Along with leaving the worries of maintenance behind, buying a condominium, whether townhome or apartment-style, can translate to a less-costly type of home owner-ship - even with the rising prices of fuel, water and electricity.

“First of all, you're paying about $100,000 less on average for an apartment condo than for a single-family home in the current market, plus it's going to be about half the size,” says Gerald Rotering, a condominium-specialist realtor in Calgary.

While each condominium varies in terms of what condo fees cover, owners often pay individually for electricity and natural gas used in their units, and common property utilities, including water, are absorbed into the monthly fees.

“Condominiums are all different, so it's hard to generalize, but it certainly does cut down costs when they are divided among a number of residents,” says Bernie Winter, author of 10 Secrets of Surviving Life in a Condominium and owner of Condo Check.

Winter says another large capital cost that should ease condo buyers' minds and wallets is insurance, also factored into monthly condo contributions along with heat, water and other operating costs. “You still have to insure your own belongings, but when you imagine what it would cost to insure 100 houses, it's considerably less.”

Enmax estimates the average single-family household consumes 625 kW of electricity on a monthly basis, based on a family of four in a 1,500- to 2,000-square-foot home. Older appliances and windows and inadequate insulation, as well as leaving computers running constantly, can all drive up that number - and monthly bills. Currently at about 6 cents/kW, electricity doesn't come cheap. But, as apart-ment-style condos generally boasts less square footage and fewer occupants per suite, the jolt felt when paying the bills should be smaller for condo dwellers than their single-family buying counterparts.

Water and sewage billing now also falls to City of Calgary-owned Enmax. According to the utility provider, the average family of four in a standard single-family address will use 28 cubic metres of water a month, amounting to about $60 including sewage costs. Townhome dwellers, technically condo owners, too, will likely see similar costs and individual bills, while apartment-style condominiums will almost always be invoiced by providers as a group and paid via condo fees based on unit factor.

While paying as a group lessens each person's cut, Rotering warns that one or two wasteful residents - such as the neighbour who enjoys daily three-hour showers - could affect the entire corporation's bottom line and raise monthly fees. He suggests mandating low-flow showerheads to combat waste and rising water costs.

Other ways to reduce waste might be replacing incandescent bulbs in common areas with energy-saving halogen types, running dishwashers only when full and informing management companies and boards about leaky faucets, says Lauretta Kaechele, vice-president of Emerald Management and vice-president of the Canadian Condominium Institute.

“We always try to encourage people to conserve, which can save money - I always remind them they also are paying for common areas and maintenance costs,” says Kaechele.

Though it can vary based on furnace efficiency and household appliances using the fuel, such as stoves and clothes dryers, Direct Energy Regulated Services estimates the average 1,000-square-foot Calgary household uses 150 GJ of natural gas annually. At the current rate of $12.18, that's $150/month or $1800 a year. With the Alberta government offering a rebate of $4/GJ for the month of November, this would bring the average cost natural gas bill down to $100 a month.

As there is often just one meter per complex, natural gas is another item commonly factored into the monthly obligations and fueled by condo fees, says Kaechele.

“There are certainly benefits to living in a condo,” says Kaechele, adding it's a good rule of thumb to investigate costs and what condo contributions cover before taking the ownership plunge in any complex.