How to sell your property faster, and for more money

Let's take a look at a few key points: the current trend, how much to invest in a refurbishment, fiscal and legal advantages and how to get started.

• Table of contents
• The demand for fully-refurbished homes is there
• How much to spend on a refurbishment?
• Tax and legal advantages when refurbishing
• Property renovation Marbella
• How can Panorama help?

In Marbella, we have seen an extraordinary demand for fully renovated homes, as long as they are refurbished in such a manner that they look new, feature the latest in design trends, and are ready to move into. Buyers are willing to pay a significant premium for these kinds of properties, sometimes over 100% of its pre-refurbishment value, and some buyers will only consider viewing properties of this kind to begin with! With that in mind, if you can afford it, it almost always makes sense to refurbish before selling.

This is perhaps the most important question to answer. You do not want to spend too much on refurbishing a property and end up finding that, while the refurbishment itself is beautiful, nobody wants to pay the amount of money you are asking for to purchase a property in that particular area or complex. In a handful of Marbella areas and complexes, you can spend as much as you want on refurbishing a property as the demand is huge in those neighbourhoods. But in others one has to be more careful. Have any refurbished homes in the same complex or neighbourhood as your property sold recently? If so, what did they look like, what did buyers appreciate the most in that property? What price did it sell for? This is where it is crucial that an experienced agency like Panorama can help guide you.

When renovating a house there are some possible tax advantages, such as the tax deduction of improvement costs in the main residence or the reduction of VAT to 10% for other specific improvements. You can also avoid potential legal issues after selling a property arising from allegations of defects or hidden problems in the property such as cracks, damp, defective installations, pests, etc.

Okay, I want to renovate, how do I get started?

Some renovations are simple and straightforward. Most are not. You’re going to want to make sure that the end result is very commercially appealing – one’s own taste is not important here – instead, you want to create something that will be in very high demand.

Pulling everyone together

You will want to consult with interior designers, possibly also with architects, and once you have planned what you want, get quotes for building and furnishing from a variety of construction companies and providers.

“…Buyers are willing to pay a significant premium for these kinds of properties, sometimes over 100% of its pre-refurbishment value… ”

Common pitfalls

Beware of quality control issues leading to out-of-control budgets, licensing fines, problems resulting from lack of proper planning, and significant delays. These are the main issues we see time and time again amongst owners without local experience in refurbishing that try to take on the job themselves. This is where Panorama’s Client Services department can be extremely helpful.

Led by Jo Borda, Panorama’s Client Services Director, we can help you manage your project and make introductions to select companies that have done excellent work for Panorama clients in the past. Meet different designers and architects, consider quotes from a variety of construction companies, get introductions to companies that do specialty work. Unlike other similar services, all Client Services introductions strictly do not involve any kind of price inflation from the provider, and are commission-free for all Panorama clients.