Lately, I can’t stop thinking about this run-down, off-grid property in Jávea, Alicante. There’s something about taking a place that’s been left to rot and dragging it, kicking and screaming, back to life. The one I’ve got my eye on? It’s a wreck. Like, properly falling apart. No one’s lived there in—what? Decades, maybe? Roof’s caving in, some of the walls look like they might just give up entirely, and the whole thing needs everything from plumbing to electricity. But still. There’s something there. A two-storey house with a riurau, a kitchen, a big lounge, a bathroom, and three bedrooms upstairs. I can see it. Sort of.
The estate agent, with the kind of confidence only estate agents have, tossed out a renovation estimate: €200,000. That number alone almost knocked me over. Way beyond what I can afford. My partner, ever the optimist, insists her dad could help us rebuild it. Love the enthusiasm, really do. But let’s be real—us, on weekends, armed with a YouTube tutorial and a borrowed cement mixer? That’s not going to cut it. So before I let myself spiral too deep into fantasy land, I need to do the math. Figure out if this is even remotely possible.
Let’s start with the worst of it: the roof. A big chunk of it is gone, which means it’s not just replacing tiles—I’m talking full structural work, new beams, the lot. The whole thing is about 80m², and from what I’ve read, I’m looking at anywhere from €70 to €200 per square metre. That means—best case—€5,600. Worst case? €16,000. If by some miracle the beams are fine and I only need new tiles, I might get away with less, but I doubt I’ll be that lucky.
Then there are the walls. One section—around 10 metres—just isn’t there anymore. Missing. Gone. If I have to rebuild it from scratch? That’s thousands. But if the rest of the structure is sound and I just need plastering and paint, it won’t be as bad. Plastering’s about €20 per square metre, painting adds a bit more. The real problem is figuring out whether the standing walls are actually standing or just pretending.
The second floor makes me nervous, too. The bedrooms are up there, but do I trust the floor? Not even slightly. If the whole thing needs replacing, I’m looking at €15,000 to €25,000, easy. If it’s just a surface job—new wood slats, ceramic tiles—it could be more like €15 to €80 per square metre. But again, I don’t think I’m getting that lucky.
Then there’s plumbing. There’s no septic tank, which means I’d have to install one. Plus, I’d need to run pipes, fit two toilets, two showers, a kitchen sink, a bath—the whole deal. If I’m starting from scratch, I could be looking at €10,000 to €15,000. If some of it can be salvaged, maybe less. But again—blind optimism isn’t a strategy.
And, of course, there’s no electricity. No grid connection. Nothing. So that means an off-grid solar system big enough to power a house, including air conditioning for the brutal summers. A setup like that could run me anywhere from €6,000 to €15,000, plus rewiring the whole place, which is another €3,000 to €6,000.
Windows and doors? A lot of them are either missing or rotting in place. Replacing everything—frames and all—could easily hit €10,000 or more. If, by some stroke of luck, the frames are fine and I only need to swap out glass and doors, it might be half that. But let’s be honest, nothing about this house screams “structurally fine.”
And then there’s the kitchen and bathrooms. I could probably get a basic, functional kitchen for €6,000 to €10,000. Two bathrooms? Another €6,000 to €12,000. If anything in there is even remotely salvageable, great—but I’m not counting on it.
So, adding it all up:
- Roof: €5,600 to €16,000
- Walls: €5,000 to €15,000
- Flooring: €5,000 to €25,000
- Plumbing: €10,000 to €15,000
- Electrical: €9,000 to €21,000
- Windows & doors: €5,000 to €12,000
- Kitchen & bathrooms: €12,000 to €22,000
That puts me somewhere between €51,600 and €126,000, and that’s before I factor in permits, labour, finishing touches, or the inevitable disaster waiting to happen. So was the estate agent’s €200,000 estimate fair? Yeah. Painfully so. Once you throw in unexpected costs, it could easily hit that number—or blow right past it.
And that’s the thing. I love the idea of rescuing a place like this. But this isn’t some slow-burn weekend project where we fix up a room here and there between coffee breaks. This is a full-blown rebuild, requiring time, money, and skills I definitely don’t have.
For now, I’ll keep dreaming. But at least I know what I’d be signing up for. And it’s a lot.