# Cost of living



## Suejw50 (Jul 17, 2016)

Hi, can anybody give me a rough idea of a management cost for a villa and pool, also for utilities, gas, electricity, council taxes ect, many thanks.


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Where in Portugal ?
What size and age of Villa? When was last council valuation review done
What size and type of pool?
Gas for house heating, pool heating, cooking, bottled gas or mains gas ?
Electricity cost is the only non variable - it's 20 cents per kwh anywhere in Portugal
Council tax is based on the rateable value of the property.


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## Suejw50 (Jul 17, 2016)

The villa is in Sao Bras, 3 bed built 30 years ago at a guess, don't know about last council review, pool is 10 x 5 and chlorine, hopefully going to install a solar for heating pool, water is mains and gas is mains, just a bit of a guide would be good, also a bit of an idea on a management cost for house and pool, thanks.


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Suejw50 said:


> The villa is in Sao Bras, 3 bed built 30 years ago at a guess, don't know about last council review, pool is 10 x 5 and chlorine, hopefully going to install a solar for heating pool, water is mains and gas is mains, just a bit of a guide would be good, also a bit of an idea on a management cost for house and pool, thanks.


Easier now I know where you are and moreso as I live nearby. There are a few good professional property management companies that cover that area + the usual mom and pop managers offering a basic service + a few real estate agents that offer to do it to make extra money. (Best to go with a pro outfit, choose one that has 20+ years experience and some building services qualified staff)

Expect to pay either of them around €1000 to €1200 per year + IVA 

A chlorine pool that size is usually 90 to 100 euros a month including chemicals and including extra support if you are letting.

There is no mains gas in S.Bras and a small gas bottle costs €25 - if you are just using it for water heating and a gas hob then a bottle should last 2 months in winter and 3 months in summer so say 6 a year and budget £150

Rates are probably circa €450 for the year but that is a guess - it could be a little more, when a house is sold they tend to take the opportunity of doing a re valuation !

If you run a pool then the Elec bill tends to rack up and you should budget at least €100 a month. Up to double that if you are using AC in summer and elect heating in winter. There are a lot of fixed costs before you even use any + VAT at 23% on top. My own is usually an average of 200 a month but I am planning some PV solar to reduce that significantly,


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## Suejw50 (Jul 17, 2016)

Thanks so much for all the. Information that is a big help, with regards to solar panels any idea of the cost and would they be easy to install


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

Suejw50 said:


> Thanks so much for all the. Information that is a big help, with regards to solar panels any idea of the cost and would they be easy to install


There are various companies locally, some offering bank finance deals some just a direct purchase. You have the choice of a grid connection and selling your energy to the power company or just producing and using your own.

Prices with inverter and installation about €1 per watt (3kw = €3000) but the price trend is downwards and you can save by importing your own panels and doing a DIY install.

As with all alternative energy you need to calculate using 'payback time' as the main factor. Don't buy anything that wont recoup its cost in a couple of years or so.


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## Suejw50 (Jul 17, 2016)

Thank you for all your help, unfortunaltly the sale has fell through in Sao Bras, we also have another house in mind near St Barbara, the only thing putting me off that one is the pool is only small and shallow, do you know if it is easily fixed, can it be enlarged and made deeper and if so do you know any pool people able to do this as would like a quote before proceeding with house


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## MrBife (Jul 26, 2009)

If it's an in ground pool then these things are more or less one 'bit' - walls linked to base with steel, so re making a different size is virtually a new pool as there is nothing much that can be salvaged from the old one. Budget €10k - €14k ish. Plenty of good builders in the area that would be happy to do that kind of job. Most popular idea these days is a single depth pool of around 1.5m - it saves a lot of chemicals, needs a lot less water and stays much warmer.

You could save a little by using a fibreglass insert (see displays at the side of the road near Makro) not so keen myself but they do provide a solution and start from €6k then plus builders work of fitting + pumps and filters etc. So still the same price really as a tiled concrete pool which to me is a nicer thing to actually use and if done properly adds more than its cost to the value of the house.


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## In 2 bikes (Apr 18, 2013)

Check out Cost of Living and type in your city -v- city searches for a cost comparison


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## Suejw50 (Jul 17, 2016)

Thank you


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