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TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

Homeowners forced to use savings for maintenance costs

According to new research from the homebuying platform, YesHomebuyers,  the majority of UK homeowners spend between £500 to £1,500 a year on household maintenance. Most homeowners are unprepared for these unforeseen costs and are using savings, credit cards and loans to cover the cost.

What maintenance issues are UK homeowners fixing?

According to Yes Homebuyers’ research, general DIY was the most common maintenance problem within households (38%), followed by gas or boiler issues with 28% of respondents having that trouble. Electrical and roofing issues were tied with 15% of those surveyed having this problem. The least common problems were caused by nature as knotweed or woodworm were only an issue for 8% of respondents.

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How are homeowners paying for their maintenance issues? 

Although maintenance issues are a problem that homeowners will have to deal with, it appears many Brits aren’t financially prepared to cover them. Yes Homebuyers’ research found that 63% of Brits have to rely on general savings, 21% had no savings to address maintenance issues, and only 17% of homeowners stated they had a specific savings pot to cover the costs.

Which of the following maintenance issues have you had within your property?

Answer

Respondents

General DIY

38%

Gas/boiler

24%

Electrical

15%

Roof

15%

Natural - knotweed, rats, mice, squirrels, wasps, woodworm etc

8%

Do you contribute regularly towards saving/budgeting for home maintenance?

Answer

Respondents

No, but I have general savings

63%

No savings or plan in place

21%

Yes, I have specific savings for home maintenance

17%

On average, how much do you spend on household maintenance per year?

Answer

Respondents

£501 to £1000

36%

£0 to £500

30%

£1001 to £1500

18%

£1501 to £2000

9%

£2001+

7%

What would you do if you were faced with an unexpected significant cost (e.g. £5,000) for home maintenance?

Answer

Respondents

Use my savings

62%

Use loan or credit cards

20%

Temporary fix until I can afford the proper fix

11%

Borrow money from friends/family

7%

Do nothing

1%

How much do maintenance issues cost?

According to Yes Homebuyers’ research, 36% of Brits said they spent between £501 and £1,000 on home maintenance each year. In addition,  30% spent £500 or less, with 18% having to spend between £1,001 and £1,500.

When homeowners were asked by Yes Homebuyers what they would in the event of a maintenance cost of £5,000 or more, 62% would rely on their general savings.  A further 20% stated they would have to turn to credit cards or loans to get by. In addition,  11% surveyed would be forced to think of a temporary fix until they could save enough money and 7% said they would have to rely on family or friends to lend them money.

How much should homeowners save for maintenance costs?

Matthew Cooper, founder & managing director of Yes Homebuyers, comments: “Many of us simply don’t consider the sizable cost of maintaining a home when we look to purchase and as a general rule of thumb, budgeting one per cent of your property’s value on an annual basis should keep you covered in all but the most extreme of cases.”

Cooper adds: “Unfortunately, many of us fail to do so and when the unexpected does happen, we’re forced to turn to our savings, credit cards, loans and even family members to make ends meet.”

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