Valencia Property Blog

We have mentioned our modernisation service before on this blog about how we help our clients to get a property with the "right bones" and then get them a renovation at a good price meaning they get exactly what they want. Some people though have been asking us for before and after shots of what we have been doing. We have never really taken many before shots and the afters are difficult because as soon as we finish the furniture gets moved in and our clients start living there. However after a lot of insisting on my behalf to our renovation team about getting some photos from before, after and even during renovations it's time to show you what we do. However, firstly, a little bit of information...

Price. Renovations differ in price according to what you want to do of course. If we have to demolish walls, move bathrooms, install new bathrooms and kitchens, change the plumbing and electrics, change all of the windows or even more expensive restore current windows due to building regulations, then it's a little different from just retiling some walls or laying a new floor. You can usually estimate the price at the time of writing this at least (May 2023) at somewhere between 800-1000 Euros per square metre.

On top of this you need to add in licences, project management fees which are 200-250 Euros per week depending on the location of the property and extras if you decide to go above and beyond what is included in a typical modernisation eg, if your tiles are 80 Euros per square metre because you decide to get some ultra expensive Porcelanosa tiles as opposed to the normal excellent quality tiles at 20 Euros per m2 then the price goes up accordingly. multiply the extra cost by the m2 required. The installation is still the same price.

Look At Some Of Our Renovations

Take a look at some of our Valencia Property renovations. In many cases these were full modernisations including demolition, full reforms and even reorganisation of the spaces. In other cases we just did the kitchen and floors. All of these were in the city. We are going to take a look at one of our renovations outside the city in a future blog post.

La Zaidia

This was a full renovation where we had to take into account the added difficulty of where the downpipes were. An original four bedrooms and one bathroom with the kitchen and the bathroom being far away from the living area was converted into a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a huge living room and most importantly a glassed in terrace was recovered to take advantage of the outside space and enjoy the great view over the riverbed and city.

So what's above became what's below.

Salamanca

Similarly Calle Salamanca was a full modernisation requiring a redistrbution of spaces and the inclusion of a washroom. This time a four bedroom apartment with the kitchen and living room to the rear was totally turned round and now has a large living area and open plan kitchen to the front with the rear now converted into an office (Soundproofed) with two large bedrooms, two bathrooms and the aforementioned laundry room.

The amount of demolition required can be seen in the following images.

And it became this.

Jacinto Benavente

Another property where we performed a full modernisation and totally changed the layout. Where the kitchen and dining room were we now have the main bedroom with en suite and to the front of the property where there was a bedroom and living room it has now been converted into a large kitchen and dining area with a new bathroom and living room area.

The big bed above is where the kitchen is in the photos below. We did the archway as a surprise for the owners and they loved it. It's now become a signature part of our reforms.

Turia

One of the important parts of the modernisation we carried out in Calle Turia was recovering and maintaining the original floors in most rooms. Again there was a change of layout needed with the kitchen becoming an integral part of the living area. Downpipes limited the layout but we were very happy with the final result.

False ceilings were taken out and new ones put in. Floors were cleaned and shined and we got the following in the end. A great example of modernity and tradition married together.

Filipinas

Calle Filipinas was just the installation of a new kitchen. The main job here was finding a worktop and floor that complemented each other well and using as much space as possible for cupboards.

We chose the tiles and worktop you can see above and when put together with the units you get the following. Clean lines, modern looking with a traditional looking floor.

Puerto Rico

Calle Puerto Rico is different to the rest as we don't have the original photos. This was one of our modernisations from six years ago and when the owner decided to sell it a few weeks ago we got to show off what our reform team had done. A four bedroom, one bathroom apartment had become a 2 bed 2 bath place with an open plan living area and kitchen and we even managed to create a decent sized terrace and washing area to the rear. When the owner listed it on the first day of visits he had five clients and three full priced offers. It pays to do a good renovation.

Do You Want Our Team To Look at Your Renovation?

We have project managers, builders, architects and interior designers available to make your ideal property into a home. Our clients, those who have bought with us, get preference always but now and again we have availability to look at other projects. If you are interested in working with us then drop us a mail with details of what you want doing and we can take a look.

Our builders give competitive pricing and more importantly reliability, no walking off jobs half way through, no taking the money and running and no delays or surprises. (Covid and supply chains permitting)

Property of the Week

It's a Eurovision theme this week and we put up a property on Friday with loads of Eurovision references. How many songs can you recognise? And what would you do with this space? An excellent renovation project perhaps.

Sometimes there is a need to make a song and Wild Dances about things, especially when there's not a lot available in the city and we’re trying to tick the boxes for clients, for some we are the Heroes, so its time to Rise like a Phoenix and praise Hard Rock Hallelujah when Love Shines a Light and we Believe.

So even thought there might not be a huge Euphoria, In Your Eyes at first glance when viewing the photos, you can actually do All Kinds Of Everything to this quiet and well located large apartment. Zitti e buoni.

Four Bedrooms, Two bathrooms, Living Room, Kitchen, Terrace and a garage space available, plenty of Boom Bang a Bang for your buck anyway.

So, don’t be Running Scared, Aprez Toi, and Ne Partez pas san Moi, EveryBody wants a Fairytale
Soon you will find that there comes a time for Making your Mind Up.

Fly on the Wings of Love and take a look at this great place, I guarantee you’ll Save all your Kisses for Me, I’m just a Puppet on a String and because clients are My Number One, I help Everyway that I Can.

As we say in Valencia, Diggy-Loo Diggy Ley, A-Ba-Ni-Bi, A-Ba-Ni-Bey.

Interesting...

The Netflix series Black Mirror has been filming in L'Eliana. There's a bit of a famous 1970's house designed and built by Miguel Camañes that has been used for many TV series as it's just a bit different. The Black Mirror team were looking for a special house for an episode in the sixth series and came upon this place. They were so impressed they devoted a whole episode to it when initially it was just going to be to film a few scenes. The new series of Black Mirror comes out in June and it should be worth watching but not only to see this amazing house.

Tip of the Week

Something that we are always asked is where can I get a good paella? So many places of course but there are a few that are better known and generally better than others. Avoid the tourist traps around the town hall with reheated pre-prepared stuff and head towards the following. Here's a few of the award-winning paella restaurants in Valencia:

Restaurante Levante: This is one of the most famous paella restaurants in Valencia, and it has won numerous awards for its delicious paella. The restaurant is located near the beach, and it is known for its friendly service and cozy atmosphere. The terrace by the beach isn't bad either.
Casa Carmela: This restaurant has been serving up traditional Valencian paella since 1922 and has won many awards for its culinary creations. The restaurant is located near the Malvarrosa beach, and it is known for its excellent service too. One of the favourites of many of our clients.
El Racó de La Paella: This restaurant has won several awards for its paella, including the prestigious Paella Valenciana contest in 2012. The restaurant is located in the heart of Valencia rather than down by the beach.
La Pepica: This restaurant has been serving paella since 1898, and it has won numerous awards for its culinary creations. The restaurant is located near the beach, and it is known for the fact that Hemingway visited (Where didn't he visit?).
Restaurante La Marcelina: This restaurant has won several awards for its paella, including the best paella award at the National Paella Contest in 2012 (Yes, each year there is more than one paella making contest, who knew!). The restaurant is located near the Malvarrosa beach and specialises in seafood dishes as well as paella.

Others you should consider you can find in El Palmar, just go into any of them there as they are all pretty good. And remember that the traditional Valencian paella doesn't have any seafood, it's chicken, rabbit, green and white beans and sometimes snails. All of the other dishes are "Arroz con cosas"

Whether you're looking for traditional Valencian paella or a creative twist on the classic dish, you're sure to find a restaurant in Valencia that will satisfy your taste buds (and you'll also find some real crap so be careful out there).

Coming Up On The Blog Next Week...

There's trouble in paradise... Golden Visa news as it certainly looks like the scheme is going to be wound up soon and what's going on with the Digital Nomad Visa? Easy for self employed, almost impossible for employees. We take a look at why there may be a little trouble in coming to paradise (We like to think of it as a little bit of paradise anyway)