Unemployment opens my eyes to the burden of living in an apartment

Before signing the contract to buy the unit, I ran the numbers carefully. I calculated the bank loan, the monthly interest payments and even set aside a reserve for interior furnishings. I felt confident, believing I had prepared for almost everything. There was just one thing I had not factored in: how much extra it would cost simply to live in my own home.

After moving in, we were notified of the fees, including for management and parking. The management fee is calculated based on our unit’s size in square meters. Motorbike and car parking are charged differently, and even visitors who come over are required to pay parking fees.

Despite now owning a home, we sometimes feel like we are renting long-term. Every month, a statement arrives as a reminder that beyond the bank loan, there is a host of unavoidable costs.

When buying an apartment, people often only pay attention to the selling price and how much they must prepare as those are the biggest and scariest numbers. Compared to those, fees of a few hundred thousand or even VND1-2 million a month are easily dismissed as chump change.

Only when they recur 12 times a year, year after year, do people start to notice how harsh they are.

That reality truly hit home after I spent a year unemployed. With the mortgage payments now shouldered by my wife, I finally realize how those fees could have been used to pay for milk or diapers for our baby.

I understand that this is the price to pay for "security and convenience." But for a young family struggling to repay a bank loan, apartment service fees become another monthly fixed expense that cannot be delayed. A thought began to form: if I had bought a landed home, I would not be burdened by these recurring costs.

Apartments help address many of the housing challenges present in crowded cities. Yet their prices now feel quite high relative to their real value and, when all costs are taken into account, they are not as affordable as many people assume. The purchase price is only the tip of the iceberg. The hidden part is the stream of fees that follows you for as long as you live there.

I hope future apartment projects will be priced more reasonably to truly support young couples who dream of owning a home, as living in an apartment, in my view, already comes with disadvantages.

*This opinion was submitted by a reader. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.