What expenses will I have to pay as a homeowner in Spain?

Having your own home is an important step in anyone’s life, although it may seem that once you have bought the house of your dreams the expenses are over, but no. Having a house involves several expenses that you must pay, such as:

1. Mortgage

This is the highest fixed expense that homeowners pay. Keep in mind that ideally you should pay a mortgage that does not represent more than 35% of your household income.

2. Community expenses

Unless your home is an independent house, you must pay community fees for the use of common spaces. The price varies depending on the community of neighbors, although in general, the homeowners face the proportional part depending on the surface of the property.

Community expenses include services such as electricity in common areas, water, insurance, elevator maintenance or cleaning and porter service.

In general, this fee is usually monthly, although there are some neighboring properties that pay this expense in different ways: bimonthly, quarterly or annually.

3. Garbage rate

The garbage tax, along with the IBI, is another of the municipal expenses that homeowners must pay. This is a fee charged by the City Council to cover the costs of the garbage collection service.

4. IBI, Real Estate Tax

The IBI, real estate tax, is a tax regulated by each City Council, so you will pay one amount or another depending on where you live.

In Spain, the price of the IBI ranges between 0.4% and 1.3% of the cadastral value of the home.

5. Maintenance

It is common to have to renew appliances after a period of use, repair breakdowns and damages or simply take care of your pool or garden, so these are expenses that are difficult to avoid.

6. Home insurance

From the list of monthly expenses when owning a home, this is an expense that can be fixed, although not mandatory, since not everyone feels the need to contract it.

However, home insurance, a highly recommended coverage for homeowners, is usually required when taking out a mortgage from the bank to finance a home. Banks usually offer to take out home insurance to improve the conditions of the mortgage loan.