help with running costs

I would say electric same as in England. Water a bit cheaper. Council tax a lot cheaper, ie £400 a year and food about the same. I think it has gone up this time. It costs us about £2000 a year with 12 weeks of 2 bedroomed apartment being lived in.

Wendy

Interesting info here.

For comparable lifestyles whichever way you cut it it's difficult to conclude that Spain is anything but significantly cheaper than UK. 

Having moved here from France the differential is a whopping 37.6% and that doesn't include the €2000 per annum topup medical insurance was costing us! 

Hello Kimmy11,

I have just been searching any threads on the running costs of ruuning a Town House in Spain. This is my 2nd post, my 1st post was on banking in Spain which you kindly commented on.

This post concerns the Actual Running Costs of a 2 Bed Town House we intend to buy in Pego just north of Alacante City. I noticed you said to Bristilsam you would be happy to send a spreadsheet containing your running costs.

The Brief: The property will be used by different members of the family for say 12 to 15 weeks per year and will Not be used as a Holiday Let.

I am interested in the cost of:

1.  Electricity whether it is used or not 

2. Water whether it is used or not 

3 Sewage whether it is used or not 

4. Rubbish removal whether it is used or not

5. Local IBI (I believe is council tax) I understand this is based on the type and value of property. Ours we hope will be an old town house

    in  Pego

6. Property Tax  note. Our property will cost no more then E40K

7. Tax even if the property is Not rented out

8. Personal Income Tax (will be non resident)

Does your spreadsheet include one way or another some or all the above information. If it does I would find it incredibly helpful. I know it sounds daft, but how do I send you a private message.

Last thing. Would you know if there are any other Fix Costs I would need to consider

Rgeards

Dave74

Hi Dave,

My spreadsheet covers running costs for a 3-bed detached house with private pool, so our costs will be higher, but if you want to input your own estimates, you're welcome to a copy.

If you look at the top of my post, underneath my name and location, you'll see two white boxes - select the one on the right, "Private message" and it will open a new PM in your mailbox with me as the addressee.

At a quick glance, you also need to include for Home insurance (in Spain, this is typically a combined buildings and contents policy).

You'll find the answers to your tax questions in "Jim's guides" in the blue ribbon header at the top of the page. 

At a high level, so long as you don't exceed 183 days in Spain in any one tax year (which runs from Jan - Dec) you won't become fiscally resident here.  You will have to pay an annual Non-resident property tax, based on the land registry value of your property.  You will need to declare the oversea asset to HMRC, but won't pay tax on it, as you won't be generating rental income.

I can expand on some of the other costs via PM.

Kind regards, 

Kim

Morning Wendy,

Thank you for the information, get me started.

Dave74

Good morning Ray,

Whilst I agree about most of what you say, I do wish you'd give it a rest with the "If you live on an urbanisation buying brit stuff from brit shops" line. I accept this is your opinion, but it's wildly inaccurate in my experience. 

I've had homes on two urbanisations dating back to 2005. In my experience they are not "brit enclaves" as you often imply, but are occupied by a whole range of nationalities: British, Spanish, German, Dutch, Belgian, Swedish, Norwegian, the list goes on. This was one of the attractions for me personally as I enjoy the international mix; at my previous place my next door neighbourwas Spanish, my current one is Russian. I acknowledge this can result in many being holiday homes (maybe 60%?), but perhaps the added security of a gated community provides a sense of "lock it & leave it" for those away from their homes fir long periods?

In terms of shopping I've known very few who regularly shop at English or International supermarkets, usually preferring the local Mercadona or Masymas. As for other shops, I personally chose to use the local shops/market in San Miguel; cafés, restaurants, even my local barber. I actively want to support my local village as I love it and want to see it prosper.

Rant over. I know you love Spain, as I do, I just hope I'm able to get back there soon! Until then stay safe & well. 

Paul

No, because the thread came up on the first page of unread posts when I logged in this morning; probably because people had posted to it in the last couple of days. It wasn't a long thread so I started at the beginning. But I confess I didn't date check every post before responding. 

Paul