Adding value to flats/apartments?

Ok so before I start, I'd really like to say I do not want or need any replies telling me I am crazy to do this at this time in this country bla bla, I know I am crazy but sometimes you just have to follow lifes plan and do what you can with it :)


So basically I moved to Turkey 2 years ago and am currently here with my Turkish fiance (who is an urban planner) and we together want to start up a property renovation business in the 3rd biggest city here, Izmir. Business is a complicated word... but we want to make our money from renovating and selling 2-3 houses per year for a very comfortable and flexible life.

Everything was going great and we had a perfect first project until some personal issues caused us to loose a huge chunk of our budget, and now we are left with just enough money for a small flat/apartment and a bit of money to renovate it and I am wondering if this can actually be profitable? We are thinking around 60% of the budget for the property and 40% for the work.

I've read a lot of books and done a lot of research about this type of business but unfortunately most of these materials are only about renovating houses/building. Which makes sense when you think about it. When you own an entire building you have the options to renovate the outside space, the loft, the basement, do structural work, so many things that make a HUGE difference to the value of a property. But with an apartment in a building you dont own there is not much left to do, especially if it is a small place like what we can currently afford :(

So the question is: is it possible to make a profit from this type of project and so little money to invest? What type of property would be profitable? And what types of work could be done for maximum profit?

Thanks for any advice!
-Dan


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