The Billion-Dollar Question: Is Your Condo’s Sinking Fund Running Dry?

In Singapore, our skyline tells a story of success and growth. But beneath the gleaming facades of our private residences lies a pressing, often ignored, reality: nearly half of our condos are now over 20 years old.

With age comes inevitable decay. Aging infrastructure, particularly frequent lift breakdowns, is becoming a common disruption to daily life. But the real crisis isn’t the breaking down; it’s the breaking point of finances. Many estates are discovering, too late, that their sinking funds—carefully set aside for these very major replacements—are woefully insufficient.

A Cautionary Tale: When Short-Term Thinking Leads to Long-Term Crisis

Consider this all-too-common scenario: In one condo, residents were hit with repeated special levies to fund urgent lift replacements and repainting projects. The result was not solutions, but outrage.

Frustrated owners banded together and voted to oust the incumbent council. However, the new council quickly found itself in an impossible position. Within months, facing the same harsh financial realities, members resigned in frustration, the managing agent terminated their contract and the aging lifts continued to fail.

No one had a viable, long-term plan. This story isn’t rare; it’s a warning.

The Collective Denial of a Billion-Dollar Asset

Why does this happen? Proposals for necessary additional levies or increased monthly contributions often face rounds of rejection. They are debated, diluted and sometimes only pass in a watered-down form that fails to address the true scale of the problem.

This collective hesitation creates a dangerous paradox: million-dollar units are sitting atop fragile, underfunded systems. We meticulously maintain our individual apartments while allowing the shared infrastructure that gives them value to crumble.

The Path Forward: Foresight, Teamwork, and Good Governance

But not all stories are bleak. Some forward-thinking estates are setting a powerful example. They are planning decades in advance, investing in sustainability upgrades, and proactively building strong, healthy reserves. They prove it is not impossible; it just takes foresight and a commitment to teamwork.

It’s time to change our perspective. Your individual unit may be worth $1–2 million. But collectively, your estate is a $500 million or more asset. Isn’t it time we started treating our homes with the same seriousness as any other billion-dollar investment?

Good governance starts with responsible financial planning. It requires council members and residents to look beyond monthly statements and envision the needs of the estate 10, 20, or 30 years from now.

A Call to Action: Champion Sustainability, Not Just Affordability

The question is not just for your council; it’s for every owner.

We must move from speaking up to stepping up. We must champion long-term sustainability over short-term affordability.

The condition of our homes and the preservation of our wealth depend on it. If we, the collective owners, do not invest wisely in our shared estate, who will?

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Teo Poh Siang (Dr. Condo) is the Founder of Wisely 98 Pte Ltd. He provides expert property consultancy and trains tomorrow’s industry leaders in condo and strata  management.

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