TOOL · 2026.08

The overseas holding-cost checklist: the annual outlay that gets missed

The purchase price is only the entry fee. What decides whether an overseas property is affordable to keep is the handful of fixed costs that recur every year — many buyers ran the numbers once, then found in year two that they had undercounted.

1. Fixed, whether you live in it or not

Service charge / community fee — by area or by unit. Always payable on apartments; in some countries detached houses in managed communities pay too.
Property tax / council tax — assessed differently everywhere: some on value, some on imputed rent, some treating owner-occupiers and landlords differently.
Building insurance — compulsory in some countries; cover level and excess drive the annual premium.
Repairs and depreciation — roof, facade, equipment replacement. Not every year, but averaged over ten years it is a fixed cost.
Tax filing and accounting — non-residents usually need a local accountant. This is a long-running cost.
Fixed costs while empty — security, management, standing utilities. They continue whether or not anyone is there.

2. Only once it is rented out

Letting management fee — usually a percentage of rent, covering tenant finding, collection and day-to-day coordination.
Void periods — there will be gaps. The emptiness between tenants, and the cost of re-letting, both count.
Agency fee — a one-off when a new tenant is found; in some markets the landlord pays.
Tax on rental income — most countries tax it, with different rates and allowances.
Furniture and appliance replacement — continuous if the property is let furnished.

3. Only because it is cross-border

FX and remittance

Beyond the fee there is the spread, and it widens with size; send in several tranches and the cumulative cost is routinely underestimated.

Two jurisdictions

The same income may have to be handled in two places. Accounting and compliance costs both count.

Currency movement

Costs are in local currency, income in renminbi. A rate move changes the real burden directly.

4. How to put a number on it

Turn the annual fixed costs into a percentage of the purchase price, see how much the rent covers, and the remainder is your net annual outlay. This is the single most useful table to build before buying.

Across the markets we work in, annual fixed holding costs generally land somewhere between 1% and 2% of the purchase price, with letting management on top. That range is only for a first read — it varies widely by country and city, and the local tax bill, service-charge statement and actual quotes are what settle it.

Tip: keep it as a percentage of the purchase price rather than an absolute figure. That way it stays comparable when you change city or price bracket.

5. When to recalculate

After a change in tax rates or assessed values
Moving from owner-occupied to let, or the reverse
A change in the family: inheritance, gift, or a switch to joint ownership
A significant currency move
Mortgage repricing, and a change in the monthly payment

This is not a document that expires at completion. Update it once a year, or your view of the property stays frozen in the year you bought it.

How we work

When we take clients to see a project, the price sheet comes with that project's annual holding-cost table alongside it: fixed costs, letting scenario and cross-border costs listed separately. Whether to buy is the client's decision. Failing to lay out the numbers clearly is ours.