Financing charge (rahoitusvastike)

The financing charge (rahoitusvastike) covers your share of the housing company’s loans. When the housing company takes out a loan for a large repair, such as a pipe renovation or a facade, the loan is split among the shareholders and paid monthly as a financing charge. The larger your apartment’s debt share, the larger the financing charge too.

Check two things in the property manager’s certificate (isännöitsijäntodistus): how much the financing charge is per month and how large the debt share allocated to the apartment is. A high financing charge combined with a large debt share clearly raises your real monthly cost, even if the selling price looks moderate. You can usually pay off the debt share in one go, after which the financing charge shrinks or disappears.

Watch out for the interest-only period (lyhennysvapaa) too. Many housing companies start a repair loan by paying only interest at first, which keeps the financing charge low. When the interest-only period ends, the loan principal also begins to be paid down and the financing charge rises. Ask the property manager or the seller when repayments start, so the monthly cost does not surprise you after the purchase.

The financing charge is a different thing from the maintenance charge (hoitovastike). The maintenance charge pays the housing company’s running upkeep, while the financing charge pays down the loan. Together they form the total monthly charge (yhtiövastike), which is a fixed monthly cost of living on top of even a debt-free home.