MDCI Blog

SIMED is Malaga’s annual property event, which took place between the 7th and 9th of November at the Palacio de Congresos in Malaga. Mark Lawson and the MDCI team visited as they do every year to link up with contacts and friends in the second home market. Attending these shows is a very good way to get a check on the property market. It allows us to have in-depth conversations to find out more from trusted partners regarding issues with supply and demand, as well as buyer trends and requirements. This knowledge helps our team better advise our project development clients on what developments the market is demanding, support them with setting prices and also support our luxury villa clients on building the most desirable villa for resale.

It is vital to produce cost estimates in the planning stage. This will help you to see whether their design and vision is affordable and attainable given your budget. It will give you a guide during the design phase, to keep your ideas and your architect in touch with reality. A small change can have a big impact down the line. The tendering process to select a construction company, or suppliers, is a vital step to ensuring you have the right people involved in your project and that you are not paying over the odds. Your project managers, alongside your architect, will compile a shortlist of 3-6 possible constructors. These will be made up of reputable construction professionals, who we feel would be able to deliver the project and any constructors you would like to be considered.

COVID changed a lot of people’s minds about where they wanted to live and how they wanted to live their lives. It made people value family time and free time and gave many the opportunity to work remotely. This new perspective and freedom to work from anywhere has led many families to think where they want to be and start dreaming of a life under sunny skies, where their kids can grow up and have a wonderful childhood. Thanks to the new Digital Nomad Visa, people who are able to work remotely for international companies can easily come and live in Spain and bring the family with them.

Construction is big business across Spain, with more than 60,000 people employed in the industry in the Malaga province alone. During the hottest part of the summer, July and August in particular, most construction sites work on a reduced scheduled, starting and finishing early, to avoid the hottest part of the day. With an expert on the ground who understands both the local customs, work rate and processes and your culture and expectations. They will be able to explain how a building project in Spain will run and set a realistic timetable, helping you to adjust your expectations to where you’re building. Remember that schedules should be aligned to payments.

We were brought in by La Cala Golf Resort as project managers to ensure that the whole process with their expansion in luxury dwelling construction and delivery of their prestigious Golf Resort in 1999 was organised, transparent, ethical and targeted. We managed the design teams, the bidding and construction activities throughout, to ensure all seven projects were delivered to their customers on time and on budget. Overall, we delivered 168 luxury townhouses, 168 luxury apartments plus luxury golf-side villas.

Our CEO and lead Project Developer Mark Lawson was delighted to talk to Mark Elliott de Lama, from Fluent Finance Abroad about our project management and project development services. In this great video, Mark provides insight into the process of building in Spain, stressing the importance of having a knowledgeable project management team to avoid costly mistakes and delays. He elaborates on the steps involved, such as selecting architects, obtaining building licenses and auditing project documentation. We hope you find it useful! 

Time and time again, the savings, efficiencies and guarantees that we are able to secure for our clients willl exceed our fees. So, in effect, we’re making you money, not costing you money overall. Add to the fact that we reduce stress, remove the jeopardy from building in Spain and keep everything running to time, and you could say that project management is priceless!

When you start a building project, the first thing you look at is how much is it going to cost. This figure will guide you as to whether you can afford to build that dream family home, or whether it is profitable to build a development or hospitality project. But beware of early quotes that come in quickly from builders, as they are very unlikely to be remotely accurate.

Before choosing a plot or project scope, you need to make sure you are connected to utilities and have enough power or water available to enable your project to function. In the cases where this is not currently in place, studies need to be done to allow you to understand the cost implications of connecting up to the grid or adding water systems and how much capacity you need. You could be in for a shock.