kaimui22

原帖由 yungfourfour 於 2008/5/24 03:59 PM 發表


if you consider a $400K town house, chances are you can rent your basement for $700 a month at least??
apartment jau ng duc, on top they have condo fees.
In HK every 10 years all apartment owners ar ...

condo fees in vancouver are NOT CHEAP at all (compared to HK)
an average apartment's maintenance fee will be anywhere from $200 - $500/month
I'm currently paying $240 for a condo in Richmond and in yaletown, I'm paying $450
the larger your apartment, the more it costs...i think some apartments in my building are paying $600/month

AND there are always additional costs....if you have a crappy management company for your apartment, they will ALWAYS ask you for more money. And this is not every 10 years...this is like several times a year. The management company for my Yaletown condo asks us every 3 or 4 months for about $1000 - $2000 for additional maintenance fees. Suddenly they want to paint the hallways again, suddenly they want to hire a guard for $80 000 a year, suddenly they want to "upgrade" our garbage room...etc etc etc. Yes, they do the work but they overcharge us owners.

So in addition to regular expenses, you should add a column to "Additional apartment expenses"..which might be around $3000 a year NOT including maintenance fees.

Our apartment had to do a "membrane upgrade" and one of the suites had to pay $9000 within 2 months....it's ridiculous but it's true. Even the cheaper apartment in Richmond required each suite to pay $4000 for an "upgrade" to the outside wall.

kaimui22

We have a SUV and we drive to Richmond from downtown almost daily...and also run lots of errands in Richmond too. We have to fill up on gas about twice a month, each time $80 ..so around $160 per month.

I find that it's the small trips around Richmond that burn up the gas the most...esp. with the construction and traffic on No.3 Rd, you can burn up a tank of gas quite quickly.

kaimui22

There ARE some ways to cut costs...

most companies will cover 100% of part of your MSP....if you're earning a considerable amount of money with your job, it SHOULD cover MSP...and most companies cover a family's MSP, not just the employees

as for utilities...if you are looking to move into an apartment/condo, look for one that covers Hot water and heating in their maintenance fees. A lot do and it will save you lots of $$. Again, if you are moving into an apartment/condo, look for one WITHOUT a hot water tank inside!! I've seen apartments with hot water tanks inside and they cost the owners at least $50 - $200 a month just for water and heating.

But then again, if you are planning to move into an apartment, don't forget to add the maintenance fees...anywhere from $2400 to $5000 a year, not including any special levies or special fees.