the year — particularly the high-demand summer months from May to September — the property is managed by MARE and rented to short-term guests through platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com, and our own direct booking site at rentals.mre.gr. The income from those rentals covers your mortgage payments, maintenance costs, and management fees, with money left over.
When you want to use the property yourself — Easter, a long weekend in June, your whole August — you block those dates through an app on your phone and the property is yours. No notifications, no complications, no guests. You arrive to a professionally cleaned, fully prepared home.
Does the rental income actually cover the costs?
The honest answer is: it depends on the property. A well-located, well-presented two-bedroom apartment in Loutraki, managed properly with dynamic pricing, can realistically generate €8,000–€14,000 in rental revenue per season under our Full Service package. A larger villa or a property with a private pool will earn substantially more.
After our management commission (25% for Full Service, which covers everything including cleaning), most owners in that range are covering their annual costs — mortgage interest, ENFIA property tax, utilities during rental periods — and generating a net income on top. The numbers vary, and we will give you an honest projection for any specific property before you commit to anything.
You stay in control — completely
This is the part that surprises people most. Many owners assume that handing a property to a management company means giving up control. In practice, with MARE, you have more visibility over your property than most owners who manage themselves.
- The owner app shows you live occupancy, upcoming bookings, and monthly earnings in real time
- You can block any dates for personal use at any time — no notice period required for reasonable personal use
- You receive a full income statement every month, itemising every booking, every deduction, every transfer
- You are notified before any maintenance is carried out — nothing happens to your property without your knowledge
What happens when you arrive
When you come to stay in your own property, the experience should feel like arriving at a well-run hotel — except it is your home. We carry out a full professional clean and linen change before every owner stay, just as we do for every guest. You arrive to a fresh, prepared property. We hand you the keys, check in briefly to make sure everything is as it should be, and then we disappear. The property is yours.
If anything needs attention during your stay — a maintenance issue, a question about the neighbourhood — we are available. But we do not intrude.
The lifestyle case
Beyond the financial logic, there is something to be said for having a place that is genuinely yours in a place you love. Many of our clients are Greek nationals living in Athens or abroad who wanted a connection to the coast without the full burden of maintaining an empty property year-round. Others are international buyers who fell in love with Loutraki as visitors and wanted to find a reason to come back regularly.
When the property is earning for most of the year, the cost of your own stays there becomes negligible. Your summer holiday is, in effect, funded by your guests' previous visits. You stop thinking of the property as an expense and start thinking of it as an asset — one that also happens to be somewhere you love to be.
Is Loutraki the right location for this?
We think so, and we are obviously not neutral. But here are the objective reasons: Loutraki has year-round demand (not just summer) because of the casino, the thermal spas, and its proximity to Athens. It is 80km from central Athens on the Corinthia coast, which means it captures the enormous Athens weekend-escape market as well as international tourists. And it remains significantly undervalued compared to island locations with comparable rental yields.
For buyers who want a property that earns, a place to spend their own holidays, and a long-term asset in a market that is still rising — the combination is genuinely difficult to beat.
If you want to explore this further
The best starting point is a conversation about a specific property. We can give you a realistic rental income projection, an honest assessment of the costs, and a clear picture of what to expect in the first season. No pressure, no commitment — just numbers and answers. Contact Kostas directly or come in to our office on the main square.