Understanding CAM Fees and Why They Matter for Condo Value

How do you pay to live in your own condo? Every condo has a common area management fee (aka CAM fee) or society fee or Juristic Fee or Strata Title Fee. When you buy a condo anywhere in the world, you need to contribute to the maintenance of the swimming pool, gym, fitness room, lifts, and garden.

Typically, we set up a committee of 10–12 persons to manage the building for a period of two to four years per tenure. These are usually a set of owners selected by the rest of the ownership committee. In Thailand, votes are generally allocated by the number of units you own, while the size of your unit determines your votes abroad.

The long-term maintenance of these common assets is critically important for the long-term health of the building. In other words, this is the stomach of the building, delivering nutrients to the rest of the building.

Who you choose makes a big difference to the overall health of the building and the valuations in the future.

Before 2010, most buildings in Sukhumvit charged under THB 35 per square metre monthly as a charge dedicated to all facilities and staffing of the management team.

Between 2010 and 2020, we have seen a ballooning of costs and a high depreciation of assets within condominiums that require constant maintenance.

Real cost totals now are in the range of THB 300,000 to THB 500,000 per month when accounting for payroll, water, electricity, swimming pool maintenance, air-conditioning maintenance, and gardening.

If it’s real costs you’re looking for (divided by the total square area of the condominium), here is a list organised by when a building was completed.

Building Completion Year

Before 1980: THB 40 to 50 per square metre monthly

1981 to 1990: THB 35 to 45 per square metre monthly

1991 to 2000: THB 30 to 70 per square metre monthly

2001 to 2010: THB 40 to 60 per square metre monthly

2011 to 2020: THB 45 to 80 per square metre monthly

After 2021: THB 60 to 150 per square metre monthly

(The curve is a little U-shaped.)

The battle between old and new. Older buildings need more maintenance. Post-millennium buildings offer main facilities that need constant maintenance. New buildings have higher quality products and more ESG-friendly appliances and better quality lifts and/or escalators that have higher-cost maintenance contracts.

Let’s take a look at an example. Say your asset is worth approximately THB 40 million and yet you complain when the common fee is over THB 300,000 per year. Which other asset class offers you a maintenance contract with a maintenance fee of 0.75 percent?

A boat, a plane, a car, and a motorbike generally cost about 5–20 percent to maintain a year. If you truly think about it, real estate is the cheapest value product on your shelf. Your maintenance costs are usually under one percent and your enjoyment utility is extremely satisfying.

In my own experience (I represent 12 landlords who give me the power of attorney to attend the common area/Juristic meetings for various condos), most of the time, the people who ask for higher CAM fees understand management, cost accounting, taxes, security and fire risks, and understand insurance.

I know firsthand that people who vote for lower and lower CAM fees don’t understand the value of maintenance and security of their own assets.

My 2 cents: You should be paying about THB 50–100 per square metre monthly for a condo about 20 years or older in today’s high-expense structure. And you should be grateful if someone else is doing the task of representing you in a Juristic Committee.

Finally, a side note to some Juristic Presidents, you are not God but in fact are the servant of the people. Try behaving that way...