We bought this 70 m2 rooftop apartment in Valencia, Spain and we created two 35 m2 rooftop studios out of it. Amongst all the renovation works we also had to request a license to split the apartment into two studios. The initial buying price was 71,5K, our renovation cost around 35k, taxes and other costs 10k, making the complete project around 116,5k. In the end, we managed to sell both studios for 80k each, reaching a total selling price of 160k.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was a rough diamond in a neighborhood outside the city center of Valencia. The 40 m2 rooftop made it the most interesting, as almost the whole year around the sun is out in Valencia. Outside life on a terrace takes on a whole different meaning living here, especially when it as spacious as with this Acacies apartment. The terrace is becoming the center of the apartment - people eat, relax, work, sunbath, lounge, invite friends over, practice yoga, you name it, in a space like this.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Via one of our trusted agents that we are working with the most in Valencia. As he is born in Valencia, he breathes and knows everything that is going on in the city. Although the idea to split the apartment into two studios was ambitious even to him, he was sure that if implemented successfully, there would be a market of interested buyers. In the end, we are selling both studios via him too. A win-win situation.

How did you finance this deal?

- The initial buying price of the apartment: 71,5k
- Paying the downpayment with our own money of around 7k
- Getting a mortgage accepted of around 50k
- Receiving all the other money from partners and investors

The interesting thing is that with a mortgage on the apartment and fundraising investor's money, we were with little to no of our own money in the deal. Who said that you always need to have all the money yourself?.....

How did you add value to the deal?

Splitting a 70 m2 rooftop apartment with 40 m2 of terrace in Valencia, Spain and creating 2 35 m2 rooftop studios with each 20 m2 of terrace out of it.

What was the outcome?

All in costs for the complete project is close to 120k and the selling price for both studios combined 160k, ending with 40k of profits.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Like always, a lot! In this specific project, receiving the license from the municipality to officially split the apartment into two studios took longer than expected. We tried everything to get in between the municipality via our contacts to speed up to process, but nothing worked. When we finally did receive the license, we had problems with our contractor towards the end that led us to decide to stop working with that specific contractor and hire a different one in his place instead.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

If you ever decide to begin projects in Valencia, call us to redirect you or find out yourself to get a hold of the contacts of Simon. Being our agent, he has been one of the people that have proved to be most valuable for us to be working together with. Especially because we ourselves are living in Barcelona (4 hours from Valencia), and he was managing quite some time tasks in our name when we couldn't be there.