Budgeting for Home Maintenance

House maintenance is undoubtedly an important part of being a homeowner. But how much should your budget for home maintenance each year? How much will it cost for each individual servicing? It really depends on each house. Factors include location, number of appliances, size, etc.

Maintenance Costs

The cost to maintain each appliance or system differs, but it is good to determine the approximate amount for each task. For example, a common task for most houses is to have the air conditioner serviced. This task will costs about $50-150 per unit for a good cleaning and system check. Having the air conditioner maintained each year will extend the life and promote good energy efficiency.

What other tasks should your consider including? Here is a list of items to get you started:

• Dishwasher spray arm cleaning
• Chimney sweeping
• Vent filter replacement
• Furnace servicing
• Garage door opener lubrication
• Garbage disposal cleaning
• Smoke detector test
• GFCI test
• Humidifier cleaning
• Microwave cleaning
• Oven and hood filter cleaning
• Pool maintenance
• Refrigerator coil cleaning

There are many more tasks to consider but this checklist will get you going in the right direction. Note that some of these tasks should cost very little while others will require a professional and higher costs.

Rule of Thumb Budget

If you don't have time or just don't feel like compiling a list of all the home maintenance costs then just use the rule of thumb for budgeting. Set aside 1-2% of your home's value each year. For example, set aside $2-4,000 per year for a $200,000 house. This will give you plenty of cash to handle all maintenance and cover repairs.