Part 1: The surprising benefits of building your own villa.
Since we are discussing our Spain plans with friends and acquaintances, it has been surprising to hear how many people are dreaming of having their own house in Spain. Sometimes for vacations, but also to move to after retirement. 330 days of sunshine is very attractive anyway.
Are you then going to buy an existing house or apartment through a broker? Are you buying a new house from a project developer or are you going to build entirely in-house? All options have their advantages and disadvantages. It is going too far to go into this in great detail now.
We have considered all options and ultimately opted to build in-house. Completely building yourself might be a bit scary at first. Spain is far away and is everything going well? How do you arrange that there, without having any experience with it?
In practice it appears to be easy to solve and there are surprisingly many advantages:
- Build exactly the house you want. Obviously with due observance of the building rules in Spain. Spanish houses are picturesque, but also very closed. We want something more inside/outside in an open Ibiza style.
- Much more insight into the quality and materials. In the past, construction was massive and quality and building regulations were not always taken into account. Project builders also sometimes take the shortest route and cut back on costs. At first sight everything looks nice, but we also hear and see many problems afterwards.
- Construction costs are significantly lower in Spain. For the amount where you do not yet buy a terraced house in the Netherlands, you can build a complete villa on a spacious plot in Spain/Mazarrón.
- Not more expensive than ready-made buying. Okay, the budget can go up a bit because you want to realize all your wishes. But you also have that if you buy an existing house and modernize it.
- Everything is legal, so with the correct building licenses. In the past, the correct permits and requirements were not taken into account. Much has been built illegally and unfortunately many builders went bankrupt in the 2008 crisis. The government is now tightening the strings. You could say that it is now just as well and tightly organized as in the Netherlands.
- Spain learns you to be patient. Of course we know the word “mañana” in Spain, which is often used there. It is important to know for everyone who is going to build in Spain that obtaining a building permit will take some time. Unlike in the Netherlands, it is not possible to say in advance how long this will take.