Para Reformar
Renovating a house in Ibiza is not for the faint of heart. Nobody warns you. And if they do, you don’t listen. Because you’re strong enough to paddle through, and you know it’s where your money should flow.
You heard the stories. You know the reputation. You’re still here. Because you love Ibiza. And you love renovating. You just can’t help it.
Back at home, looking out of your grey window wallpaper that’s been idle for months. You put a dash of “Sal de Ibiza” on your morning eggs, you sip a “Café de Ibiza”, and you read the “Diario” on your phone. Idealista push notifications on. Something’s itching.
Just let go, surrender and hold your breath. You did your due diligence, you bought the “casa payesa” with “terreno” and you're ready and able to turn it into your own cosy home away from home — Ibiza interior included (not that you'll spend much time indoors, but hey).
Jokes aside, real-estate lingo incoming. Good location, decent papers, an excellent architect / interior designer (we may know someone), and every euro you pour — pun intended — into the renovation tends to come back to you and then some. The inflation-corrected gain on a finca renovation here is hard to find anywhere else, and a turnkey refurbishment multiplies on top of that. No promises, just patterns.
High risk, high reward. Patience.
It gets even better when you decide not to sell — which is what most people end up doing. Because you’ll get addicted. It starts with coming over twice a year. Two turns into five, and before you know it your friends are moving here too, asking their experienced islander friend how to get a NIE. So you keep your casa reformada, and every time you experience the cheeky price hike at your favourite little restaurant ("wasn't the dorada €24 last year, honey?"), you happily pay the bill knowing full well the same hike applies to your precious house.
There's no shortage of candidates. About seventy thousand houses on the island, many of them built quickly in the seventies, eighties and nineties, and plenty of them ready for a new life — just like you. True hidden gems waiting for some TLC to make them shine again.
Ibiza has always been “in fashion” somewhere in the world since the first bohemians settled here in the fifties and sixties. Geopolitical shifts (pardonnez notre French), living trends du jour and lifestyle pilgrims ensure that every soul leaving the island (they never really leave, do they?) is more than replaced by an influx of expatriate nest-fleers. Different crowds, different vibes, different reasons. Same island.
So consider yourself part of the lucky few if you get to acquire and renovate a property here. The gain comes with the pain. And next time you're at the local bar, you can finally join the conversation with your trigger-happy renovating compadres about how works took a bit longer than expected and the budget was slightly exceeded.
It’s your medal of honour. Wear it with pride.
“No Hay Prisa, Es Ibiza”
Photo & Credits: Casa Amor finca renovation at dusk— by Studio Go, with thanks to selling agency Mudita Consulting and photographer Backlight Ibiza