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hochhasd
Joined: 05 Jul 2008
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 Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:32 pm Post subject: What does my maintenance fee cover at my apt? |
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Well, the honeymoon is over with my co-teacher and landlord. I went to my landlord's office( who speaks no English at all) to find out what time the repairman was coming to fix my screen(by the way, I thought my hand gestures of showing a screen would help) the land lady called my co-teacher then my co-teacher started to get frustrated and said you have to wait eventhough I was told it would be fixed that day. I finally got as time. I shifted the question and asked my co-teacher what does my maintenance fee cover, only because my hallway floores were filthy dirty and the landlord use to clean it once a week. The co-teacher's response was,"you do not understand Korean culture." So, here is the question, what does my maintenance fee cover? My co-teacher does not know. Maybe, it is for him to by a 6pk?  |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2009 11:42 pm Post subject: |
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It should cover hall cleaning, hall lighting, elevator operation, and the old guy who sleeps (officially called the security guard  ). If the hallway is that bad, you could always try not paying it. Let us know what happens! |
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hochhasd
Joined: 05 Jul 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 1:57 am Post subject: |
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| cdninkorea wrote: |
| It should cover hall cleaning, hall lighting, elevator operation, and the old guy who sleeps (officially called the security guard ). If the hallway is that bad, you could always try not paying it. Let us know what happens! |
I thought the fee also covers any repairs to the apartment? |
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Big Mac
Joined: 17 Sep 2005
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 2:50 am Post subject: |
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The maintenance fee is basically like bonus rent to them. It is supposed to pay for someone to clean the hallway, but the hallways are rarely cleaned in reality. It is also supposed to cover new light bulbs in the hallway, etc, though in all the places I have lived in they are rarely replaced promptly when they burn out, if at all.
The maintenance fee does not cover repairs to your apartment. For example, I once had a problem with my toilet. All the people on my floor had a problem with their toilets too. A plumber was called to fix it and everyone was charged for it. Same thing if something goes wrong with your furnace or with anything else. You will have to pay. I would imagine they are expecting you to pay for the screen. |
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hochhasd
Joined: 05 Jul 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| Big Mac wrote: |
The maintenance fee is basically like bonus rent to them. It is supposed to pay for someone to clean the hallway, but the hallways are rarely cleaned in reality. It is also supposed to cover new light bulbs in the hallway, etc, though in all the places I have lived in they are rarely replaced promptly when they burn out, if at all.
The maintenance fee does not cover repairs to your apartment. For example, I once had a problem with my toilet. All the people on my floor had a problem with their toilets too. A plumber was called to fix it and everyone was charged for it. Same thing if something goes wrong with your furnace or with anything else. You will have to pay. I would imagine they are expecting you to pay for the screen. |
No, they are not expecting me to pay,but my landlord was pissed and told my co-teacher that no one else complains about things being broken. My co-teacher claims she would like to know also what the fee covers. I be damned if I pay to repair a toilet or items that were broken when I moved in. The school can repair my apartment. I do not have tools and I do not know how to fixee. I do know how to runee |
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D.D.
Joined: 29 May 2008
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| Mine started at 24000 and has worked it's way up to 78000 since the owner hired his older brother to waddle aroung the building. Koreans are good at adding extra charges. |
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ontheway
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Location: Somewhere under the rainbow...
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:43 am Post subject: Re: What does my maintenance fee cover at my apt? |
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| hochhasd wrote: |
| Well, the honeymoon is over with my co-teacher and landlord. I went to my landlord's office( who speaks no English at all) to find out what time the repairman was coming to fix my screen(by the way, I thought my hand gestures of showing a screen would help) the land lady called my co-teacher then my co-teacher started to get frustrated and said you have to wait eventhough I was told it would be fixed that day. I finally got as time. I shifted the question and asked my co-teacher what does my maintenance fee cover, only because my hallway floores were filthy dirty and the landlord use to clean it once a week. The co-teacher's response was,"you do not understand Korean culture." So, here is the question, what does my maintenance fee cover? My co-teacher does not know. Maybe, it is for him to by a 6pk? |
In Korea most people live in a condo. Chances are you do to. If you live in a condo there is a maintenance fee. There shouldn't be one if you live in an apartment.
When you live in a condo, the unit belongs to an individual owner. The school may be the owner, but most likely, the school has rented the unit from some individual who may own one or two units in addition to the one they live in. Korea has a horrible property tax system that makes it very expensive to own more than 3 units. This makes housing prices much higher by reducing the supply of condos available to rent and discouraging the construction of apartments to the point of near extinction.
The condo maintenance fees cover different things depending on how the bills are set up for your building or complex. Some maintenance fees cover very few items, the fee is low, and you have separate bills for most of your utilities. Some are quite inclusive and may include: water, sewer, electricity, gas, cable TV, the TV tax, trash and recycling, exterior maintenance and cleaning, parking facilities, guards and watchmen, annual cleaning of water systems etc.
The condo managers should provide a monthly billing statement that includes a breakdown of all the charges.
In my own case, my condo maintenance fee includes everything but gas and telephone. Everything is clearly itemized in Korean on a 4 page monthly newsletter. I've seen dozens of these for different units in Korea. Every condo complex has these statements.
When I lived in one of the few actual apartments that are available, there was no maintenance fee - only rent, paid by the school. |
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Murakano
Joined: 10 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 5:54 am Post subject: |
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I pay 50k per month.....seems excessive as little gets done. No security guard either because it`s not an apartment block.
What about you? How much do you guys pay? |
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tenchu77491
Joined: 16 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:05 am Post subject: |
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| Mine is 20k per month and I haven't paid in about 4 months. We don't get a bill, we are suppose to 'wire' the money into a bank account. I just play the dumb foreigner card and I haven't paid in 4 months. No one has knocked on my door yet. |
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ekul
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Location: [Mod Edit]
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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APT-uhs have to pay the maintenance fee too. We usually pay just under 100k per month, that bill does include water and electricity though. When I got the bill translated it turns out you're paying for virtually everything. I even have to pay 2.5k for the antenna maintenance. Paying for lighting, communal areas to be cleaned, car park (We don't have a car though :/), life maintenance and the grumpy old adjoshis that give me evils whenever I'm drunk.
They also take money from you for big repairs to the complex, however if you leave and they haven't had to spend it you're entitled to it back. At least that's what I was told, however when we did move I think the landlord pocketed it and we got jack. Hard to tell what's reliable information, even when you hear it from Koreans. In fact especially when you hear it from Koreans. |
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travelnguy
Joined: 27 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 4:29 pm Post subject: |
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We were paying 55,000 for our maintenance fee. It includes water, about 6 different guards, daily cleaning of the elevator and halls, and some kind of basic cable. It has now jumped up to 67,000 per month for the next 2 years to cover the price of all the buildings being painted inside and out.
I don't really mind paying it. I had to pay condo fees in the states when I was there. The guards are all nice. They even carry my wife's groceries or packages whenever they see her. |
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thoreau
Joined: 21 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2009 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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<<<deleted>>>
Last edited by thoreau on Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:58 am; edited 1 time in total |
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egrog1717
Joined: 12 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 4:56 am Post subject: |
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I live in a shoebox of an apartment... 20x9 on the third floor of a three floor building with 12 other such apartments... Pay 50k a month, but that covers hallway cleaning, the land lady's husband sorting my recycling, and internet and TV (hi-speed and cable  ) |
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hochhasd
Joined: 05 Jul 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:08 am Post subject: |
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| egrog1717 wrote: |
| I live in a shoebox of an apartment... 20x9 on the third floor of a three floor building with 12 other such apartments... Pay 50k a month, but that covers hallway cleaning, the land lady's husband sorting my recycling, and internet and TV (hi-speed and cable ) |
I pay 30,000 and so far the landlord has fixed things in my unit,but they were already broken when I moved in. He is now complaining because of the screen issue. I guess the honeymoon is over  . I also pay 7000 for water. I pay my electric ,internet and gas. |
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saw6436
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Daejeon, ROK
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| Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:19 am Post subject: |
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I live in a 3br, 2ba, 34 pyung Apt. ( I own it). My fees vary month by month as they include electricity and water. Our highest bill was W168,000 and lowest was W104,000. I don't mind too much as the place is kept very clean, parking lots and "green areas" well maintined and lighted after dark. Our health club is a bit old but well maintained and well appointed. Our "guards" are generally on the ball and pretty nice to boot. Because of the size of our complex (around 2,000 families) we get a substantial discount on electricity and gas.
Our Maintainance bill includes an itemized cost for all of the expences our apt complex pays. It's broken out as a gross figure, broken down by cost per unit and again divided down into cost per tenant. Pretty damn comprehensive. |
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