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A Guide to Average Home Maintenance Costs

A Guide to Average Home Maintenance Costs - Wondering how much maintaining your home is going to cost you? Read on to learn how much to set aside.

By Merriman Wealth Management, Wealth Advisor
Published On 03/29/2022

Purchasing a new home involves a great deal of money, especially if you remain in the same house for years. To keep your home systems and appliances functioning smoothly, you also need to spend money on maintenance. This blog will help you understand the average home maintenance costs and how you can reduce them significantly.

What Is the Average Home Maintenance Cost?

According to a survey by the National Association of Home Builders in 2019, the typical cost of minor repairs and regular maintenance is $950 per year. This amount is based on the average single-family house and is subject to change based on several factors. For instance, the cost does not include expensive repairs and maintenance of items like the roof, swimming pool, HVAC, and other significant home features. Additional factors that can swing the cost of maintenance include the location of your house, the area of your house (in square feet), and the size of your family.

How Much Should You Budget for Home Maintenance?

A general rule of thumb states that you should keep 1% of your house value as a fund for general maintenance. For instance, if your house costs $500,000, then you should be prepared to pay up to $5,000 for maintenance. However, recent trends indicate that a growing number of homeowners are keeping aside up to 4% of their house value in their maintenance fund.

Another method, the square footage rule, states that you should keep $1 per square foot of your house for maintenance. Thus, for a 3000-square-foot property, you can expect $3,000 for maintenance. However, this method does not factor in the age, location, or the condition of your house.

What Are the Activities Included in Maintenance Costs

At times, people get confused between repair costs and maintenance costs. Maintenance of your house includes activities to keep your house clean and maintained. It also includes activities that allow seamless functioning of your appliances and home systems. Wondering what these are? Here’s a list of few of them:

  1. Cleaning the home deck or patio
  2. Lawn services
  3. Sidewalk and driveway maintenance
  4. Cleaning the gutters and vents
  5. Servicing your HVAC
  6. Maintaining faucets and sinks
  7. Maintaining the central heating system
  8. Lubricating garage door springs
  9. Pest control and inspection
  10. Regular maintenance of kitchen appliances

These maintenance activities are not very costly and can be managed using maintenance savings. However, the house itself might need repairs. Repair costs for fixing roofs, HVAC, structural defects, water heater, and the like can quickly add up. The excess of your maintenance funds can be used for these emergency fixes.

You can also assess the repair costs and set aside some money for such unexpected expenses. Alternatively, you could purchase a home warranty plan that covers these repairs and replacements of home systems and appliances. Check out the best home warranty companies offering reliable services. Your home deserves the best!

Conclusion

When you buy a house, don’t just consider the down payment, taxes, and renovation costs. Also include the annual maintenance costs. These are recurring charges you need to pay along with your house. There is no definitive range or rule that can exactly anticipate how much you might have to spend, so do what you can to be as prepared as possible.

 

Written exclusively for Merriman.com by Sophie Williams.
Sophie Williams is a professional content marketer. She leverages analytical skills from a STEM degree to give an edge to her passion for writing. She is always thinking about how to produce engaging content for her readers. She enjoys finding ways to minimize her living costs and help other struggling homeowners with the same. She also loves writing long rants on books and movies.

 

Disclosure: The material is presented solely for information purposes and has been gathered from sources believed to be reliable, however Merriman cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information, and certain information presented here may have been condensed or summarized from its original source. All opinions expressed in this article constitute the judgment of the author(s) as of the date of this article and are subject to change with notice. Merriman does not provide tax, legal or accounting advice, and nothing contained in these materials should be relied upon as such.

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By Merriman Wealth Management, Wealth Advisor

At Merriman, we manage your wealth so you can lead your best life. We take care of the financial planning and investment management, so you can deal in more possibilities and have the space you need to dream big.

Because it’s time to stop asking "What should I do?" and start saying, "This is what I could do."

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