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Repairs are not a question of if but when, and the landlords who get burned are the ones who treated maintenance as an emergency expense instead of a predictable one. The classic 1% rule — set aside about 1% of the property's value every year — is a sensible starting point, but it is an average, and averages flatter new builds and punish older ones. This calculator adjusts the rule for your property's real condition and compares it against what you actually spent last year, then turns the result into a monthly set-aside you can automate. The output is a fund sized to reality: enough for the roof that fails every fifteen years and the hot water system that fails every ten, without a credit-card surprise in between.
Work out how much to set aside for repairs and maintenance — the classic 1% rule adjusted for your property's age and your real spending history.
No — it is a rough average. A brand-new build might genuinely need only 0.7% of value a year, while an older property with an ageing roof, kitchen or hot water system can need 1.5% or more. The calculator adjusts the rule by condition and checks it against your real spending.
Because it is lumpy: a $6,000 roof repair every 15 years is really $400 a year, but it arrives as one painful bill. A steady monthly fund smooths that lumpiness — which is exactly why the calculator outputs a monthly amount, not just a yearly one.
Then the rule-of-thumb figure is your best guide — but a zero-spend year usually means deferred repairs are accumulating. Fund the recommended amount anyway; the year the water heater dies, you will be glad the money was sitting there.
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