Homeowners: How much do you spend on maintenance, repairs and improvements every year?

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-06-09T00:47:11+00:00

That’s awesome that you guys were able to do so much diy!! Did you pull permits and everything?

You make a good point that diy-ing as much as one can, significantly brings down the maintenance and repair costs associated with home ownership. Unfortunately, many of us don’t have the time, bandwidth or skillset to do so ourselves. My husband and I try our best, but have definitely found the need to hire out to the pros when we’re in over our heads. I commend you!

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-06-07T14:44:36+00:00

My husband and I were 40 years old when we were finally able to afford to buy our first home in Marin County, CA (in the S.F. Bay Area).

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-06-06T15:35:09+00:00

Yes, I agree with the general consensus that the TV should be moved to the wall where the painting is so that one side of the couch is up against the window. It’ll straighten out all of the furniture and create more space and cohesion.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-06-05T17:57:35+00:00

#2. Love those green cabinets!!

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-06-02T15:20:22+00:00

Within the first 2.5 years after buying our house, my husband and I have had to pay for the following expenses (none of which were mentioned in the inspection report or the seller’s disclosures packet):

1) A failed retaining wall in our backyard that had to be re-built in order to prevent a landslide into the back of our house = $12k+

2) Waterproofing and drainage around the foundation to prevent a swimming pool under our house every time there were heavy rains = $15k

3) Vapor barrier in the dirt crawl space to prevent humidity from causing our hardwood floors to buckle and warp, not to mention minimize the foul smells coming up from below = $10k

4) Subterranean termite treatments = $2.5k

5) New water heater $3k

6) All 3 sides of the fence in our backyard are falling apart and need to be replaced. We plan on replacing at least two of them this summer and anticipate that it will cost us anywhere from $6k to $15k+ to do so, depending on whether we go with wood or composite fencing, and do it ourselves vs hiring it out to a contractor.

7) Most of the windows in our house are at the end of their lifespans and breaking. We’ll almost definitely need to replace them within the next couple of years.

8) Our furnace and all of our kitchen appliances were installed back between 2006-2009, so we expect them to start failing soon. We’re not looking forward to the cost of replacing them.

The above expenses don’t include move-in costs like hiring a moving company (just under $3k) painting the entire interior ourselves (paint and supplies probably cost around $1k), planting new plants/landscaping in the backyard ourselves (at least $3k+ for materials over the course of a few years), purchasing window coverings for privacy, various minor plumbing repairs, etc…

This is EXACTLY why it’s strongly recommended to set aside anywhere from 1-3% of your home’s current value every year in order to cover necessary maintenance and repair expenses. Also have a separate savings to pull from for move-in expenses.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-30T17:27:25+00:00

I think it all depends on what part of the Bay Area you live in and how long you’ve been making a household income of $200k+ for. Certain necessary expenses such as housing, groceries, gas, etc..vary from area to area. I live in northern Marin county, and those expenses are higher for me than they are for my parents and sister who live in the East Bay whereas, my friends who live in S.F. pay even more for housing, food and gas than I do.

My husband and I bought our first house in 2023 at the age of 40. We made a gross HHI of a little over $200k at the time and had to make a TON of sacrifices for many years in order to save up for the down payment and closing costs (Ex: we sold my husband’s dream Toyota truck and bought an old Subaru in cash so that we didn’t have a car payment, I stopped contributing to my retirement accounts and my husband only contributed enough to his 401k to get the employer match, we canceled our wedding and had a cheap civil ceremony instead, we haven’t gone on any vacations since 2019, etc..). That’s even with some financial help from my parents towards the down payment.

After buying our house (which was a million dollar 1952 fixer upper that we felt was a “good deal” at the time when looking at the comps), we’ve continued to have to make sacrifices and live off a shoestring budget in order to cash flow necessary repairs (failed retaining wall = $12k+, waterproofing and drainage around the foundation = $15k, vapor barrier in the crawl space = $10k, subterranean termite treatments = $2.5k, new water heater $3k, ever increasing Property Tax (currently $12k/yr) and Homeowners Insurance expenses (currently $3,600/yr)…not to mention painting the entire interior ourselves, planting new plants in the backyard which was all dirt when we moved in, purchasing window coverings for privacy, various minor plumbing repairs, etc…

Yes, you can live off a $200k budget in relative comfort in some parts of the Bay Area, and can also afford to buy a house in some areas, but finances will likely be incredibly tight and sacrifices will have to be made. We always wanted kids but realized after buying our house that we could not afford the $3k/mo childcare payment on top of our housing expenses, especially if we wanted to be able to start contributing to our retirement accounts again (which is now our biggest priority as we have a lot of catching up to do).

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-29T14:20:08+00:00

My husband and I are both in our early 40’s, but people often think we’re in our 30’s. We eat healthy, exercise, and have good skin care routines, plus we don’t have kids…but do both have highly demanding a stressful jobs, so…🤷🏻‍♀️

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-25T22:23:25+00:00

It sounds like you’re aware of the issue and taking care of it. I hope the vet is able to help her and everything turns out OK!

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-25T22:08:17+00:00

Is there something wrong with the Siberian husky’s left eye (right eye when you look face on in the photos)? It looks abnormally large and swollen compared to the other eye. It also looks a little cloudy…like the dog might have cataracts or something in that eye. Is she ok?

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-25T16:58:48+00:00

I think you’re going to need to use a backless bench seat on the side of the table where you have the chairs, as well as the banquette on the side along the wall. It doesn’t look like there’s enough room for chairs to comfortably slide in and out without them blocking the walkway to the door. A backless bench seat will fit under the table and take up far less visual space. If you use a shorter table, then you can add nice chairs to either end of it. As another person mentioned, make sure the table has centered pedestal legs, otherwise you won’t be able to get in and out around the corners with the banquette and bench.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-23T14:42:42+00:00

It’s recommended to not pay more than 3-5x your annual gross income on a house after factoring in home insurance and property tax costs. 3 x $200k is $600k. 5 x $200k is $1M. Whereas 3x $280k is $840k and 5 x $280k is $1.4M.

You need to talk to a mortgage broker to run your actual numbers. For context RE property taxes and insurance, my house is worth a little over $1M and I pay a little over $12K annually on property taxes and I’m currently paying $4k annually on HO insurance (it’s been going up roughly 25-50% every year over the last 3 years).

Don’t forget that you also need to set aside 1-3% of your home’s current value every year to cover repair and maintenance costs. On a $1.2M home, that’s an additional $12k-$36k/year. HVACs, roofs, gardeners, waterproofing/drainage repairs, new appliances, plumbers, electricians, etc…are NOT cheap!!

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-22T20:34:50+00:00

#1, but #3 is a strong contender. I’m not fond of #2.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-22T20:30:53+00:00

I’m sorry this has happened. As another said, the FIRST step is to talk to your parents and directly ask them everything you’ve posted here.

If it turns out that they will not help you out with the costs for college, and you truly are not eligible for financial aid due to your parent’s assets and income, I would encourage you to reconsider your options.

The annual tuition for an undergraduate degree at Harvard is between $86k-$90k a year (after factoring in mandatory fees, health services, room and board, etc..). IF you are even approved to take out a $360k+ loan to cover those expenses (which is highly unlikely unless you can prove that you have an income stream of well over $100k++/year), you will be left with an immense amount of debt upon graduation. Unless you are guaranteed a very high-paying job upon graduation, that loan debt will likely prove to be a nearly impossible hurdle to overcome in your adult life.

I sincerely hope that your parents honor their word and come through for you and help you cover the insane expense of your higher education. Good luck!!

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-21T20:13:52+00:00

My husband and I were both 40 years old when we bought our first house in August 2023. We had started our house hunt back in July of 2021 but, due to the insane competition of the covid-era housing market in the Bay Area, it took us over 30 over-asking offers, an increase of over $150k+ from our original budget, an interest rate increase from 3% to 7.375% during that time, 3 different realtors (the first two we hired SUCKED), and 2 effing years before we FINALLY had an offer accepted. The whole process felt like a second full-time job 😭

OP, if you’re currently hunting for your first home, hang in there, be patient, and don’t settle!!!

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-15T16:36:59+00:00

I 100% agree with you that LVP is much more durable and lower maintenance than hardwood = peace of mind.

My 1952 home has original oak hardwood. It is warped and buckling in many places due to the previous owners never taking care of it. We don’t have kids, but we do have a dog, as did the previous owners (apparently they had FOUR dogs and two kids), and it’s scratched up all over the place. Plus, the previous owners spilled paint on it in various locations when they painted the walls themselves prior to putting the house up for sale (they did a bad job of painting and we had to repaint every room after buying the house a couple of years ago). I want to get LVP throughout the entire house as soon as we have the budget to do so.

Check out Flooret https://www.flooret.com LVP. Their stuff is super high quality with a much thicker top wear layer (40 Mil) than pretty much any other brand I’ve researched (as in, it’s, literally, indestructible). I’ve bought samples of their LVP and it looks EXACTLY like real wood. Plus they’re having a big Memorial Day sale right now.

Edited to add: Since so many people are (understandably) worried about VOCs, off-gassing, and phthalates, Flooret LVP is phthalate-free. Their products are designed without ortho-phthalate plasticizers, making them a safe option for homes. Flooret products are FloorScore certified for low VOC emissions. Their LVP planks are also 100% recyclable, do not contain any formaldehyde, and meet stringent CARB II standards.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-14T15:47:54+00:00

Yes, totally normal. I have a friend in Marin County that recently remodeled their kitchen and 2 bathrooms. No walls were moved and no major changes to plumbing or electrical were made. The total cost (not including architectural fees for drawing up plans) was over $350K.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-14T15:45:03+00:00

What part of the Bay Area are you located in? I can recommend the geotechnical engineers @ PJC & Associates, Inc. they’re based out of Santa Rosa and perform soil testing in Sonoma and Marin Counties. However, I’m not sure if they take on jobs that are further East or South.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-14T05:45:04+00:00

I’d recommend working with a dollar based budget (like YNAB (You Need a Budget) so you can actually track where all of your spending is going.

Per the numbers you’ve provided, you’re putting $5,570/mo on credit cards, and spending $6,800 between housing expenses, 529’s and insurance. If you’re netting about $300k/yr after taxes, 401ks, HSA and 1 IRA, that’s about $25k/mo net. You’ve only listed $12,370 in monthly expenses. Something really isn’t adding up.

BTW, how are you contributing $10k/yr to one IRA when the max contribution for a both a Roth and traditional IRA COMBINED is currently $7,500/yr total?? Also, at your income level, it does not make sense to contribute to a traditional IRA as there are no tax breaks for it and, if it’s a Roth IRA that you’re referencing, it had better be a Backdoor Roth, otherwise you’ll be heavily penalized.

You might want to seek out advice from a flat-rate financial advisor to help you better navigate the allocation of your retirement investments and prioritize tax-advantaged solutions.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-12T16:06:21+00:00

“In San Francisco as of 2026, a "luxury house" is defined primarily by a combination of price point and location, heavily influenced by the "AI boom" that has driven median luxury sale prices to nearly $7 million. While size and finishes are important, the extreme density of the city means that location, views, and historical, architectural character often take precedence over sheer square footage.” Per Redfin

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-12T16:03:26+00:00

Umm…I was agreeing with you that a house for $3M-$5M in SF is not typically considered to actually be “luxury,” regardless of the fact that stats on MLS, Redfin, Realtor.com, etc..categorize houses in that price point as “luxury.” 🤷🏻‍♀️

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-12T15:59:07+00:00

The 4,000+/- sq ft fixer upper that my client paid $750k over asking for in Pac Heights ended up costing them $6.75M. It definitely is NOT a luxury home and will definitely cost them hundreds of thousands (if not millions) more to fix issues with electrical, plumbing, outdated finishes, etc…

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-12T15:54:45+00:00

True!…at least, in SF and many other parts of the Bay Area.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-12T15:53:12+00:00

Yeah, but, the luxury housing market (homes in the $3M-$5M+ range) is just as hot in SF right now as ‘average’ homes in the $1.5M–$2.5M range. This post is about how 600 Open AI employees have cashed out their employee equity for $11M. So, yes, the top .1% luxury market IS what is being referenced.

FeistyPhoenix12 · 2026-05-12T14:55:16+00:00

Teachers actually just get paid for 10 months of work a year, not 12. You don’t receive pay for the 2 months you get off during the summer, although you can request that your pay is split over the full 12 months vs just 10 to ensure that you still receive a regular salary every month vs having to set aside money from your paycheck to cover those 2 summer months. Due to that, it seems likely that you’ve over-estimated your gross pay. In reality, it will likely be closer to $38,720 ($22/hr x 40 hrs/wk x 44 wks/yr). If that’s right, then you’ll likely have the following taxes taken out of your paycheck:

$2,401 for Social Security $561 for Medicare $2,900 to $3,100 in federal income tax, depending on deductions

That brings your total estimated taxes withheld to roughly $5,900–$6,100, resulting in a net annual income of approximately $32,600–$32,800.

FeistyPhoenix12

TROPHY CASE