Is Your Condo Really Profitable? Here Are 9 Often Overlooked Costs That Can Affect Your Profit

New homeowners often focus on the price of the property, but not the additional fees, stamp duties, and recurring charges. It’s a common mistake to think these “miscellaneous” costs don’t amount to much – in fact, they can sometimes be the deciding factor when it comes to real estate investment. Even for homeowners, it’s best to keep the following in mind, so you can budget appropriately.

1. Buyers Stamp Duty (BSD) and Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates

The BSD applies to all properties, even HDB flats. The amount is as follows:

- 1% of the first $180,000
- 2% of the next $180,000
- 3% of the next $640,000
- 4% of any outstanding amount

2. Sellers Stamp Duty (SSD)

The SSD is as follows:

- 12% if sold on the first year following purchase
- 8% on the second year
- 4% on the third year

3. Lawyer fees / Conveyancing fees

For HDB properties, the legal fees can range from a few hundred dollars to over a thousand, depending on the resale flat price as well as your choice of loan (whether it’s an HDB or bank loan).

For private properties, the fees often range between $2,500 to $3,000. This can sometimes be paid with CPF, depending on the law firm involved.

4. Valuation fee

These firms often charge between $500 to $700, depending on the size of the property. Some banks may absorb this cost, so do bargain a bit; or get a mortgage broker to negotiate for you.

5. Insurance premiums

The exact cost of insurance premiums varies; like health insurance or car insurance, it is based on factors like your age, profession, health, etc. You should work out the monthly costs, and factor this into your overall home costs.

6. Loan interest

The loan interest rate is often dismissed, because it is easy to overlook in today’s [low-interest rate](https://www.schroders.com/en/sg/private-investor/sg-insights/economics/the-zero-why-interest-rates-will-stay-low/) environment. However, it can add significantly to the price of your home, over the long term.

As an example, consider a loan of $1 million, over 25 years, at the current rate of around 1.3 per cent per annum. This would come to around $171,823 by the end of the loan tenure.

7. Renovation and furnishing costs

8. Monthly maintenance

Monthly maintenance for condos is based on the unit’s assigned share value, which is based in turn off the unit’s size. Typically, new launch, mass-market condos have fees of about $70 to $80 per share value.

9. Maintenance and repairs for your own home

There’s no way to give you a clear number here, as it will vary for each home; but you should get a contractor or Interior Designer to scout out any older units before buying. This will give you a sense of what you may need to replace, in the near future.

For more, visit our full article here: https://stackedhomes.com/editorial/9-often-overlooked-costs-that-can-eat-into-your-condo-profits/?utm_source=youtube.com&utm_medium=description

Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:54 - #1 - Stamp Duties
3:29 - #2 - Seller’s Stamp Duty
4:23 - #3 - Lawyer/Conveyancing Fees
4:49 - #4 - Valuation Fees
5:44 - #5 - Insurance Premiums
6:29 - #6 - Loan Interest Rates
7:39 - #7 - Renovation & Furnishing Costs
8:22 - #8 - Monthly Maintenance Fees
9:40 - #9 - Home Maintenance & Repairs

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Stacked is an online editorial aimed at helping Singapore home buyers, sellers and renters make better decisions. By regularly conducting research and publishing our findings, we hope to give our readers a much better perspective on buying, selling or renting Singapore real estate.

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