Operating expenses: what counts
Taxes, insurance, energy, maintenance, management and reserve.
Items counted
- Municipal and school taxes
- Building insurance
- Energy for common areas
- Routine maintenance and snow removal
- Management fees, even without a manager
- A reserve for major work
Items left out
One-time expenses do not count. A single repair stays out of the annual calculation.
Expenses paid by the tenant
If the tenant pays for heating, that expense leaves your calculation.
Tell the lender: each item wrongly deducted reduces the amount granted.
The capital reserve
Lenders set aside an amount per unit per year, even when you spent nothing.
The amount varies with the building’s age and condition.
Management fees
They apply even when you manage alone. Lenders measure the building, not your time.
Documenting a reduced expense
Changing suppliers can reduce an expense for good.
Provide the new contract and the last twelve statements.
Without proof, the lender uses the average of the last two years.
Keeping an annual record
Sort your expenses by item from the first year of ownership.
At refinancing, the table is already prepared and verifiable.
That habit saves weeks on each request.
