The Benefits of Hiring a Project Consultant in Spain

MDCI are experienced Project Consultants, supporting developers to make crucial decisions and offering them expert insights, analysis and strategies to deliver their projects, complying with the initial targets. We are brought in by developers to assist and advise on particular elements of the project, or during key periods such as planning, due diligence, project monitoring or project management.

Project Consultants are highly valuable to the success of a project, offering benefits including better compliance, cost savings, and a smoother process through tricky stages such as licencing applications, contract negotiations and development process and feedback systems. When you’re developing in Spain, and dealing with different rules, regulations and building practices, in a foreign language and with unfamiliar construction processes, this is even more valuable.

In this blog, we’ll be going into depth on the benefits of hiring a project consultant in Spain and explaining how MDCI’s project consulting service can help you.

1. Remove the jeopardy from ensuring you comply with local and national regulations in Spain

Spain’s bureaucracy often ties inexperienced developers up in knots. Lack of knowledge can lead to compliance issues which can cost many thousands to rectify, or significantly delay or derail developments from being completed on time. But when you have a Project Consultant advising you on the specific legal, zoning, and environmental regulations that apply to the region you are operating in, and on your development parameters, all the guesswork is removed.

A project consultant helps you comply with the required building codes and apply for the permits required in a timely manner. They can also advise you on time frames and optimum processes to ensure you comply with urban planning laws and do not become one of the thousands of unfinished developments that you see around the Costa del Sol.

They can also advise on labour laws and contracts if you’re hiring local workers and ensure that you are aware of the taxes and financial implications of developing in Spain, so there are no nasty surprises, fines, or delays. Find out more about mistakes with building licences in Spain

2. Save you time and money

Developers need to keep costs down and efficiency high, to ensure a good return on investment. Some try and save money, by not hiring an independent Project Consultant, but this is definitely a false economy.

If you bring in a Project Consultant, particularly in the early stages of the project, they help prevent costly mistakes, delays, or overspending. They do this by supporting you to budget accurately, and ensure there are no unexpected expenses to reduce profit margins. They will also ensure that your payments are properly scheduled in a comprehensive cash-flow plan, that payment milestones are correctly registered and controlled and no unnecessary and risky upfront payments are made.

They can also be involved with the bidding process, negotiating with contractors and suppliers to drive down costs. MDCI typically saves our clients 10-15% through their value engineering process, more than covering their costs.

Project Consultants can also be brought in to plan out and streamline the project timeline. Their local knowledge of how long things take, lead times on particular supplies, and availability of quality workmen is invaluable to planning a realistic build schedule. With this in place, you can ensure that all parties will work together seamlessly and are brought in at the right times. This plan reduces downtime and improves the efficiency and speed of the build.

3. Reduce the risk of building in Spain

Investors want to remove as many risks as possible with their construction projects. To do that, you need to understand the local environment and planning constraints and put the people and processes in place to face any challenges.

With an experienced local Project Consultant to advise you, you can reduce or remove delays due to bureaucratic hurdles or supply chain issues. You can also avoid legal disputes with contractors or authorities, by getting ahead of it and ensuring you’re doing the right things from the outset. You can also ensure there are no unexpected costs from poor planning, so you’re entering into the project with clear cost projections and achievable timelines to communicate with investors and shareholders.

It’s the Project Consultant’s job to identify and mitigate risks before they become major problems.

4. Ensure you’re bringing in trusted, professional partners, who will make the project a success

Developers who are working in an unfamiliar environment, such as Spain, have a real disadvantage. They don’t have a trusted network of professionals and don’t know where to find them. They are also less able to assess the quality of a company or professional due to language and cultural barriers. But, by bringing in a local, highly experienced Project Consultant at the planning and tender stage, they can introduce you to reliable, trustworthy and professional Architects, Engineers, Contractors, Suppliers, Legal and financial advisors etc.

They can help you to review any bids and contracts, and check out their work and background, to ensure you don’t end up at risk of being taken for a ride, or face substandard work jeopardizing your project.

5. Project Optimization and Quality Control

Developers are judged by the quality of their projects and cannot risk for a project to not meet their usually high standards. Bringing in a Project Consultant at the planning stage and for periodic inspections and reviews, they can ensure high-quality execution, with the best materials and techniques and spot any substandard work, before it causes issues.

They can also advise on how to achieve and maintain sustainability and energy efficiency standards, which are so important in today’s climate.

Last but not least, they can support with the planning to ensure that key deadlines are in place, with guidelines for quality benchmarks to be met and penalties imposed on any supplier or contractor who does not hit these dates or qualities.

6. Assistance with Grants and Incentives

Spain offers grants and tax benefits for certain aspects of construction projects and these can save you thousands. There are incentives, grants and tax breaks available in the areas of renewable energy, innovation and real estate developments which support and benefit the local community. A consultant can help identify available subsidies and tax incentives and handle the application processes.

MDCI are experienced project consultants in Spain and available to support you to make the right decisions and oversee elements of the development to ensure costly mistakes are avoided. Find out more about how we help Developers to successfully complete projects in Spain, or contact us to discuss how we can support you as a Project Consultant, Project Manager, or Project Developer.