I’m new to owning a rental property. How much should one set aside monthy for repairs (small and larger ones)
April 24th, 2010 | 
Author: I hаνе a rental property thаt someone еlѕе wаѕ іn succession fοr mе, now I’m taking іt back over. I know thеrе ѕhουld bе money set aside each month tο cover repairs – everything frοm small plumbing tο lаrgеr things lіkе replacing thе roof (whеn needed іn xx years). Hοw much $ ѕhουld bе set aside each month (i.e. whаt percentage іѕ thе norm) fοr such things?
Posted in Rental Properties
Gosh babe, you must be the first landlord in description to reckon ahead like that. Excellent for you, but there is no norm. You should look at the expenses for repairs and maintenance for the last few years and see what the average is. Then I would suggest you pay for an inspection from a certified home inspector. They can tell you how much life is left in different elements of the structure….eg. hot water heaters, windows, roof, exterior end etc. Its worth the money.
I manage a lot of properties and the best advice I can give you is to buy a home warranty policy. For example, I pay around $400 a year and if something should break down, I pay a service call fee of $55 and they take care of it. Also, the home warranty is tax deductable.
Regards
My granpaw told me %25 of net is set aside, I listened.
I would first buy a Home Warranty…like the above person mentioned, but then I would also set back at least 100-200 a month (depending on your finance payment) to cover a reapir that may not fall under the Home Warranty.