Beyond the mortgage, a Truganina warehouse owner faces council rates, land tax where it applies, building insurance, and often owners corporation fees on estate lots. Add a maintenance reserve, any water charges, and vacancy costs if the property sits empty between tenants. These add up to a real annual figure.
Most buyers price the purchase carefully and then guess at the running costs. That guess usually lands low. Truganina has grown fast as an industrial precinct, which means more of the stock sits inside managed estates with shared roads, stormwater systems and security. Those shared costs get billed to owners whether the warehouse is leased or empty.
A warehouse that looks cheap to hold on paper often carries an owners corporation levy the buyer never budgeted for.
The main annual costs to plan for
Land tax is the one owners underestimate
Land tax catches out more industrial owners than any other cost on this list, because it is calculated on land value, not the whole property, and it can change year to year as valuations move. If you hold more than one industrial property, or hold through a trust or SMSF, the calculation gets more involved.
This is general information only, not financial, tax or legal advice, and Fairmont is a property agency, not a licensed financial adviser. Speak with your accountant or a registered tax agent about how land tax applies to your specific holding structure.
Vacancy is a holding cost too
An empty warehouse still incurs rates, insurance, owners corporation fees and security. Factor in a realistic vacancy allowance when you model annual costs, especially if the asset is a specialised space that suits a narrower band of tenants.
The mortgage is the cost everyone budgets for. The rest of the bill is the one that decides whether the yield actually works.
Where owners get the numbers wrong
Common questions
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