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Purchase of apartment - how much charges is "too much"?
Hi all,
Am thinking about buying an apartment here in Brussels - ideally Ixelles, Etterbeek areas. In the flat I'm currently renting I don't pay any charges at all and the owner pays something silly like 80 euros/month (it's a very small building - no lift, no concierge).
However, when looking at places to buy I'm struck by how much charges seem to be - I don't seem to be seeing very much that has less than (absolutely minimum) 150 euros/month and not always "offering" very much in exchange.
Is this normal? Maybe I've been biased by my current experience of not having to pay charges at all. Would high charges put any of you off? I'm kind of taking the view that if I'm put off buying somewhere with high charges, a possible tenant or buyer (if I wanted to sell the property eventually) might as well.
you SHOULD definitely do some researches on the building before buying any property. you can also ask copies of the last two years building meetings to have an overview of the running costs and works to be done or forecasted.
some buildings are way more expensive than the 150 euro you mention (mine is around 300 EUR!) so be careful if you are on a tight budget. As you said elevators, centralized heating, concierge bring up the cost a lot
I once bought an apartment and for the first 6 months charges were ok, then they started redoing the roof, then the garages, then the centralized heating system, then repairing the balconies and setting aside money to redo the elevators and charges were never less than a 1000 eur each quarter. Luckily I managed to sell it.
Having been stung once by extra charges - i.e. roof, building being painted - I have now bought a house instead. It's mine, if there's work to be done, I choose when and how much and I don't have to go to the buildings syndicate to ask for things to be done. Yes, a house costs more initially but what you spend on it thereafter is up to you.
Do your homework on anywhere that you want to buy (apartment/house) and be sure you can afford any works they decide to do once you have bought it.
