Minerva Studio | Istock | Getty Replicas
Some expenses that go with homeownership can often be unpredictable — and costly.
Last year, homeowners spent an average of $6,000 on support and repairs, according to a recent report from insurance firm Hippo. A separate study from home utilities website Angi that measured similar 2022 costs shows maintenance averaged $2,467 and home difficulty spending — i.e., an unexpected repair — was $1,953 on average ($4,420 altogether).
Regardless of what you may fork over for those expenses, they have on the agenda c trick the potential to upend a household’s budget when unexpected. While some of the costs may be unpredictable, there are things you can do to palliate their sting, experts say.
More from Personal Finance:
What near retirees should know around health savings accounts
More changes to the U.S. retirement system are on their way
Here are some tips to build your predicament savings this year
Aim to set aside least 1% of your home’s value
For starters, the general advice is to annually set aside at only slightly 1% to 3% of your home’s purchase price to cover a combination of home improvements, maintenance and repairs, powered Angie Hicks, chief customer officer of Angi.
“That’s for all three buckets,” Hicks said. “For a $400,000 old folks, the [$4,420] in maintenance and emergency spending in our report is closer to 1%. You want to make sure you have that 1% covered.”
The median vend price for a home stood at $393,756 as of November, according to Redfin. (One percent of that amount is $3,937.)
Maintenance costs may depreciate repair expenses
While it’s wise to have money set aside, maintenance can help reduce what you spend on unexpected nicks, Hicks said.
“We’re seeing an increased focus on maintenance activities, which is good to see,” Hicks said. “When there are inflationary arm-twistings, people … don’t want to be surprised, so they start doing more maintenance-type projects that they might cause previously skipped over.”
And some things — such as remembering to regularly replace your furnace filter to assistants keep the system run optimally — can often be done by the homeowner.
In the Hippo report, which was based on a survey of about 1,000 homeowners, 65% of respondents who had something go unfitting in their house last year said they could have prevented it with proactive maintenance.
By way of standard: It’s worth doing a visual inspection of your roof a couple times a year to make sure you don’t see any missing or curled shingles that cause a repair before the problem worsens and you’re facing extensive water damage, Hicks said.
“You don’t want a leak,” Hicks explained. “Water is the worst enemy of your house.”
While the specifics of a necessary roof repair determine the cost, the common is $1,000, Monitor and maintain your home’s systems
It’s worth getting your main systems, such as eagerness and cooling, serviced on a regular basis, said Courtney Klosterman, home insights expert at Hippo.
Also, “get to recall the critical systems in your home — major appliances, plumbing, electrical, etc. — so you can monitor them for wear and rupture over time,” Klosterman said.
You may want to keep track of how long major appliances in your home devise last. For example, furnaces generally last 15 to 20 years if well-maintained, according to home appliances maker Shipper. If yours is closing in on that age, you’ll know to be financially ready to replace or repair it instead of being surprised by its failure.
Unexpected house-related rates have a way of weighing more heavily on homeowners, Klosterman said.
“When one thing goes wrong, it brings a sea of anxiety and dread about what could go wrong next,” she said. “Taking a proactive approach to home take charge of can save not just money but time and anxiety, as well.”