Plan Ahead: Start a House Fund

It’s important to have some money put away for home repairs and maintenance, so that unexpected costs don’t become unaffordable problems.

Here’s some steps to getting a house fund started:

How much? As a general formula, 1-2% of your home’s purchase price should be set aside annually for the cost of yearly maintenance. Calculate how much that is, and determine what you’ll need to put aside each month.

Keep it separate. Open a separate account (an online account is a good idea for easy transfer), and use that to keep your house fund. When a repair comes up, use the funds in this account only.

Watch your resale value grow. Not only will having a house fund help you be financially prepared for repairs, keeping up on your home’s maintenance will help keep your home in tip-top shape which will help resale value when it comes time to sell.

Stay tuned on our blog for more home finance and maintenance tips and how-tos.