maintenance fees in Egypt

[dave99]

Sounds too good to be true

Hi all

Our maintenance fees are as follows:

1 bed apartment - 55sqm = £1500
2 bed apartment - 110sqm = £3000

Maintenance fees are paid only once in a lifetiine on handover and are refundable upon selling.

The new owners then pay £1500.

This seems like good value
- I just cannot see how the maint company can do much if they are effectively only get the interest from the initial payments to fund all activities / repairs etc.

How many apartments are there ?
What is in the contract for maintenance ?
Has Anyone actually sold and got the maint fee back yet ?
Is there a lifetime guarentee for the maint on the apartments ?

 

[queenie40something]

Hi Dave

The resort is not finished yet. The contract states once only payment and a tenants association ( supervisors committee ) will be formed whom will balance the Accounting and Yearly expenses with the owner for maintenance spent on the resort at the end of each year.

There are around 80 blocks with 6 apartments in each block.

 

[lovesquadsue]

In the contract we recd for the apartment we thought about buying on Suleder (which was 3 bed, 130SQM) the maint fees were £400.00.
I had a few queries on the contract and this was one of them as it didnt mention anything about future years - my fear was that the following year they could put them up by 100% - the contract didnt state anything about future years etc..
Hope this helps,
Sue

 

[dave99]

Do you think you will ever have to pay anything extra

Hi Dave

The resort is not finished yet. The contract states once only payment and a tenants association ( supervisors committee ) will be formed whom will balance the Accounting and Yearly expenses with the owner for maintenance spent on the resort at the end of each year.

There are around 80 blocks with 6 apartments in each block.

The Club idea is great but without a guarentee from the developer / owner how do you know that all expenses will be covered for EVER - I think this unlikely and I would be a bit worried about where the money will come from in 5 year time if you sell and ask for your maint fee back if the Club is short of money for the maint of the apts. - what do you think ??

 

[queenie40something]

The Club idea is great but without a guarentee from the developer / owner how do you know that all expenses will be covered for EVER - I think this unlikely and I would be a bit worried about where the money will come from in 5 year time if you sell and ask for your maint fee back if the Club is short of money for the maint of the apts. - what do you think ??

Hi Dave - exactly my thoughts and I have bought this to the attention of my lawyer who is in discussions with the developer. I havent signed my contract yet as I had a few queries and things that I wasnt happy with that have now been changed. Just a few more to iron out.

 

[dave99]

Not surprised nothing about future years

In the contract we recd for the apartment we thought about buying on Suleder (which was 3 bed, 130SQM) the maint fees were £400.00.
I had a few queries on the contract and this was one of them as it didnt mention anything about future years - my fear was that the following year they could put them up by 100% - the contract didnt state anything about future years etc..
Hope this helps,
Sue

Not surprised nothing about future yearsnot being covered
- do you now have an apartment with a better contract ?

My contract states the cost in year 1 and year 2, and that the Owner Club will decide after that. I'll cover any shortfall in first 2 years, however we expect to have a surplus to put towards future years.

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[Peter Mitry]

I totally agree with dave99; how can the Developer know what the position will be in five years time? The only way maintenance can run effectively and with you in control is when the owners form a committee once the complex is completed, elect a chairperson and decide between them the costs of maintaining and insuring the building. The total figure is then apportioned on a m2 basis and reassessed each year. This will normally be done in conjunction with the owner as he will still represent the unsold apartments but he will not be able to arbitrarily set the rate which could then escalate out of control.

 

[cin7166]

Hi,

What's the average maintenance fees in Hurghada? I'm still undecided whether to go for Regency Beach, Marsa Alam or be done with it and go for Sahl Hasheesh. I'm just really wary about rentals and Marsa Alam has a rental guarantee. In my experience, people want walking distance to beach and facilities. I can't imagine people wanting to go too far to buy supplies for a self catering holiday, so would require restaurants around them etc.

What do you think?

 

[awahee123]

I don't think there is any uniform rates here just what the developers think they can get comfortably,no doubt fees will rocket in future years.

 

[dave99]

Fees can be controlled

I don't think there is any uniform rates here just what the developers think they can get comfortably,no doubt fees will rocket in future years.

Fees can be controlled - there is no reason to assume that they will "rocket"

- if you want to control the fees then do your homework and buy into a development where there is already an Owners Club that will be running the maintenance, AND setting the fees.

- if you can't be bothered to find out, or the developer will not say, or has decided that you will NOT have any say, then you could well be stuck with big increases

- but don't forget that if you are looking for "Hotel" like facilities then they have to be paid for 365 days a year even if you are NOT there.

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[awahee123]

I think the best way forward is for buyers to have their fees fixed for the first 5 years or so put it in your contract,remember when you are ready to sign on the dotted line you have bargaining power,use it the £ sign works wonders.
I'm sure the agents or developers won't like this but it's true.

 

[wemyss1960]

Maintenance fees - original post 14th Jan 2008

Hi all

Our maintenance fees are as follows:

1 bed apartment - 55sqm = £1500
2 bed apartment - 110sqm = £3000

Maintenance fees are paid only once in a lifetiine on handover and are refundable upon selling.

The new owners then pay £1500.

Hi Alison,

is this still the case?

 

[queenie40something]

Hi Stuart - yes this is still the case. Paid mine in July so hopefully nothing to worry about for a few years. This is also drawn into the contract as well that they are refundable to you on selling. The new owner then pays their maintenance fee to the pot.

 

[danny]

maintenance fees in Egypt Reply to Thread

Hi Stuart - yes this is still the case. Paid mine in July so hopefully nothing to worry about for a few years. This is also drawn into the contract as well that they are refundable to you on selling. The new owner then pays their maintenance fee to the pot.

The British Resort operate the same system £1500 for life, the interest off each £1500 pays for maintenance. When selling the next purchaser pays you the money back.

 

[queenie40something]

Hi Danny - yes same as Sierra in Nabq. We estimated around £800,000 collected so the interest should last quite a few yrs.

 

[danny]

Hi Danny - yes same as Sierra in Nabq. We estimated around £800,000 collected so the interest should last quite a few yrs.

Certainly beats getting a bill each year which is only going to go up. There is big business to be made in annual maintenance when you consider how little resort workers get in Egypt and how cheap most commodities are in comparison with other countries. It would make good reading to see a spreadsheet of how maintenance money was spent if you consider a resort with 300 apartments x £500(average) would pull in £150k per annum.

 

[queenie40something]

Hi Danny - yes totally agree. We will have a residents committee that will help to manage the maintenance fee account which I think is a good idea.

 

[nazab]

Sunset Pearl & Paradise Gardens Sahl Hasheeh

Since we are the first hotel that has actually opened its doors in Sahl Hasheesh since 1 year now, we are the only developer who already has the experience of maintenance costs in Sahl Hasheesh.

Our maintenance charges are calculated based on what we are already paying just for electricity and water for gardens and pools within our hotel in Sahl Hasheesh.

As each of the two compounds is on an area of around 59000 sqm . 80% gardens and walkways that need lighting and watering of the gardens. In addition to 3 swimming-pools.

Costs in Sahl Hasheesh are higher from Hurghada as these public utilities are provided by ERC.

We want to be honest with our buyers from the beginning and to keep maintaining the compound like a fully operating hotel all year round and not to cut down on services later on.

With a total of 350 units in each compound x GBP 960 ( average maintenance per unit ) = GBP 336 000 per year / 12 = GBP 28 000 / month to cover lighting / gardens/ pools/ security/ cleaning / garbage collection/ maintenance of the buildings and communal areas . I believe this is very reasonable. Other projects asking for less , don’t really know what they are talking about or they will not actually maintain the resort later on, or will ask buyers for more money every year.

Again as we are not just a developer or construction company that sells units and then disappears , we are meant to stay , manage and operate the resort for the benefit of the buyers and our benefit too.

I hope I have clarified this point for buyers and agents too.

 

[NeilHollingsworth]

Since we are the first hotel that has actually opened its doors in Sahl Hasheesh since 1 year now, we are the only developer who already has the experience of maintenance costs in Sahl Hasheesh.

Our maintenance charges are calculated based on what we are already paying just for electricity and water for gardens and pools within our hotel in Sahl Hasheesh.

As each of the two compounds is on an area of around 59000 sqm . 80% gardens and walkways that need lighting and watering of the gardens. In addition to 3 swimming-pools.

Costs in Sahl Hasheesh are higher from Hurghada as these public utilities are provided by ERC.

We want to be honest with our buyers from the beginning and to keep maintaining the compound like a fully operating hotel all year round and not to cut down on services later on.

With a total of 350 units in each compound x GBP 960 ( average maintenance per unit ) = GBP 336 000 per year / 12 = GBP 28 000 / month to cover lighting / gardens/ pools/ security/ cleaning / garbage collection/ maintenance of the buildings and communal areas . I believe this is very reasonable. Other projects asking for less , don’t really know what they are talking about or they will not actually maintain the resort later on, or will ask buyers for more money every year.

Again as we are not just a developer or construction company that sells units and then disappears , we are meant to stay , manage and operate the resort for the benefit of the buyers and our benefit too.

I hope I have clarified this point for buyers and agents too.

Excellent post nazab and the first time anyone has actually provided a breakdown of costs and charges to show they have put some thought in to the cost and not just copied off someone else or plucked out of thin air.

 

[dave99]

higher costs in sahl hasheesh

.quote -
"Costs in Sahl Hasheesh are higher from Hurghada as these public utilities are provided by ERC. "

why should costs be higher than hurghada - how much higher - average £960 pa seems very high compared to hurghada.
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