More and more small condominium associations choose to merge, due to the tough economic situation. And there is money to be saved.
– We cut many of our costs in half, so we think we will be able to save SEK 2-300,000 per year, says Niclas Bergman, treasurer of the condominium association Visan in Gothenburg.
Between 2010 and 2020, an average of 13 mergers were completed per year. But in the last three years, that number has increased to 19, according to the Swedish Companies Registration Office. Property lawyer Christina Fregne believes that this will become more common in the future.
– If you merge two condominium associations, you become stronger vis-à-vis the banks. You may get better conditions when you have to carry out maintenance on your properties and it may also be that it is easier to find people who want to sit on the board simply, says Christina Fregne
“We cut many of our costs in half”
In Gothenburg, work is underway to merge the two condominium associations Visan and Sången into one large association. Niclas Bellman is treasurer in the association Visan.
– For us, it is very logical as we belong to a property. But it is also a cost saving. We will jointly get much higher loans, then we will have a stronger negotiating position vis-à-vis the banks to negotiate down interest rates.
Many advantages
Both Niklas Bellman and Christina Fregne see many advantages in merging small condominium associations into a larger one. A possible disadvantage could be that it becomes more difficult to know all the neighbors in a larger association.
– But hopefully it can be compensated by the money that the association will save, believes Niclas Bellman. A saving he hopes the neighbors will benefit from.
– We haven’t actually raised the fee since the interest rate situation changed, so the goal is first and foremost that we shouldn’t have to raise it at all. But in the long run it would have been great if we could lower the fees, says Niclas Bellman