First-time buyer in Madrid: is €15,640 enough cash after closing on a 3-bed condo?

B

BrightStone

First-time buyer
Established
I’m considering a 3-bed condo in Madrid at around €446,200. After the deposit and estimated closing costs, I’d have roughly €15,640 left.

That remaining cash would need to cover emergency savings, moving, any urgent inspection findings, service charges, the insurance excess and possibly the first mortgage payment. Furniture can wait; a boiler or serious building issue cannot.

Would you regard that as a workable buffer, or is it a sign I should buy below my maximum? How would you divide it?
 
I’d treat the emergency fund as untouchable first, not as whatever remains after moving and decorating. Then reserve separate amounts for the move, the first mortgage payment and only genuinely urgent repairs. With €15,640, I would postpone nearly all furniture purchases and negotiate hard on anything significant found during inspection. Buying slightly cheaper sounds sensible if the current plan leaves no room for surprises.
 
The missing figure is your normal monthly spending. €15,640 could represent a comfortable runway for one buyer and a very short one for another. Is it also left over after the first mortgage payment and any service charges due around completion?

For a condo, I’d also want to know whether the building has discussed major communal work. A clean inspection inside the unit does not necessarily answer that.
 
I wouldn’t divide it by fixed percentages yet. First separate personal emergencies from property costs, then use the inspection and building information to size the property pot.

Also, “roof” is not always an individual repair in a condo. Responsibility and payment can depend on the building arrangements, but a communal project may still reach you through higher charges or an additional contribution. That could matter more than replacing a few items inside the flat.
 
One more practical point: list the insurance excess, moving costs, immediate safety or water-related repairs, and the first payment separately. If those items already consume most of the €15,640, the emergency fund is only theoretical. Furniture should stay off that list apart from essentials.
 
I’d make the offer decision conditional on three things: the inspection findings, the building’s current charges and known planned work, and how many months of essential spending remain after all near-term purchase costs.

Run a pessimistic version rather than an average one: moving costs more than expected, one urgent repair appears, and a payment arrives earlier than assumed. If that scenario forces borrowing or leaves almost nothing for ordinary emergencies, lower the target price. If the buffer survives it without touching money needed for daily life, the purchase is on firmer ground.
 
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