Home maintenance costs estimated by Kirsty

I heard her before say 1% of property value per year. So £200,000 property would equate to that figure of £2,000 spend each year then.

I don’t budget for repairs, last year I spent on 2 dripping taps and a toilet cistern repair which cost £95 and this year a new control panel for my boiler £130 so nowhere near Kirsty’s estimate.

Crikey if 1% is the level I’d be spending over4k per annum. I guess we’ve always taken care of the property so not much goes wrong. ?

But you have to replace windows, gutters, kitchens etc. as well, so although you can get away with not spending that amount for a few years, it catches up with you in the end. I’m in that position now, saving for window and door replacements, it costs a lot of money.

I wonder if she meant a figure averages over the course of a few years. I'd struggle to spend £2k every year, but as Casdon says, when something major is done it can cost far more than that, so it averages out.

I always have set projects planned each year, last year I had a lot going on, but because of the circumstances, they seemed to drag on all year.
This year we’re not going to do much. I know you have to keep on top of things, but I’m giving us a year off!
Kirsty’s estimate sounds about right to me.

I've already spent this year's allowance then, but as others said it does average out over the years.

Threexnanny. I mentioned that on the Good Morning thread this morning, and have just realised that we spent that much, as we had our radiators replaced earlier this year.

We spent about £20,000 last year, but very minimally over the previous ten years except for a new boiler about six years ago, so averaged out, about right.

I don't wait for things to need repairing I tend to update things because I want to, so never really have things going wrong.

We'd certainly struggle to find enough work to do to justify that sort of spending!

My next project is the laundry/utility it’s currently a cold, cluttered room, with not enough storage. But then I get a few new ideas, and it turns into a major building project!

I've just Goggled average UK house prices and it's around £250000 so if the 1% figure is correct then we should all be spending £2500, and more in the south. That seems an awful lot to me even when averaged out, but OH will do most things except electrics and roof repairs, so I haven't much experience of labour costs.

Yes, I agree that it would average out over the years, some projects cost a very large amount.

In fact, I think that is quite a conservative estimate.

I guess if you have a handy partner you can save a lot of money. I often think about all the things we pay to have done, that my dad would have just got on with.

I saw the programme too, I think I'll open an easy access savings account and set aside an amount each month into it. I wouldn't be able to put £160 per month, too big a chunk out of my pension.

I think that cutting corners on home maintenance costs more in the long run but from what I’ve seen/ heard of Kirsty she lives the sort if privileged life that I don’t recognise.

I think Kirstie is all about adding value to your house. Many younger people are keen to spend a fair bit in order to move up the ladder when they come to sell. Maybe as we get older and don't want to sell, we are more interested in comfort than making a big profit. So we see little point in spending too much?

We haven't spent much on the house for years but over the last three years have spent over £40,000 for new bathrooms and kitchen. We've also got a roof to clean and a new fence to install this year. Twenty years worth of work in about three years. I wish I had spaced it out more. But she's probably about right.

I think she's probably talking about keeping your house in a state where you will be able to get a good price without massive changes before you try to sell.

We've spent some money on the house every year just to keep it in a reasonable state, but OH is getting a bit arthritic so it's going to get more difficult.

Sounds reasonable. We’ve had some big bills recently- new patio doors, some garden work, decorating. Don’t spend that much every year. During the pandemic, many people have spent more money on their houses and gardens, using money saved on holidays.

I think that sounds reasonable. Between appliances that don't last like they used to, painting, new floors or roof, eves troughs, etc. it would probably average out over the years.

I do think as we get older that it is harder to justify some new costs. Why get new when the old is serviceable but a bit shabby? But we have all seen those houses on the market that haven't been updated for 30 years or more. Don't want that to happen!

I need to make a list...

Does that figure include new furniture, curtains, decorating? Or is it purely maintenance?

But we have all seen those houses on the market that haven’t been updated for 30 years

They will often be sold because the owners have died, and the estate is being wound up. You are always hearing that people want to put their own mark on a property, and often rip out kitchens and bathrooms anyhow.