Costs of Maintaining a Landed Property

So, you're eyeing that nice piece of land, maybe considering a rebuild, or just doing some touch up work on a terrace house?

Apart from the eye water cost of buying a place, do note that there are additional costs in the upkeep of a landed home. Now we are not talking about cluster homes, or even those homes within a condo development, where maintenance is a running cost that you pay funds towards each month, no, we are talking about homes you own outright, be it 99 year or freehold properties.

So whilst these do not have monthly maintenance bills, you should put money aside for repairs and also upkeep, and these will come as part of wear and tear. So here's a small list of the potential costs you may face and then you can decide if the hassle and costs are worth it. Remember, it is not only the money, but the trouble of finding people or tradesmen to come and sort out the issues. 

Swimming Pool - 70-80 per visit

Now this is a nice feature to add to your home, but bear in mind the cost of the build, whether you will really use it and are you equipped to handle the maintenance of it. 

Someone will need to clean the pool and flush the filters, maintain the salinity, ph and clarity. It can be as frequent as weekly depending on the foliage in your home. 

You will need to check if the fee includes the cost of chlorine which can cost $60 a tub and last a week to a fortnight. You will also need to get pH and chemistry kits if you are maintaining it yourself.

Once in few years, the pump motors will need servicing, usually the capacitors will fail and the main cost is in the labor, which begin from $100 and up. 

The pool lights can also fail, and these can cost upwards of 3-400 per light as they need to be waterproof and installation needs to be from an expert to avoid electrocution. So that also means a qualified electrician who knows pool equipment. 

The pool filter needs flushing weekly or every two weeks and every now and then you need to replace the water, so factor in the cost of water and electricity too.

Landscape - $2-500 per visit 

The actual cost depends on how large is your property, the amount of foilage that needs trimming and how many trees or plants do you have. If you have green fingers, and can cut your own grass, then you can save. However some items like trimming tree canopies require expertise and incur labor costs. 

Typically trees need trimming twice a year, and your grass needs cutting probably every fortnight or so. 

Pest Extermination and Inspections - $70-$200 and up

Landed properties can be infected with a variety of bugs, the ones you worry about are termites but cockroaches and even bees or hornets can bug you. 

Inspections are usually every quarter unless you have a real issue.

Electrical and Plumbing

If your home is well constructed and the build quality is decent, your cables, power sockets, plumbing should last for decades. But blown fuses do occur, and pipes can fail or sinks and pipes can leak or get clogged. Labor is the main cost and each house visit can start from $100 or more per hour, so try to group your repairs together. Plan ahead for things like adding additional sockets or rewiring and also pre-place isolators or cables for future expansion such as new aircons or even a new electric vehicle. A good three phase power supply is crucial.

Another thing that good planning is required for is the internet and wifi. Having LAN points spread generously throughout the home is important in a landed home as wifi signals can be spotty in certain places. So with ethernet backhaul and mesh networks, you can get much better coverage. So a minimum of one or two LAN points in each room and working space is important.

Things like CCTVs also wear out, much like most other items. In built white goods also cost more to replace so take that into your planning.

Painting

For private landed, there is no official requirement for painting of the exterior, but if you hire someone, the costs are upgrades of $2-3000, again depending on the size of your home, the surface area, the number of floors and how complex is the exterior design. 

Roof

When you first buy the home, make sure you get the roof right, either build it well, or get someone to make sure it's watertight. Otherwise you will have a hard time if it starts to leak. Plus the inconvenience of repairs whilst you have begun living in it. 

Moisture and mold

We are on an island so be prepared for high levels of humidity and you may need to have dehumidifiers running to avoid mold everywhere. That incurs costs and can have health risks.

Lift

With smaller plots and more owners building upwards, a lift seems like a good addition. It can cost upwards of 100k, and more than one grand a year to maintain, so keep that in mind too. 

Koi Ponds

Just like swimming pools, they need regular tender loving care: chemicals, water, pumps, food for the fish and cleaning..  

Electric gates

And if you have automatic gates, make sure the motor and the power supply is well sealed to avoid shorts in the long run as we have rather heavy rains.

There are probably more items, and if you have some in mind, do post them too, cheers!

(not my home but I love the style)

** I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.