# Buying - Initial Costs and Annual Costs



## Laurenred (Jan 24, 2020)

Hi - I'd really love to buy a coastal place in Spain - max 30 mins cycle from beach (budget of max €70k though) and am trying to find out what additional costs are involved. I've read to factor in an extra 10-15% over the house price (for VAT/ITP/ADJ/estate agency fees, valuation costs, notary costs,Spanish Land Registry fees, legal fees ) plus money for furnishings ?

In addition to this, what would you reckon is an average cost of a property per year for maintaining (again, I'm reading that there's property ownership tax/IBI . I was thinking of letting it out / air bnb but I see there's a lot of costs involved in this (19% income tax, key holder/management company, cleaners, utility bills). For those who do let out their property, how does it work for you and would you recommend it?

It seems to be a bit of a minefield (then again buying property anywhere probably is) and in my head I'm trying to figure out if it's easier and cheaper to just rent places whenever I want to go to Spain given all the costs involved - my head says rent / my heart wants to own a property. My ideal is to have a bolthole to pop over for long weekends, kids mid-term and summer holidays if possible - ultimately to retire to (though my contract states I retire at 70 !! so who knows)

Any thoughts / info / guidance would be really welcome.

Many thanks


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

Laurenred said:


> Hi - I'd really love to buy a coastal place in Spain - max 30 mins cycle from beach (budget of max €70k though) and am trying to find out what additional costs are involved. I've read to factor in an extra 10-15% over the house price (for VAT/ITP/ADJ/estate agency fees, valuation costs, notary costs,Spanish Land Registry fees, legal fees ) plus money for furnishings ?
> 
> In addition to this, what would you reckon is an average cost of a property per year for maintaining (again, I'm reading that there's property ownership tax/IBI . I was thinking of letting it out / air bnb but I see there's a lot of costs involved in this (19% income tax, key holder/management company, cleaners, utility bills). For those who do let out their property, how does it work for you and would you recommend it?
> 
> ...


A lot of your questions are really hard to answer because they depend on area/type and size of property etc.

As you said, depending on the area you should budget 10-15% extra for buying costs/taxes. Then the ongoing things really do depend, again on the area, type of property etc. You will certainly have IBI but this could be very small or very expensive depending on multiple things. I, for example live in a rustic finca and therefore because of the type of land I pay a couple of hundred a year in IBI. I know people who have flats and pay a hell of a lot more. Taxes will of course be applicable on income but remember that you cant simply let out a property, it needs to be registered as a holiday let, inspected, meet standards etc (fees depend on area).

In additional to the costs that you have mentioned, also keep in mind the comunidad (the amount that you will pay, along with all of the other owners to cover maintanence of communical areas and so on. This may not apply if you own a completely independent house on it´s own plot with no shared facilities, but certainlyif you are looking at a flat or a house with shared facilities on an urb (pool etc) then this will apply. Again, it´s hard tosay. My mother-in-law lives in a flat in a city and actually pays a fairly modest amount (around 50 euros a month) as the only thing shared is the lift. I have friends on the other hand who have a lovely flat by the sea with pools, grounds and so on, and their community fees are more each month than my mortgage!

As for letting it out, depends on whether you want to make an income from it or simply cover the yearly costs so that you have a place to go on holiday with the expenses covered. The latter is probably more doable in all liklihood but you really need to be sure on yoru area and then do trips, look at places and do the sums. Which area you thinking of ? Because Spain has a lot of coast line and so many places 30 mins cycle inland from the coast!


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## ccm47 (Oct 15, 2013)

Our 2 bed flat on the outskirts of coastal Aguilas in Murcia with its shared pool and grounds, lifts, trastero, and underground parking costs just about 2k€ a year for community charges, IBI, insurance and utilities.

We tried renting it out but neither company we used was completely honest e.g. once told occupancy was 1 family for 2 weeks when water bill suggested much longer, so it sits there now ready for us to occupy whenever we want.

Hope that helps.


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

ccm47 said:


> once told occupancy was 1 family for 2 weeks when water bill suggested much longer


Maybe they were just a very clean family who liked to shower a lot 🤣🚿🛀


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## Laurenred (Jan 24, 2020)

Many thanks for all the info - really appreciate it. Definitely a lot to think about in terms of ongoing costs. It's a bit of a minefield alright. Areas thinking of at the moment are around Valencia region (Belleregard, Rafelcofer, Gandia, Oliva etc) and Lobres/Salobrena (or anywhere that comes up with 1.5 hour max of direct airport from Dublin, walking distance to town/bars/restaurant and close enough to the sea to cycle - all within a 65k euro budget ....wishful thinking )). Fingers crossed will get there some day in the near future. Many thanks for all the guidance - it really helps.


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