Are you buying an apartment? Don't forget to include the cost of upkeep throughout the years, not just the price of the item

By Bricksnwall | 2026-04-11

People who want to buy a home should think about more than just the price. They should also think about how much it will cost to live there for the rest of their lives. This includes figuring out how much upkeep will cost over the next ten years.

Are you thinking about buying an apartment in a gated community that a real estate developer is building? A monthly maintenance fee of about ₹5,000 may seem reasonable, especially if you have a steady job, but buyers should think about how these expenditures could become a hardship if they lose their job or retire without a regular pension.

Most people who buy a property only think about the price, but they forget that costs like maintenance (CAM) can make the true cost of owning a home much higher. You shouldn't simply look at the property's initial cost; you should also think about how much it will cost over time.

This involves taking into account all of the continuing costs, such as property taxes, GST, monthly maintenance fees, and potential repair and upkeep costs.

Cost of full ownership

When buying a home, people should look at more than just the price. They should also look at the entire cost of ownership. Pramod Kathuria, founder and CEO of Easiloan, states, "This means taking into account all ongoing costs, such as monthly maintenance fees, GST charges, property tax obligations, and upcoming maintenance and repair costs."

GST is paid on housing society upkeep when the monthly fees per member are more than ₹7,500 and the society's yearly revenue is more than ₹20 lakh. If both of these things are true, the whole sum is subject to an 18% GST. There is no GST on maintenance expenses if either of these conditions is not met.

To find out how much these cash outflows will cost over the time period the homeowner plans to maintain the residence, you should figure out how much they will cost each year. People who add up their continuing costs and the cost of the item they want to buy know exactly how much money they owe, which helps them choose between solutions that are better for the environment.

Most people who buy a home only think about the price, but monthly maintenance (CAM) can change the real cost of owning a home a lot. As a general rule, every ₹1 per square foot in maintenance costs about ₹1,000 per square foot in implied capital costs over time.

Higher maintenance isn't always a bad thing; in big, well-run communities, it can lead to better amenities and services. But for smaller projects, these prices typically show that the facilities aren't sustainable, which raises long-term costs.

Check to see if you can afford it

Homebuyers should think of maintenance fees as a normal part of their monthly home spending. To figure out how much they really spend each month, homeowners can add their home loan EMI payments to their monthly maintenance expenditures, which include GST.

By capitalizing this cost using total maintenance predictions for the holding period and then discounting it to present value, they can see how much more it will cost to buy the property. Kathuria states that the evaluation of affordability hinges on sustained cash flows that go beyond the conditions for getting a loan.

whether purchasers think of maintenance as a kind of capital expenditure, they should add it to their monthly expenses and check to see whether they can afford it based on their entire cash flow, not simply their loan eligibility.

This makes sure that the purchase will last for a long time. In some circumstances, the first estimates of maintenance costs may be too low. "Buyers should compare their property to similar ones, add in the GST, and leave room for future price increases to avoid underestimating costs," says Pratyush Pandey, founder of AARE Consulting, a real estate consultancy website.

Comparison of lifetime costs

"To make a fair comparison, you need to look at the lifetime cost, not just the price you paid." Kathuria says, "Buyers should figure out the total maintenance costs for each property over a set time period (like 10 years), including GST and escalation, and add this to the purchase price."

When future costs are discounted to their present value, the comparison becomes more accurate. The property that costs more at first but has lower maintenance costs is more cost-effective than the cheaper unit, which has greater ongoing costs.

Source: Hindustan Times