What do condominium fees pay for in Uganda

Some are young people buying their first property. Others are older and often have lived in a traditional detached house and have decided to downsize. Many choose to live in central neighbourhoods, where they enjoy walking to shops, restaurants and arts venues.

Condo buyers also like the ease of condo living, knowing they will never have to maintain their own garden or cleaning the compounds again. The maintenance of the building and property, including things like landscaping and other upkeep, are handled by the condo corporation.

But as we start to compare properties, first-time condo buyers sometimes balk when they hear about the monthly condo fee they will be required to pay.

Having helped hundreds of clients buy and sell condo units, I explain that condo fees are simply a different way of paying for the maintenance that you pay for when you own a traditional house. And with a condo, you sometimes get extras, such as a 24-hour concierge or hotel-like amenities.

These amenities can include impressive gyms, pool, larger terraces to lounge or entertain guests, party rooms, car wash bays and even a place to wash your dog. Owners in those buildings can cancel their gym memberships because they now have a gym included in their monthly fees.

A condominium requires each unit owner to pay a certain amount of fees each month. This monthly fee is utilized for any development or maintenance purpose at the condo. First time condo buyers are often unaware of what these condo fees consist of and combined with their property tax and mortgage payments, the overall monthly payment gets quite hefty.

Here we discuss what condo fees are and what they cover.

Condo fees are simply an amount charged monthly by the condo board for the purpose of maintenance – scheduled or unscheduled (like a sudden failure of the heating system).

Question: How are the fees calculated, and why are some units in the same building more expensive than others?

Answer: These fees vary based on the size of property owned by a particular owner. Three-bedrooms unit will definitely be charged comparatively more than Two-bedroom unit, besides other factors such as the view of the unit, the floor it is located on and so forth.

The nature of condo fees is very broad in the sense that they vary depending on various factors – mainly how developed a building is and what facilities it has for its residents.

Some complexes have swimming pools, fitness centres and tennis courts while others do not. In the former case, the maintenance fees will certainly be higher. A number of multi-story developments are equipped with elevators fire control systems and extensive HVAC systems that elevate the condo costs.

All that been said, it is not possible for all condos to have an ‘average’ cost that new condo buyers can keep in mind. However, you should expect to pay the following as a part of the condo fees:

MAINTENANCE FEES

Maintenance fees vary for each condo complexes depending on their size, the facilities and services offered. Here is what you should expect to be included in the maintenance fees:

Landscaping

Electricity & Water in common areas

Common area insurance

Swimming pool maintenance

Tennis court maintenance

Garbage disposal

Other amenities

A certain amount of the monthly payment from an owner may be placed in the condo’s reserve fund. These funds are designed to be used in case non routine actions are required to be taken. These may include:

Painting the exterior

Renovating lobby

Resurfacing parking lots

Any other non-routine development

If a certain expense cannot be met by the prevailing reserve fund amount, then a special assessment may be charged by all unit owners to help meet the requirement.

An increase in insurance cost can cause the reserve funds to deplete quickly resulting in the condo board charging a special assessment.

On an average, expect to pay from as little as 450,00 Shillings in inexpensive rural developments to over One million Uganda shillings in high-rise apartment complexes in the heart of a city. Some condos charge fees on a quarterly or annual basis to cater for non-routine expenses.

Condominium fees at some complexes may seem overwhelming, but they are calculated according to the requirements of the compound and help in keeping your investment safe by caring for the overall well-being of the owners