Costa del Sol
Renovating in Marbella as a foreign owner
· 2 min read
You can renovate a property in Marbella without being here, but four things are needed: a fixed written quote with a delivery date, someone trusted with keys, a weekly reporting channel with photos or video, and clarity about who handles the permit. What causes most problems is not the distance but late decisions: every choice delayed by a week usually costs a week of programme.
What to settle before you leave
- The signed quote, with measured items, specific materials, start and delivery dates and payment terms.
- The chosen materials: flooring, tiles, sanitaryware and taps. This is what delays a remote renovation most.
- Who holds keys and who can authorise a minor decision without consulting you.
- How and when you will receive progress updates: a fixed day of the week and through which channel.
- The community's details: administrator, permitted working hours and whether any authorisation is needed.
Paying from abroad
Payments are made by bank transfer to the company's account, against an invoice and by milestones. If your bank is outside the eurozone, allow a day or two for value date and for the exchange fee; it is worth planning so that a milestone is not delayed by banking logistics. Always keep the receipt: it is what evidences each completed milestone.
Weekly reporting
A short video once a week is worth more than twenty loose photos: you see the real state, you hear the explanation and it is recorded with a date. It is exactly why we film our projects, and it also lets you check whether the pace matches the committed date.
The three most common mistakes
- Choosing materials as you go, from abroad. Lead times for a worktop or windows run into weeks: order late and the crew stands idle.
- Assuming the community will authorise changing the windows. Many Marbella developments have strict façade rules and one meeting a year.
- Leaving nobody able to decide minor points. Stopping work for two days over a ten-minute question happens more than you would think across a six-hour time difference.
Language
Having the quote and contract in your own language is not a courtesy: it is what lets you check what is and is not included. We work in Spanish and English, and we record a good share of our site videos in both languages for the same reason.