Q: I am an expat living in Busan. I haven’t been able to visit my family back home, but this winter, I am going to make a short visit, which I am very excited about. My question is: Can I pay the maintenance fee one month early? In my apartment, I am supposed to pay maintenance fee between the 25^th and the last day of the month. But I am away during that week. If I am late, I have to pay a little bit of penalty. So I wonder if I can pay early.

A: It probably differs from apartment to apartment, so you better check with your 관리사무소 (maintenance office).

But when I checked with the 관리사무소 of my apartment, the staff there told me that I couldn’t, because monthly electricity bills and water bills are all included in the maintenance fee.

What they suggested was that if you let your maintenance fee be paid automatically with your credit card, it can be paid on time.

If you want to do this, you should sign up for this service to your credit card company.