It is beautiful, it is in the right location, and it is the right price...your ideal home in Spain!
It just needs to be freshened up a bit and you would like to add your personal touches to it, with a small renovation it will be just perfect!
Of course you’d like a nice wooden floor and you wonder if it would be possible to join the kitchen with the living room in order to gain space and light. You also seem to remember that the estate agent told you that there is no central heating (how strange, the house is only 30 years old takes away too much light... No doubt that pine tree in the garden will have to be taken down as it takes away too much light...
At this stage a few new questions will probably arise:
“How much will it cost? How will I carry out the works? Will I need to ask for any building permission? How will I deal with the Spanish bureaucracy if I don’t even speak the language? Is there anything else I should know about?
Now you realise that the help of an experienced architect, with the right contacts, a good knowledge of the local rules and regulations and bilingual skills, would really be useful to you.
Let’s try to break down all your questions and see what can be done:
Did you know that solid wooden floors are not very common in Spain? They can be very expensive and it could be difficult to find good workmanship for laying floors.
Or why not consider ceramic? Did you know that Spain is the leading supplier of clay in Europe? There are so many amazing options of all qualities and prices
If you would like to change the internal layout, there is no problem. Of course, you will need to check whether the walls are light partitions or structural, in which case you would need to add some reinforcement.
Also, you should be aware that, for such a type of change, you need an architect to present a project proposal to the local authorities and wait for them to grant planning permission. If you are undertaking a lighter renovation, such as painting, tiling and renewing kitchen and bathroom furniture, it would be sufficient to notify the council that you are carrying-out these types of works. Once again, an architect can complete the necessary forms on your behalf.
What about the central heating? You almost certainly come from a colder country than Spain, and you will no doubt, find it very surprising that many houses and apartments in Spain don’t have central heating.
Many estate agents will try to convince you that a small cooling/heating air conditioning unit will be sufficient. This is probably not completely untrue – if your intention is to live in your new property only in the summer.
That said, we would not recommend that you visit in the colder months of January and February as you may well find it distinctly uncomfortable!
Finally, what about the Pine tree? Did you know that the Mediterranean Pine is a native species of Spain and is therefore protected? If you want to remove one, you can contact the local council and a few months later they will send someone out to look at it.
They will probably tell you that it doesn’t look too old or dangerous and therefore it must stay. On the other hand, bear in mind that the Pine tree will provide you with precious shelter during the hot summer days!