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Monthly Expenses Related to Owning a 300K Condo in Barcelona/Valencia

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CluelessInCA

Could any expat who is living or used to live in Barcelona or Valencia in a 70-80 sqmtr. condo / flat in similar price range could help us with budgeting? These two are our preferred cities.

My partner and I are trying to budget our monthly expenses and would like to see if it is really worth owning given that there are:
-Property tax
-Home-owners association fee (gasto de la communidad?)
-Home insurance
How much do they cost monthly more or less?

And as for monthly utilities (regardless to owning or renting), we are budgeting (for 2 retirees):
-Cell Phone Lines (x2): € 30
-Internet for Computers / TV: € 60
-Electricity + Gas: € 200
-Water: € 20
Do these numbers look realistic?

Any input will be appreciated even if you are living in a different part of Spain! It will definitely be good to know! : )

Jaynibiza02

We are in Malaga, have satellite internet and it's 32e. I would like to think you would find a good deal for similar in the city as it's often more competitive.
You can get a good mobile contract for about 30e, look at lobster. Republica is good also. But I think more like 30e each if you want good data and calls.
Gastos de communidad all depends on the building. If it's old the maintenance can often be high. If it's huge by the time you have paid for it to be painted and it's finished it needs painting again.
You are I think allowed to ask to see the community books so it will give you an idea of charges, if it has a pool is often more expensive.
Home insurance isn't expensive, 200 -300e (a year) would be my estimate.
My advice is ask the questions when you enquire about a property as to water & fees. Before you organize a visit. As to electric we pay about 60e a month. But we have a  house in the countryside, 4 occupants.

CluelessInCA

Hi Jaynibiza,

Thank you so much for your kind reply! Malaga is among our top choices because the beach area seems to be very nice, and there are lots of expats living there!

Lobster- love the name! LOL - Their plans look fantastic with unlimited calls to the US! Great suggestion!

Republica's fiber/mobile plans seem much more reasonable than the ones provided by Movistar, Orange, and Vodafone (mentioned in Expatica) which are very similar among them and expensive!

However, is Republica's internet connection reliable? We are worried that if the service drops out on and off, it can get frustrating especially watching a show or movie on Netflix.

Good to know that electricity is so much cheaper there in Spain! Since we had paid so much for gas / petrol during our previous road trips there, we had the impression that electricity would be very costly.

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