A ₹2.5 crore home can come with a ₹15,000 monthly bill before you switch on a light or pay the EMI. A young couple weighing a Gurugram high-rise had budgeted for the purchase. Then the husband's father heard the maintenance charges and asked how often they would actually use the pool and clubhouse they would be paying to keep running.
The meeting is recounted by Gurugram-based real estate adviser Abhishek Bhardwaj. Both spouses worked, had no children yet and wanted a three-bedroom apartment with a club, pool and park.
The father wondered whether their working hours left much time for those facilities.
“The bill comes every month either way; nobody checks how many times you went in,” Bhardwaj wrote in a X post.
Having handled more than 200 deals in the city, he says the question stayed with him.
“The bank checks whether you can pay your EMI and stops there.”
Maintenance, however, continues throughout ownership. Bhardwaj calls it the “second EMI”.
In some societies within the couple's budget, he puts monthly maintenance at ₹10,000–₹15,000, compared with ₹4,000–₹5,000 for a new builder floor. At ₹15,000 a month, that is ₹18 lakh over a decade, before increases or separate charges.
Bhardwaj points to power backup, major-repair funds and upfront maintenance security as other expenses buyers need to account for.
The size of the apartment can widen the bill considerably. He describes two flats measuring 1,605 sq ft and 2,670 sq ft sharing the same lobby and lifts. Under a uniform per-square-foot rate, the larger apartment pays about 66% more.
Those households must then agree on what their society should spend.
One family may resist higher charges because its EMI already stretches the budget. Another expects the pool, courts and landscaping to match the standards promised at booking.
The financial pressure can sharpen when residents take over from the builder's maintenance agency, Bhardwaj writes. Rising operating costs can prompt staffing cuts, additional amenity fees or reduced services.
Meanwhile, more residents move in.
“The clubhouse stays the size it was built, the pool stays the length it was built, and the number of lifts stays the same,” he writes.
Bhardwaj acknowledges that families who use the facilities regularly may get their money's worth. His concern is how little attention the recurring expense receives during the purchase.
“You are buying a seat in a meeting where your neighbours decide, every year, how much your building gets to spend.”
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