Annual Savings for Home Maintenance

In My Humble Opinion
1

Hi everyone,

I just recently purchased a home and I was looking for some rough guidelines on what to expect in terms of yearly maintenance and repairs (cost and occurrence).

Obviously, there are an innumerable amount of variables to consider, but I’m mainly looking for anecodotal advice on what has worked for you in terms of saving monthly. I’ve read extensively on the “1-3% of the home value per year” rule, but that just doesn’t really add up to me when you consider different housing markets, year built, etc.

I have initially started saving about $200/mo. for home maintenance, but this has caused my budget to get pretty tight. I’ve managed to cut back in other areas in order to make this feasible, though. Furthermore, any overtime I get at work is plopped into savings and acts as a further buffer should things start going wrong.

That all said, I’ll share a little bit about the house. Keep in mind that I am the antithesis of “expert” and mainly going off of what others have said as well as the home inspection.

-Built in 1953
-Negotiated selling price: $112,500 (loan $106,500)
-Brick exterior
-Roof replaced in 2001
-Gas furnace replaced w/ high-efficiency model in 2007
-Gas water heater replaced in 1998 (yikes), but still going (seemingly) strong
-Central A/C unit replaced in 2010-2011
-Subterranean termite damage, 2008? Treated same year and every year thereafter. None to minimal damage
-Windows are ancient (and wood, but double paned), and they’re first on my list at some point. Still seem quite serviceable. A broken seal on one or two but nothing major

I think that about covers the majors. If I forget anything big, I’ll mention it later. The electrical system is old but works fine. No flickering, breakers constantly tripping, etc. The inspector recommended updating it eventually but it did not seem pressing.

Upon moving in, I have not noticed any sort of problems. One issue is potential ice damming. I seem to get more icicles than anyone on the block, but I think this may be exaggerated by the fact that the gutters are equipped with a gutter helmet. Anyone have any experience with those? I’m probably going to replace the insulation in the attic at some point to reduce this, but I haven’t noticed any water penetration thus far. I’ll be giving the attic a good once-over in the Spring.

Thanks for reading. I’m mainly just looking for your personal experiences and what you consider a “comfortable” amount of savings. As I said, I know this varies wildly, but I hope I painted a modest picture.

:smiley:

2

Good on you for budgeting this, most people don’t.

My house reads almost exactly like yours. For years we put $100/month into our budget for house maintenance. This also includes most updates, like say a new rug in the bathroom.

After some time, our budget amount got quite large, and we stopped contributing until such time as the balance drops below $1000. It has worked out well for us.

3

Thank you for the post!

I was thinking around the same lines. I have roughly $3,000 in savings for anything car/house related. I think that would be a good “floor” for things that go wrong. My car is a 2012 Civic with low yearly mileage, so hopefully I don’t see much on that end beyond normal inspection and such.

I’ll probably stop fretting if I can’t religiously save $200/mo. like I have been doing. It sort of limits the amount of things I can do for myself, which is an important part of staying sane.

4

Your house is the same age as mine, brick exterior too. Everything you list is substantially newer than mine so I would say you are way ahead there. I usually have enough set aside so I don’t need to budget for the home repairs. Just remember that when something needs a repair, it can be a large expense.

A few things I’ve had to fix recently:
New appliances for the kitchen. This can be planned out and isn’t that huge of a cost.
Bathroom work. Tile work and a toilet that decided to crack. Not that much if you do it yourself, much more expensive if you have to pay someone.
Clogged sewer: This cost $600 and absolutely had to be done immediately. I had a similar expense a couple of years ago when a pipe broke. Plumbing in an old house can be a bitch.

I would guess I spend maybe $2000 a year in actual maintenance and repairs but I do a lot of that myself. Remodeling, like replacing windows and redoing the kitchen and baths, I count separately and costs more than that, depending on what new do-dads my wife wants.

5

We were allowing our savings to build up in anticipation of a new roof. But the storm gods brought havoc upon us, and insurance paid for a new roof. We plowed all that money into other needs, such as appliances you mentioned.

6

Thanks for the replies.

My fiancé from Canada will be moving here within the next year and a half with a wedding set in August of this year. Her income will mostly be a bonus as I am aiming to see that I maintain things on just my income. We definitely don’t want kids, so I’m just trying to get an accurate model without her here. Anything she earns after she gets here is just gravy.

7

A rule of thumb that I either heard or made up several years ago (I honestly don’t remember which): two mortgage payments. Have that much at the ready–ideally in cash, but possibly in credit that it won’t hurt you too much to pay back. And if you can’t spend that much every year on maintenance don’t buy the house.

Most years it hasn’t been anything like that, of course, but it certainly has some years.

8

If your fiance is anything like mine was (25 years ago) you will eventually find out that everything in the house is wrong. I’ve torn out and replaced all the paneling, drywall and molding over the years, completely rebuilt the kitchen and the baths and replaced the siding and gutters too. Not to mention regrading the yard. It was our perfect dream home to start a life together, except for those one or two tiny things. :smiley:

9

Straight up maintenance isn’t really that expensive- it’s usually stuff like fixing the drawer pulls that come loose, repairing fences and decks, tweaking the toilet innards, and occasionally replacing them if the toilet keeps running, and replacing light bulbs, various filters and other consumables.

What costs the big bucks are when major appliances crap out- water heater, dishwasher, stove/oven, etc… and when for whatever reason you have to do some degree of remodeling.

For example, we replaced the cruddy back door that the prior owners saddled us with, and while the door assembly was only $500, it was probably twice that to have the carpet pulled back and some portion of the subfloor replaced because of the steady leakage of the old door.

10

Thank goodness she is about as practical as I am.

“This is why we can’t have nice things!” :stuck_out_tongue:

Yeah, that seems to be the case the more I look at it. Fortunately, a lot of the major systems and appliances are (mostly) new. Something like a new water heater or fridge won’t kill me, though. I suspect that the water heater will be the first to go, being 15 years old.

Most of my concern will probably be with keeping water away from the house as much as possible. The gutter helmet should help in terms of checking the downspouts less, but I’ll still give them a look every once in awhile.

Plumbing is also a concern as most of the pipes in the basement appear to be very old. I suppose we’ll see how that goes.

11

In my opinion “gutter helmets” are not a good thing to have. While they will slow the entry of debris into your gutters, they will not stop it. They will generally make it more difficult to clean out your gutters. I experimented with them, and finally decided the best thing to do was to clean the gutters regularly. I would go up on the roof with a leaf blower. When my wife forbade me from doing that, I had a service clean them three times a year at $100 a pop.

As far as your pipes are concerned, the first thing you want to do is find out how to cut off water to your whole house and make sure it works. If you have very old plumbing, it might be worth calling a plumber in for this. My father had such a valve come off in his hand, spraying water all over the basement. If this valve is a gate valve, you want to replace it with a ball valve as soon as possible (a bit of research on the internet will tell you the difference). Make sure everyone who lives in the house knows where this valve is and how to shut the water off in an emergency. Check all your appliance connections. They usually have a valve near them to cut off water. Make sure they work, and again, replace gate valves with ball valves.

12

Agreed. I’ve found the normal day-to-day maintenance stuff to generally be cheap enough that I don’t really need to consciously budget for it as a separate line item (though I agree it’s a good idea to do so, especially if you’re new to home ownership). But I’ve had instances where I’ve had to shell out $10k or $20k for major projects (new HVAC, new roof, exterior painting, etc.), and for most people a trickle of monthly savings isn’t really going to take care of that kind of thing. I always make sure I have enough cash set aside for something like that, with buffer (because these things always cost more than you think they should).

13

Move the water heater to the top of the list. The windows can wait, but if you can help it, you really want to change a water heater on your schedule so you can get one while they are on sale at Sears or wherever, as well as not waking up some day to an ice cold shower.

14

I’ve been told by multiple plumbers and home inspectors that, when it comes to water heaters, more expensive/efficient is not necessarily better. They all advised buying the cheapest one you can find that’s appropriate for the size of the household, and just plan on replacing it every ten years or so. It’s about a 1 hour job for a competent plumber, so you’re not even out that much for installation.

My wife and I are currently putting away $400/month on the place we bought two years ago (1930’s, frame/siding, basement), but we’re planning on making some semi-expensive improvements over the next couple of years, including rebuilding the screened-in porch, building a fence around our rather large lot, and replacing a ground-level deck with pavers.

We’re probably going to keep saving like that after that work is done, because there’s probably a kitchen renovation on the timetable within five years or so, and that’s going to be beaucoup bucks.

15

I have some questions that will alter your savings rate. Is this a single level or 2 story? Do you have a fireplace? does your roof have a solid substrate (plywood or boards with gaps between them)?What did the electrician mean by “updating”? What size is your panel? Do you have grounded outlets? Do you have GFI outlets in the kitchen and bathrooms? What is your driveway made of and what kind of condition is it in? What are your water pipes made of (copper, pvc, iron)?.

Are you willing to do some of the maintenance work yourself?

So far all I see is a new hot water heater in your immediate future. The life expectancy is related to the number of sacrificial anodes it has and the quality of your water. that’s something you and a buddy can swap out in an afternoon if you’re so inclined otherwise It’s a couple hundred for the labor. If the windows are quality double pane units then you may be able to have them rehabbed cheaper than replaced.