Tips On Budgeting For Regular Home Maintenance

When you purchase a new home, you purchase a load of new responsibilities as well. Proper planning for the financial side of your homeowner responsibilities will help make your life a whole lot easier as the years pass.

If you’re not really sure where to begin or what you should include in your maintenance budgeting, a little research will quickly set you on the right path. Take some time now to read through a brief listing of some tips on budgeting for regular home maintenance, and start planning today. You can also check out blogs such as photosforhomes.com for help with home maintenance needs if required.

Start a specific savings

Start a savings account specifically designated for home maintenance costs. Not all home maintenance costs can be covered by a small sum, so it’s good to have contingency savings to cover expenses.

Save at least one to three percent of the value of your home each year as a general foundation for your home maintenance savings account. Covering the cost of regular pest control, lawn maintenance, and other recurring maintenance is easier when you already have the dough in the bank.

Consider the age and state of your home

Always take into account the state and age of your home when formulating a maintenance budget. These variables make a difference in how much you should be saving for yearly maintenance costs.

If you have a brand new home with lots of fancy amenities, you’ll need more money to keep everything in great shape. If you have an old home that needs some extra TLC, you may need to up the budget. The state and age of your property is a huge decider on the specifics of your maintenance savings.

When you should save more

There are some maintenance or upkeep needs you may encounter as a homeowner that cost more than your budget is equipped to handle.

Planning to upgrade portions of your home is a good reason to start stashing a little more in your maintenance savings. Whenever a project is on the horizon, toss a little extra back to soften the blow.

Consider the recurring costs

No one likes exorbitant upkeep costs, especially when you know it could have been avoided! Warranties and regular maintenance of your electrical appliances like heat pumps, air conditioners, etc, can go a long way to cut down on huge blows to your bank account later. With the help of professionals from an HVAC Company, you can thus, maintain your appliances, and save your money! Persistent and recurring problems like drainage issues, refrigerant leakage, blown fuses, or clogged filters are not desirable for your appliance, and definitely not for your wallet in the end.

So, don’t forget the smaller, recurring costs of home maintenance. Things like lawn mowing, changing the filters in your home’s heating and air unit, or having the chimney cleaned shouldn’t go unaccounted for in your maintenance budget. It may seem like a small price to pay for each service, but the frequency of these tasks will add up over the course of a year.

Look towards building equity

No matter what, know that your budgeting efforts will work towards building value in your home. If you can boost your equity by fixing or maintaining something around the house, the answer is always yes.