House maintenance cost

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Medviersi
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Joined: Sun May 11, 2014 6:54 pm

House maintenance cost

Post by Medviersi »

What is a good BH value for general maintenance costs for a house? I'm thinking of a fairly typical family home as a primary residence. I'm happy to do some or even most of the work - nearly all the yard/garden work, interior painting, basic plumbing. . . I would always hire a pro for major work - exterior painting, electrical, gas, heating work.

Is x% of the house value a reasonable budgeting tool? or y% of replacement cost?

Or is a cost per size, complexity or age of the house a better way of guessing the long term costs?

Thanks for any rules of thumb that you use . . .
NoVa Lurker
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by NoVa Lurker »

I've heard 1% of the home value often, but it should not be a surprise that it can vary very, very, very, very widely.
Yeti
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by Yeti »

The home we live in now is only 1.5 years old, so we don't budget all that much for maintenance costs, maybe 0.5% of the value. For our previous home, which was ~10 years old at the time, we'd budget 1% of the value of the home for maintenance and upkeep annually. Your responses will probably vary quite drastically depending on the location and age of the home being two of the larger factors.

Yeti
Levett
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Location: upper Midwest

Re: House maintenance cost

Post by Levett »

"Thanks for any rules of thumb that you use . . ."

Since a son-in-law asked me years ago, and since I've been a homeowner for more years than I can remember (on some days ;-)), here's my rule of thumb--there ain't no useful rule of thumb.

Major expenses can strike from out of nowhere. And then there are quiet times. And then there are piddly expenses. And then...

Being a homeowner is like life in general: you just never know.

Sorry. :(

Lev

P.S. I take "maintenance" to mean not only upkeep, but expenses--due to emergency or not--that are not covered by any form of insurance.
Last edited by Levett on Wed Jul 02, 2014 3:55 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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mhc
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by mhc »

I have a $300k 2500 sq ft house. Maintenance costs are not smooth. Some years I do not spend any money. Others I may spend a lot. This year the only maintenance cost I think I will have is to refinish hardwood floors and replace blinds. If you have to replace HVAC or roof, you will spend more. If you include window coverings and appliances, that is lumpy also. Here would be my guesses for my house:

roof: $8k every 15-20 years
hvac: $8k every 15-20 years
hot water heater: $1k 10-15 years
exterior paint: $4k 10 years
hardwood floor refinish: $2k 15 years
window coverings: $1k 15 years
kitchen appliances: $5k 10 years
carpet: $5k 15 years
interior paint DIY: $50 year
yard DIY: $500 year (1/4 acre lot)
misc: $400 year

Summary: 0.5-1.0% of home value annually.

If you remodel or finish a basement, you can easily spend lots of money. Wear and tear is also dependent on family. When I was single, there was very little wear and tear on my house. Now with a family, I spend a lot more on maintenance.
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ResearchMed
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by ResearchMed »

Some of the maintenance would depend upon whether it's a new house, or a much older one.
In the latter case, it's more likely that "things" will need repair or even full replacement, than for a home just built.

RM
ralph124cf
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by ralph124cf »

Definitely base any percentage on replacement cost rather than home value. The price of a 3,500 foot square house in Kansas may be a lot less than a 1,000 foot square house in Los Angeles, but will have much greater maintenance costs. The climate that you live in also has a big effect on your maintenance costs.

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poker27
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by poker27 »

I have lived in my house (townhouse) for 2 years , and we have only spent money on 'improvements' until recently. A neighbor had some leaking on the front of their unit, so we decided to get all new insulation and wood put up on our units. Then 3 days ago during a thunderstorm my ceiling in my kitchen decided to bless me with a few buckets full of water. New roof, gutters, drywall, and god know what else will need to be replaced. Sorry for the rant, bad timing :)

I would think that 1% is a good long term # for maintenance. ie over 10 years you can expect to spent 30k on maintenance for a 300k house.
MrMatt2532
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by MrMatt2532 »

I use 1% of structure cost as an estimate.

For example, you could look up on zillow what the home value is, say 300k. Then lookup the "land share" for your state, https://www.lincolninst.edu/subcenters/ ... -state.asp, say 15%.
Then your structure cost is equal to 300k * (1.0 - 0.15) = 255k. So your yearly maintenance estimate would be $2550.
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dumbbunny
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by dumbbunny »

Consider putting 1% of home value into your maintenance budget bucket each year. Use the funds for repair and replacement only. Remodeling (and for me, landscaping projects) were separate buckets.
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interplanetjanet
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by interplanetjanet »

I think of 1% of rebuild cost as being about right. That said, expect to pay more in the year after a property is bought and possibly in the year leading up to its sale. There are almost always little things to be taken care of, and a lot of little things add up over time.
DFrank
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by DFrank »

I have read estimates as high as 2-3% of the value of the home. That seems high to me. I budget about 1.5%.

There is no doubt that it's going to vary widely based on the age of the home, the climate, type of landscaping, and other factors. I'm not convinced it can accurately be predicted based on some rule of thumb such as this. I've seen simple spreadsheets where you estimate the lifetime of various "components" of the the home (roof, carpet, exterior paint, major appliances, etc) along with an estimate of their replacement cost, which then turn that into an annual budget. I think Henry Hebeler may have one on his Analyze Now web site.

Dave
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p_qrs_t
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Re: House maintenance cost

Post by p_qrs_t »

I live in a 140 year old house. Maintenance exceeds 6% year.

It is easy to underestimate the cost of maintenance.

I happen to love where I live, my neighbors, and my proximity to work so I just end up shoveling much of my free money into maintenance...
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1%

Post by davebarnes »

1%
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