Believe it or not, the majority of families living in the United States own a home. It is pretty easy to determine if home-ownership makes financial sense. All you need is a simple home affordability calculator and some basic financial figures. Over the years however, the number of homeowners has been decreasing as apartment living has soared to the highest it's ever been in about a half-decade.
Part of the reason why many are starting to gravitate back towards rentals is that they fear house maintenance costs. And you know what? Those are good instincts.
House maintenance costs can bankrupt an unprepared family because, inevitably, there will be several charges associated with owning a home that'll creep up monthly/yearly.
Not sure what you should include in your maintenance cost for a house checklist? Keep reading and we'll break down ancillary expenses to watch out for.
General Maintenance
Maintenance on your home is unavoidable in many ways. For example, when your lawn overgrows, who is going to mow it? Are you going to pay a mower? Are you going to buy a mower, fuel it up every other week, and expend opportunity cost to start cutting?
What about your pool? Who's going to clean that?
The bi-weekly/monthly tasks you need to do to keep your house looking good (and your HOA off your back) all fall under general maintenance and collectively, can easily run you $100+ per month.
Major Repairs
Massive repairs like a roof replacement, gutter fixes, and the like can set you back thousands. The good news is that these repairs aren't ones you'll need to contend with every month or even every year. For more information about gutter cleaning visit Bax Clean.
The bad news is that a 15-year roof replacement that costs $15,000 could ruin you financially if you don't prepare. Always set money aside each month so you can manage big-ticket house maintenance costs when they land on your lap.
Taxes
Property taxes, believe it or not, are things that many homeowners don't count on when they buy. After all, when you buy a house and pay it off, it's yours, right? There's nobody left to pay to continue residing in your residence!
Wrong!
Property taxes are ever-present, are usually paid yearly, and have a penchant for going up whenever the community wants something new.
Always budget for property taxes throughout the year and keep an eye on measures that aim to raise property taxes so you can choose whether or not you'd like to vote them down.
Closing With a House Maintenance Costs Rule of Thumb
Do all of these house maintenance costs variables have your head spinning? If they do, take a breath and consider this rule of thumb...
Depending on the size of your house, you'll want to budget 1% - 4% of your home's value per year for maintenance costs. We think falling on the lower end of that range is a safe bet.
However you choose to budget for repairs, never outright ignore your repair obligations. Doing so could lead to the loss of your property if you're not careful.
For more on average annual house maintenance costs, old house maintenance costs, and similar topics, check out the newest content we have available on our blog.
Leave a Reply