How is a Leasehold Apartment Fee Calculated?

Apartment Specialists Podcast No: 100

Summary:

Fees and charges concern many apartment buyers and investors. One such charge that many fail to look into is the leasehold apartment fee. How do you calculate it? Watch this video to get an idea.

TRANSCRIPTION:

How is a leasehold levy decided for an apartment? How is it worked out how much an apartment has to pay for the leasehold portion of the land for the apartment? Why does this apartment differ to that apartment?

Good day! Andrew Murray here from the Apartment Specialists, talking about leasehold properties or leasehold apartments, and why apartment levies are different throughout the building. Or why does this apartment have this levy, and that apartment have that levy.

It all comes down to an apartments unit entitlement. It comes down to the percentage that a particular apartment has to pay of the overall budget. It's what's called your unit entitlement. When you're looking at an apartment, it will have a body corporate fee, and that body corporate fee is dependent on the value of the apartment.

Just to make it more simple. If you think about it, let's say you have 100 apartments. The overall budget of the apartment complex is a million dollars. Every single apartment is not going to have a $10,000 levy. It's going to be different. It comes down to the value of the apartment, which often depends on or comes down to, generally, in terms of the size and the position - where the apartment is in the building. For example, a penthouse owner may have to pay a $30,000 levy.

Where a studio on the second floor may only have to pay a $3000 levy. That's exactly the same as how the leasehold fee per apartment is calculated. The higher you go up, and the larger the apartment, the more you have to pay on the said terms of the overall fee - of the leasehold fee you have to pay to the lessor each year, which as a building collectively is paid.

It is a little bit confusing, but really it's just the same as the body corporate levy. It comes down to a unit entitlement, and that's the entitlement to the costs of the building, and the costs of the lease. Hope that helps. Give me a ring on 021424892. This can be a bit confusing, and I don't mind having a chat and explaining further with you.

Cheers, bye.