Availability: Projects is currently full and is not taking on new projects.
Renovating on the Costa Brava sounds manageable — until the contractor stops sending updates, the budget starts shifting, and decisions get made on site without you. Whether you're there in person or managing it from abroad, it's a different country, a different working culture, different rules, and nobody whose job it is to hold it all together.
Casa Connecta coordinates the renovation on your side: contractors, architects, permits, budget, timeline, communication. Independent, working only for you, in your language, so budget, timeline and communication stay aligned throughout the project.
We don't build. The architects, contractors, and ayuntamientos already have their own experts, and the technical and design judgement stays with them. What Projects adds is one party whose only job is making sure it all fits together, in the buyer's interest.
No new renovation projects are being taken on at the moment. That is a capacity limit rather than a temporary rush: Projects works exclusively in Baix Empordà and always with an on-site visit, and that does not scale.
This page stays up because the explanation of permits, costs and who is responsible for what is useful without signing up for anything. There is no sign-up route right now; if you want to get on with the purchase itself, the products are on the homepage.
We work primarily in the Baix Empordà — Begur, Pals, Palafrugell and the coastal villages around Calella de Palafrugell, Llafranc and Tamariu. The houses here are typically older masias, village houses, or coastal apartments — often beautiful, often more complicated than they look in the photos.
The renovations we coordinate typically run between 3 and 12 months, depending on what's involved. A standard project involves an architect, a main contractor, and three to five trades — electrician, plumber, tiler, carpenter, sometimes a structural engineer. Managing them is our job. Building is theirs.
Where things usually drift: the work expands quietly if no one is watching. Budgets creep up. Trades end up idle waiting for each other instead of working in parallel. And by the time you notice from abroad, the work is well behind schedule and the budget is well over. Before you get to that point, our renovation cost indicator for Baix Empordà gives you a realistic budget range by scope and surface area.
It rarely goes wrong all at once. It slips, week by week, until it's too late to correct course.
Almost any structural renovation on the Costa Brava requires a permit from the local ayuntamiento. The two most common ones:
For work that doesn't touch the structure: updating kitchens or bathrooms, replacing tiles, painting, basic electrical or plumbing work.
For structural changes: extensions, removing walls, façade modifications, new builds, swimming pools. Requires architect-signed plans.
Older homes sometimes also need an updated cédula de habitabilidad — the certificate of habitability — before work can be approved and utilities reconnected.
Each ayuntamiento applies the rules slightly differently. What runs smoothly in one village can take twice as long in the next. The permit application itself is the architect's job. We coordinate the process around it: built into the plan early, prepared for municipality-specific requirements, and alert to permit requirements that weren't yet on the radar.
Most renovations don't stall because of the trades. They stall because no one is connecting the parties.
The contractor speaks Spanish or Catalan, the architect uses their own technical language, the supplier shows up on a different day than agreed, and the ayuntamiento sends a letter you can't read. On site or from a distance: without someone actively connecting these parties, miscommunication and delay happen on their own.
That's where delays usually begin. Costs no one mentioned upfront. Decisions taken on site that you only hear about three weeks later. A schedule no one is actively holding.
What's missing is someone watching independently. Not to replace the trades — to make sure they deliver what was agreed, when it was agreed, within the agreed budget.
Most renovation projects on the Costa Brava run between 3 and 12 months. We're with you for the full duration.
Send us a short message about your property and what you're considering. We come back with a first read: what's likely involved, what the timeline could realistically look like, and what's worth a closer look before any contracts are signed. A renovation project usually involves a site visit: we come by the property to see the situation first-hand and map out what's involved.
Based on what the renovation involves, we pull together the team — architect, main contractor, trades — from our local network. Not selected for the lowest price, but for reliability, communication and realistic budgets. We brief them properly, gather comparable quotes, and review them with you independently. No referral fees, no kickbacks, no hidden interests.
Once work starts, we keep everyone connected: contractors, architect, suppliers, ayuntamiento. We track progress against plan and budget, flag deviations early, and translate what's happening on site into clear written updates — in your language, on a rhythm we agree upfront.
We sign off the work together with you, check that cédula de habitabilidad and final permits are in order, and make sure outstanding items are resolved before handover. After handover, we stay available for any questions or loose ends.
We bought our own place here in 2025 and renovated it fully — electrics, plumbing, bathrooms, kitchen, plastering and window frames. We know every step of the process, including the moments when the schedule slips and course correction is needed.
We work only for you. No commissions from contractors. No referral fees. No hidden interests. Our income comes from you. That's why we protect your interests, even when it means holding a contractor to what was agreed.
We live and work in Baix Empordà. Our network of architects, contractors and trades has been built over years and tested through our own purchase and renovation. We know who delivers what was agreed, and who doesn't.
No jargon. No vague updates. We translate what's happening on site into clear written updates in your language. Even when the news is inconvenient. Especially then.
Building, design, and technical execution are for the architect, the contractor, and the specialist trades. What Projects adds is the overview: budget, timeline, communication, and progress, only for the buyer, without commissions from the other parties.
A contractor executes, but doesn't watch the whole picture from your perspective. We make sure timeline, budget, and communication stay connected, even when several parties are working at once. That's a different role, and the two complement each other.
No. We work exclusively in Baix Empordà, because local involvement is the core of how we work. We know the municipality, the trades, and the local rules. Outside that area we couldn't deliver on that, and we say so honestly.
We come by the property before anything is agreed. We assess the condition, the scope, and the points that need attention, and give an honest first estimate of what's involved. That's the basis for every project. Our renovation cost indicator gives an initial budget impression based on scope and surface area.
A renovation plan has little value while the purchase isn't settled yet. If financing is still part of your process, start there: what is possible financially is the bank's call and your own adviser's, and you would rather know that before you think about the renovation.
Already have the property and is it about the renovation? Then you're in the right place.
Permits, costs, timelines and contractor selection before renovating on the Costa Brava.
Read the guide →Calculate a realistic budget range based on the scope and surface area of your project.
See the indicator →Which documents a Spanish bank asks a non-resident for, and in what order.
See the document list →Projects is not taking on new renovation projects at the moment and there is no sign-up route. What you read above is an explanation, not an offer.
Useful without signing up for anything: the renovation cost indicator for Baix Empordà gives a budget range by scope and surface area, and the renovation guide covers permits, costs and planning.
Building, design and technical responsibility sit with the independent trades involved in a project. Casa Connecta carries out no construction work and holds no technical responsibility.
