SOBE Knowledge
Flip & Renovation Calculator
A renovation only pays if it clears two sets of transaction costs. Enter the buy, the works and the exit, and find the sale price below which the whole exercise loses money.
The property
Andalucía: 7% ITP plus notary, registry and legal fees.
The exit
Agency fee and legal. Plusvalía and capital-gains tax are separate.
The number to stare at
Break-even sale price — the figure below which the renovation, the effort and the risk return nothing.
Spain punishes short holds. Buying costs 9–14%; selling costs another 3% or so in agency and legal fees, before plusvalía and capital-gains tax. A €500,000 purchase with €30,000 of works needs to clear roughly €600,000 just to return the money — which is why a flip is a value-creation exercise, not a market-timing one.
The margin therefore has to come from the property, not from the year: a plot with unused buildability, a dated layout in a prime community, a planning problem you know how to solve. If the profit in your model depends on prices rising while you work, you are not flipping — you are speculating with a paintbrush.
What this calculator leaves out
Overruns. Renovation budgets on the coast slip, and licences take longer than the quote assumes. Run the model again at 120% of the works budget and two months longer, and see whether the deal survives.
Tax on the gain. Profit is shown pre-tax. Non-residents pay 19% on the gain, with the buyer withholding 3% of the price at completion; residents pay progressive savings rates. Renovation invoices raise your acquisition cost and directly shrink the taxable gain — keep every factura.
Licences. Structural works need a licencia de obra mayor. An unlicensed renovation is not a saving; it is a discount you hand to the next buyer's lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
How much profit should a property flip make in Spain?
There is no benchmark, but the arithmetic sets a floor: with roughly 10% in buying costs and 3%+ in selling costs, a flip must create meaningful value through works, planning or repositioning before it makes anything at all.
What is the break-even sale price?
The price at which total money out equals total money in — purchase, acquisition costs, renovation, holding costs and selling costs. Below it, the project loses money regardless of how well the renovation went.
Are taxes included in the profit figure?
No. The figure is pre-tax. Capital-gains tax and plusvalía apply on sale, and non-resident sellers also have 3% of the price withheld at completion on account of the gain.
Do renovation costs reduce my tax bill?
Documented improvements raise your acquisition cost, which reduces the taxable gain when you sell. Invoices are the proof — without them, the deduction does not exist.
Is flipping realistic on the Costa del Sol?
It is a specialist exercise rather than a general strategy. Transaction costs mean the margin has to be created — through works, unused buildability or a planning problem solved — not waited for.
Related
General information only — not financial, tax or legal advice, not a forecast, and not an offer. Results depend entirely on the assumptions you enter and are shown before tax. Rates, lending criteria and tax rules vary by circumstance and change over time; verify current rules with a qualified professional before making a decision.