The cost of owning at Las Colinas

There is no single answer to "what are the fees here", and any agent who gives you one without asking which property you mean is guessing. What follows is the structure. We will give you the exact numbers for a specific property, in writing, before you reserve it.

What you pay every year

• Community charges. The resort's shared costs: security, the gate, roads, landscaping, lighting. Every owner pays these.
• Sub-community charges. If your property is in a phase with its own pool, gardens or lift, there is a second charge for those. This is the biggest single reason two similar-looking homes have different monthly costs.
• IBI. The municipal property tax, set by Orihuela council against the property's rateable value.
• Rubbish collection. Billed separately from IBI in this municipality.
• Utilities. Standing charges apply even in months you are not here, so a property you use for four months a year still carries twelve months of standing charges.
• Home insurance. Buildings and contents. The community insures the shared parts, not your house.
• Non-resident income tax. If you are not tax resident in Spain, there is an annual return on your property whether or not you rent it out. It is small, it is easy to forget, and it is not optional.

What is not automatically included

Golf and sports access are handled through membership arrangements rather than being bundled into every purchase. So is beach club use in some cases. Establish the position for your specific property early: it is a meaningful number and it is the one most often assumed rather than checked.

If you plan to let it out

Short-term letting in this region requires a tourist licence, and resort and community rules can restrict it independently of what the regional rules allow. Do not buy on the assumption that rental income will cover the running costs until you have confirmed, for that property, that letting is permitted and licensable. We would rather tell you no before you buy than after.