alt Hacker NewsIt is suggested to set aside 1%-3% of your home's overall value for repairs every year.
Most people do not do this, and many homes thus slowly degrade in value. It is a fast track way to destroy potential generational wealth.
Home repair issues also tend to be bursty (rule of three...). You'll have a few years of nothing that'll lull you into a false sense of security, then suddenly three major issues will come up. So far this year I've had nearly 10K in random expenses pop up (!!) and based on the life expectancy of my HVAC system I expect I'll have some more major expenses next year.
If there is one near to you, join a tool library. It is a huge savings over buying specialized tools for one off jobs. Tool libraries are an amazing community resource.
Find a good reliable handy man, even if you know how to do things yourself. Hopefully one you can trust with your door code so if your neighbors report running water while you are away on a trip you have someone you can call who you know will take care of it.
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> and many homes thus slowly degrade in value
Except in my experience the lack of upkeep doesn't actually affect the value all that much. In many places the vast majority of the price is the land and people seem less interested in valuing based on the condition of the structure. It may affect time to sell, but that seems about it. Sure some credits might be offered during escrow for some repairs, but again often the money is insufficient or the seller simply says no.
A friend of mine had an interesting point there. It was more on a personal note that either of us had a hard time spending money on nice things for ourselves. Like, do you need better headphones, do you need this, do you really need that? Better not buy anything nice or fun.
A fairly unintuitive resolution to this is to setup a "fun and nonsense" budget and force yourself to spend it every half year, or to make a conscious plan on how to spend it over the year. If you plan the budget right, it won't hurt you, but it will force you to make your life better.
Maintenance, especially of owned property, seems similar to me. You should be saving up for the real "oh shit" situations, and you should accumulate a budget to just do things continuously. 6 months of routine maintenance budget saved up, what do we spend it on actively, before it becomes a mess?
The trick if own can pull it off is to mortgage in an area with cost of living a step or two down from where one had previously been renting. This was easiest during the proliferation of remote work but can still happen with some persistence.
This way one’s housing costs feel like a bargain and savings (including repair reserves) quickly rack up unless the individual in question has serious problems holding onto money.
I would really recommend getting a Home Warranty. I probably saved myself $7-$8K just in the last year fixing all kinds of electrical, plumbing and HVAC issues.
Most home repairs give warning. My roof is old but it wasn't hard to inspect it and conclude it is good for another year. If I have to replace it soon insurance will cover it.
> Most people do not do this, and many homes thus slowly degrade in value
I agree with the first part, people absolutely do shoddy work or none at all but the value doesn't seem to go down. My mother bought a house had it inspected beforehand but massive issues with the foundation and the roof showed up the following spring when there was heavy rain. Sure, all that can be fought with attorneys and insurance (both cost time and money) but it doesn't feel very good psychologically or physically to be dealing with so much paperwork and house repairs.
Sorry to rant, I think your comment is spot on... owning a house is expensive.
> It is suggested to set aside 1%-3% of your home's overall value for repairs every year.
Rob Carrick, a now (semi-)retired personanl finance writer in Canada, observed that owning a home tends to not be a forced saving plan but rather a forced spending plan:
* https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWG223bPjvf/
* https://thewealthybarber.com/video/owning-a-home-is-so-expen...
Full interview on The Wealthy Barber podcast:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8OwBbm5OXc