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by relium 20 days ago
I think 1% per year is insufficient for repairs. Even a paint job will cost more than that these days.

There's also a potential HOA fee, even in many neighborhoods with freestanding homes.

But there are tax benefits of home ownership too. The interest deduction used to very significant, although less now since they raised the standard deduction. There's also a $250K/500K non-taxable capital gains benefit when you sell a house for more than you paid.

4 comments

There are years where I don't have to spend that much and sometimes there a year here or there where I do a major project (roof, new patio, etc) that goes way over, but an average of 1% per year seems right to me.
Some people get lucky. I'm not lucky and I've probably spent more like 2.5% on average.

There's always a loud minority that love to boast that all they had to do was replace a washer back in '86 for 50c

Seriously. My experience with 15 years of home ownership is probably more like 3% per year. I don't think I've ever had even a single year where 1% was accurate.
I've heard a guideline of 3% of the value of the structure plus 0.5% of the value of the land.
35 years, .75% per year, newish home when bought, high desert
Painting is one of the home improvment tasks that most people can do without hiring out, especially since it is typically a discretionary.
It’s fairly unpleasant at least in my opinion. I don’t want to spend hours breathing fumes. Also it’s boring and repetitive. And finally, IME professional painting is far higher quality (especially if you are texturing or have any complex shapes to paint around).
It sounds like the parent is referring to exterior, and you're referring to interior?