Junli said maintenance cost of a typical house (his area have very few condos) is much higher than an apartment in Singapore.

XR pointed out the difference between exterior vs interior maintenance. Condo fee covers exterior.

• leaking?
• flooding?
• mold?
• contamination?
• maintain your own infrastructure for heating, wiring, pipes, antenna?
• roof,
• garage can take many hours of clean-up.
• basement, attic, garage and yard need work and can become an eye sore, contamination and breeding ground for pests.
• basement, attic, garage are “dark, cold” places I don’t want to go into esp. cold nights.
• yard is the biggest effort. About 3 hours/week according to Jack He. Junli said it can take many days of maintenance. If you ignore it, it will get worse and worse.
• I said I would just put concrete over the yard. Junli said sooner or later the foundation will give problems. I guess an old house are more likely to have foundation issues.