How much should I budget annually for maintenance and repairs as a new homeowner?

A common planning rule is to set aside about 1% to 2% of your home's value each year for maintenance, so a $400,000 home implies roughly $4,000 to $8,000 annually — more for older homes or those with pools, wells, or septic systems. This covers routine upkeep plus a sinking fund for big-ticket replacements: a roof, HVAC system, or water heater eventually fails, and those run thousands. New buyers often blow their budget by forgetting this, treating the mortgage as the full cost of ownership. Keep this reserve separate from your emergency fund. Building it into your monthly budget from day one prevents financing repairs on high-interest credit cards later.