TURNING DERELICT RUINS INTO DREAM PROPERTIES

Most of the time - with careful planning and negotiation, you can achieve your dream property at a lower investment than starting with something 'key ready'

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STEPS

1. Decide your budget

2. Articulate your dream - ie, I've got a budget of €200,000 and I want a four bedroom property, with a knockout kitchen, some outside space and stunning views, within a ninety minute drive from Alicante or Valencia airport

3. Contact us to set up a video or face-to-face meeting to talk through the options

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SERVICE

• Through our network of agents and friends, we will find a selection of derelict properties that meet your dream criteria - this means they can be purchased and renovated within budget to achieve your dream outcome

• We show you these via video tours and/or in person 

• We support you through the buying process - including introducing you to a gestor (a unique role in Spain that's a cross between an accountant and a lawyer, who will manage all the legal aspects of the purchase) 

• Once the deposit is paid and the sale is going ahead we introduce you to an architect to plan any structural or external renovation

• We also work with an interior designer to plan the style and depth of finish you want to achieve

• Once you are happy and the plans are agreed, with the architect, we present these to the local town hall to get the necessary licence to undertake the reform

• We then source and project manage the contractors entrusted to do the renovation work

• We. contact the utility companies and ensure you have the right wattage of electricity and mains water - there's no mains gas in Spain

• We take care of all the finishing touches - including putting oranges in your fruit bowl, milk in your fridge and handwash in your soap dispensers

• If you want to rent the property out, either as a long term rental, or via short term holiday lets (Airbnb), we can take care of the ongoing property maintenance and guest management for you

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TIMELINE

The right derelict property might be easier to find than you think - key requirements are the size of the property and the location - in the mountains; sea views; access to great hikes and cycle routes... . Everything else, dependent on your budget, can then be brought to life

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Typical time frames - to source, buy, renovate, and rock up, ready to go - range from six to eighteen months; partially dependent on the size of the property and the scale of the reform; a house with a strong structure and a great roof doesn’t come with the same time investment as some still-standing-walls that indicate the rebuild footprint 

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Recent project:

• Started the search on 16 April

• Arranged viewing on this specific property 04 June

• Made offer/ offer accepted 06 June

• Sale completed 23 June

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That's super fast and we managed to negotiate a better price with the owner for such a speedy completion

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On the flipside, if the property has legal complications - for example if the owner has Alzheimer's - the sale can take as long as 12 months

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On average, expect the process - once the property has been found and the sale agreed - to take 3-6 months

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During this time, once you know the sale is going to go through, behind-the-scenes planning can start to create floorplans and a schedule of work. Depending on what needs doing, this may have to be done in conjunction with an architect

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Once the sale is complete, plans can be submitted to the relevant town hall for their approval; which grants you the necessary licence to undertake the work

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On our above project this took just over two months, because we hit the Mediterranean no-go zone, otherwise known as August

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This project - to create a four-bed, four-and-a-half-bath, holiday rental - because it has a solid external structure and a new roof... although no internal walls, usable floors, kitchen, bathrooms, electricity, or windows... will take five months to complete

 

Nine and a half months from starting the search to achieving the dream!

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CASE STUDY

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