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Services Service 4 of 6

Renovation & refurbishment

Building work goes wrong in the gaps: between what you assumed and what was priced, between the drawing and the site, between the last payment and the snag list. We close those gaps for owners who cannot be there to do it themselves.

A renovation you cannot visit is a renovation you cannot supervise, and unsupervised building work drifts — in cost, in programme and in quality. The drift is rarely dishonest. It is the accumulated result of small decisions taken on site because nobody was there to take them properly.

Our job is to be the person who is there. We define the work before anyone prices it, tender it properly, hold the money against progress rather than against invoices, and photograph the site often enough that you can see for yourself what your money bought.

What this service covers

01

Scope, specification and budget

Most renovation disputes trace back to a scope that was never written down. We start by writing it down — in enough detail that three contractors pricing it are genuinely pricing the same job.

  • Measured survey and existing-condition record before anything is designed
  • Written specification down to finishes, fittings and standards
  • Drawings prepared or coordinated with your architect
  • Realistic budget with a contingency stated openly, not hidden
  • Long-lead items identified before they can delay the programme
  • Feasibility checked against community rules and local planning first
02

Tendering and contracts

We put the same specification in front of several vetted contractors and compare what comes back line by line — because the cheapest tender is usually the one that left something out.

  • At least three tenders from contractors we have worked with before
  • Bids normalised so you compare like with like, not headline totals
  • Exclusions and provisional sums flagged before you sign anything
  • Written contract with programme, payment stages and retention
  • Insurance and licences of every contractor verified
  • Award recommended with reasons — the decision stays yours
03

Running the site

Someone from M13 is on site regularly through the whole build, and you get to see what they see. No payment is released for work that has not actually been done.

  • Site visits at agreed intervals, more often at critical stages
  • Photographic progress report each week, sent to you
  • Payments released against verified progress, never against promises
  • Variations priced and approved by you before the work proceeds
  • Programme tracked, with slippage reported when it happens
  • Permits, community notifications and neighbour management handled
04

Handover and warranty

The last five per cent of a renovation is where most owners give up and accept an unfinished job. It is the part we are most useful for.

  • Room-by-room snagging list with photographs
  • Retention held until every item is closed out
  • Certificates, test results and sign-offs collected
  • Manuals, warranties and as-built information filed per property
  • Appliances and systems registered in your name
  • Return visit after the first season to catch settlement defects

How it runs

  1. 01

    Brief and feasibility

    What you want, what the building allows, what the rules allow, and roughly what it costs. Better to lose an idea here than after a contractor has been appointed.

  2. 02

    Design and specification

    Drawings, finishes schedule and written specification, plus any permits or community consents the work needs.

  3. 03

    Tender and award

    Competitive pricing from vetted contractors, normalised and presented with a recommendation and reasons.

  4. 04

    Build and handover

    Supervision, weekly photographs, staged payments, snagging, and a complete document file at the end.

How this works country by country

Costa del Sol, Spain

Most work in Marbella needs a municipal licence, and anything touching the structure, the façade or common elements also needs the community's consent. Both take time, and starting without them is how a project ends up stopped by an inspector.

  • Municipal works licence obtained before work starts
  • Community consent and neighbour notification for façade or structural work
  • Summer working restrictions in tourist zones planned around
  • Local trades booked early — August effectively removes a month

Central Switzerland

In the Alps the constraint is the calendar. The building season is short, the winter season is when the property earns, and a project that overruns does not simply cost more — it costs a season of income.

  • Works planned into the window between seasons
  • Cantonal and communal permissions confirmed before appointment
  • Material deliveries scheduled around mountain access
  • Completion dated to protect the opening of the winter season

What you receive

  • Specification and cost plan

    What is being built and what it costs, in writing, before anyone starts.

  • Tender comparison

    Bids normalised side by side, with exclusions exposed.

  • Weekly progress report

    Photographs, programme position and spend against budget.

  • Handover file

    Snag sign-off, certificates, warranties, manuals and as-built information.

Questions about this service

Talk to us · info@m13property.com

Do I need to be there at any point?

No. Every project we run is set up on the assumption that you are not in the country. Owners who do want to visit usually come once, at the point where finishes are being chosen — and that can equally be done by video.

How do you stop the budget drifting?

By writing the scope before anyone prices it, stating the contingency openly, pricing every variation before it is built, and releasing payment against verified progress. Drift almost always starts with a scope that was too vague to price properly.

What size of project do you take on?

From a single bathroom to a full refurbishment. Below a certain size a full project-management structure costs more than it saves, and we will tell you when that is the case rather than sell it to you.

Can you work with my own architect or designer?

Yes, and often that works best. They own the design, we own delivery: tendering, contracts, site supervision, payments and handover.

Other services

All services

Not sure which of these you need?

Describe the property and how you use it. We will tell you what it realistically needs — including the parts we would not charge you for.

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