We get to do a lot of quotes for home owners or landlords each week, and often people are surprised about the costs for doing major maintenance or big repairs.
Wages and materials all have gone up, some of the costs have doubled since the last two years.
So when a house owner doesn't have the cash to do the necessary repairs it means he has not been putting money aside.
As the average house price is over a million, then most likely it is your biggest asset.
Not maintaining it means the value will not be going up as fast as a well maintained home.
Or even going down.
Spending money on maintenance will prevent problems getting bigger.
If little problems get bigger, you will reach a point of no return and only a costly replacement or major renovation will do the job.
Only about 40% of houses are in a good shape.
So how much should you safe for home maintenance each year.
With a brand new house you should be safe not setting anything aside for about 5 years.
After 5 years try to set aside $3000 a year.
After 15 years, a minimum of 5000 per year will get you safely trough major repairs and maintenance.
With an older or bigger house you should probably consider going even a bit higher like 8.000 or even 10.000.
Another way of maintaining your home would be DIY, This way you will save about 40% on cash but you'll loose out on free time.
Lifespans:
Corrugated roofing without maintenance: 40 Years.
Corrugated roofing with maintenance: 60 years.
Exterior paint new: 10 years.
Exterior paint repainted: 5 to 10 years.
Gutters: 20 years.
Timber cladding with maintenance: 40 Years.
Timber cladding with no maintenance: 20- 30 Years.
Decking: 15 Years.
Maintained: 20-25 Years.
Substructure: 30 Years.
Fencing: No maintenance 15 years.
Fence: maintained 20-25 Years.