How to Save Money When Building a House
Although building codes specify the lifespan of high-rise facades, technical and material issues often cause them to start detaching after the two-year warranty expires. Developers then simply pass the buck and refuse to repair, turning facade detachment into a property management issue. Property managers rely on a public maintenance fund that is primarily spent on elevator repairs, which can be extremely costly—especially if the wrong elevators were chosen during initial construction. In the end, property management often has no money and won’t address falling facade tiles. If a homeowners’ association exists, they might discuss pooling funds for repairs, but these costs can easily run into hundreds of thousands or even millions. However, everyone in China has their own difficulties, and these matters usually fizzle out without resolution. As a result, even newly built residential buildings can age rapidly within five years. Once the facade detaches, exposure to wind, rain, snow, and intense sun quickly erodes the building structure, leading to water infiltration, leaks, cracks, and other serious issues.
Those with money buy new homes to relocate, while those without must wait for the government to lead renovations of old residential compounds.
This means that for some homebuyers, spending millions is essentially just purchasing a 10-to-20-year rental right.
Developers merely save 100–200 RMB per square meter in construction costs (mainly by switching to cheaper materials). The price difference is small—often only 100 to 200 RMB per square meter—but the gap in lifespan is enormous. This practice significantly damages residents’ living experience over decades and increases their long-term housing costs.