Owning a home entails paying a series of periodic expenses. That is to say, one must not only face the mortgage payment, but it also requires a series of financial outlays as we will see below. If you are thinking about buying, this is of interest to you!
The fixed costs of maintaining a home
When we talk about acquiring a home, we often only think about the mortgage payment. However, we should not focus solely on this factor, because there are more fixed costs that homeowners have to bear.
So, how much does it cost to maintain a house? The answer depends on the size, the city, and whether the home is new or old, but as a reference, a homeowner usually incurs between €200 and €500 per month in fixed expenses (excluding mortgage), including property tax, community fees, insurance, minimum utilities, and internet. If we also include maintenance and possible repairs, the actual cost can be even higher.
That’s why, when calculating how much to spend on a house, it’s not enough to look at the bank payment: you have to consider the annual expenses of a house and divide them by 12 to know the real impact on your monthly finances.
Mortgage
Surely you have heard that you should not allocate more than 30% of your income to mortgage payments. That is to say, a person with a salary of 2,000 euros should not take on a mortgage of more than 600 euros per month. But what about additional expenses? Is it preferable to choose a more affordable home to be more comfortable?
It is important to consider inflation. If we consider that over the years the standard of living increases, it means that you will earn more money, so your mortgage (if it is fixed) will become relatively lower over the years. That is, if in 5 years you earn 2,500 euros instead of the initial 2,000, the mortgage payment will become more manageable. Therefore, it is also important to analyze this with a long-term perspective, because today you may be tight, but tomorrow you could be more comfortable.
In the case of variable-rate mortgages, they have recently had negative interest rates and can be very profitable. In any case, fixed-rate mortgages are so low that they are a good option for long-term thinking. But what other fixed costs do we have when maintaining a home?
Property Tax
It is one of the least liked taxes, but we have to pay it if we own a home. It is called the Property Tax and is regulated by the local municipality, so it affects apartments, garages, commercial premises, etc. It is paid once a year and on average a homeowner pays about 360 euros.
If you prorate it with the mortgage, it comes to about 30 euros a month. So you would need to add this amount (approximately) to your mortgage to not exceed 30% of the money allocated to debt payments / fixed expenses. But be careful, because it doesn’t end here.
Community expenses
Another expense to face when buying a home is the payment for the use and maintenance of common areas. The standard is around 60-70 euros a month. But there are new construction homes that come with pools and gardens, and in those, the community fee can even cost double.
If we consider that on average we are talking about an annual expense of about 700 euros, remember that you will need to add it to the mortgage so you don’t over-indebt yourself. Think of it as a fixed expense that you will have to pay regardless. Keep it in mind when buying the home!
Additionally, in communities of neighbors, one must be aware of special assessments, which are extraordinary payments to cover works such as facade, roof, elevator, electrical installation, or building rehabilitation. In older buildings, these assessments can range from a few hundred euros to thousands of euros, making it a key point when analyzing the annual expenses of a house.
Therefore, before buying, it is advisable to request from the administrator the certificate of being up to date with payments and ask if there are any approved or anticipated assessments. It’s a simple way to avoid surprises and correctly calculate the monthly expenses of an apartment.
Home insurance
Home insurance is another fixed expense that must be faced each year. In the case of having a mortgage, it is essential, although you are not obligated to take it out with the bank itself (but it might be worth it if they offer you discounts in return).
As for the price, a comprehensive policy for a home of about 100 square meters is around 250 euros a year. This makes about 20 euros a month on average, so it is another expense you will need to add to the mortgage.
Keep in mind that home insurance will be more expensive or cheaper depending on the coverage, the contents, and the structure. If you have very expensive items, it will cost you more. But it all depends on how much you want to protect your belongings.
However, the insurance does not cover everything. Throughout the year, it is common to incur maintenance expenses such as boiler checks, small repairs, plumbing, blinds, appliances, or painting. Although they are not fixed monthly payments, they are real costs that affect the calculation of how much it costs to maintain a house.
Many homeowners set aside a “buffer” of between 1% and 2% of the home’s value per year for maintenance and improvements, especially in older homes or single-family houses, where expenses can be higher than in an apartment.
Garage
If you own a garage, you will also have to face a payment that can be monthly, semi-annually, etc. A standard price for its maintenance is around 60 euros every 6 months. This makes a price of 10 euros per month.
If you have to rent a parking space, it will probably be at least about 50 euros per month.
Minimums for water, electricity, gas, and Internet
If you have the home closed and empty, you can cancel everything. It is common to have it activated and pay the minimum, whether you live there or not. If you have everything electric, that’s one less bill, but at a minimum, you will have to face the minimums for water and electricity each month.
If you live in the home, we could be talking about a quarterly water bill of about 60 euros. That is, 20 euros per month. While if we add the electricity bill, which is currently averaging about 80 euros per month, this makes about 100 euros monthly in utility expenses.
You should also add internet, which has become essential in homes and is around 50 euros per month.
Other costs of maintaining a home that many homeowners do not calculate
In addition to utilities and main expenses, there are other payments that affect the budget and are often forgotten when calculating how much it costs to maintain a house per month. These amounts vary by municipality and type of property, but they can make a significant difference in annual spending.
For example, in many cities, there is a garbage fee or a waste collection fee, which may be included in the IBI bill or charged separately. It is also common to have expenses for elevator maintenance, stair cleaning, concierge, or community services that increase the monthly fee.
> Example for a home with a 600 euro monthly mortgage and a 2,500 euro salary
If we start with a single person or a couple earning about 2000 euros per month, it may be feasible to pay 600 euros in mortgage. Let’s say that it would fall within the range of not exceeding 30% of income on mortgage and credit payments.
However, if we take into account all the fixed expenses that a home comprises per year, including community fees, property tax, and home insurance, we would need at least about 720 euros per month, which is far from the mortgage of 600 euros. Therefore, it would already exceed the recommended spending threshold. ¡And not counting the payment of utilities, repairs, possible special assessments…!
Summary: monthly expenses of an apartment and annual expenses of a house
In summary, if you want to know how much the community fees of an apartment cost and the rest of the expenses, the most useful thing is to calculate it in monthly format. Normally, the fixed expenses of a home (excluding mortgage) can range between 200€ and 500€ per month, depending on whether there is a pool, elevator, garage, community services, or high consumption.
If we calculate it in annual terms, the annual expenses of a house can easily range between 2,500€ and 6,000€ per year, not counting major renovations. Therefore, before buying, it is advisable to do real numbers and analyze the total cost to know exactly how much to spend on a house without putting your finances at risk.
Remember to take into account all these annual maintenance expenses of the home before acquiring your next property. If you need help finding the perfect home based on your budget, our real estate advisors will be happy to lend you a hand. Surely it will appear!
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