How much does it cost each year to maintain your apartment? For apartment owners, that answer contains two elements: what you pay to buy the place and what you pay each month to carry it. These two factors, in theory, exist on a sliding scale to one another relative to other comparable properties. In other words, if your maintenance is higher than that of everyone else who lives in a property the same size, then your price should be lower. And vice versa.
Of course, the advent of the ultra-luxury condo, with high monthly costs but extraordinary amenities, has thrown an additional data point into the equation. What is the monthly value of access to an in-house dining room, or maid service, or a screening room, or a pool? It varies, of course, from buyer to buyer, with some for whom it adds nothing and others for whom these amenities are critical to their well-being and happiness in the property they buy. Another issue: The bigger the apartments in the building, the higher the maintenance on a per-square foot basis. Why? Simply because certain fixed costs, like labor, are divided between fewer units in the building. A 12-unit building of full-floor apartments still needs three shifts of doormen, just as a 25-unit building does, but there are far fewer people between whom to divide that cost. Here’s the interesting point: Buyers fear high maintenance costs. They rarely stop to make the calculation to understand that sometimes these costs can lead to a better deal, in terms of the overall cost, than paying a lot more up front for an apartment with a lower maintenance. We all just have to remember to do the math!
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