We all know, when it comes to our homes, small issues have a tendency to become big problems.
With a cost of living crisis and interest rates being at their highest in years, households are desperately searching for ways to save money and protect themselves from unexpected costs.
So what can you do?
Getting organised when it comes to managing and maintaining your home, can not only reduce the chances of unexpected costs, but also help save money now, and in the future.
Potential savings could be over £2,000 a year, depending on your home and household bills.
Household struggles
The level of concern in UK household’s can’t be understated, the pressure on disposable incomes is tangible. Household debt is rising with Which?’s consumer insight tracker found that 2.4m households missed or defaulted on an essential payment in the month to 13 July.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) report back in May 2022, 82% of 30-49 year olds worried about costs, and that is only likely to get higher. This group in particular are likely to be newer to owning a home, and as a result less knowledgeable about the costs or tasks required to maintain it.
In this post we’ll explore these in more detail, and why we shouldn’t overlook the benefits of a well-maintained home.
How much should we be budgeting?
When it comes to planning and budgeting the rule of thumb for household maintenance tasks is 1% of the property’s value per year. Whilst by no means is this an exact science, factors such as the age of the property, will influence whether this is sufficient or not.
The average UK house price in June 2023 according to the provisional estimates from the ONS was £288,000. This would result in an annual budget of £2,880, or £240 per month.
In considering whether this is adequate or not, it is also worth noting that according to The Guardian, 20% of UK households have ‘negative disposable income’ with a shortfall of £60 per week.
The average household disposable income in 2023 is £212 per month according to data from the Asda Income Tracker July 2023 collated by the Centre for Business and Economic Research (Cber)
Combined with numbers from the FCA that highlight 34% of adults have less than £1,000 in savings, the risk of not being able to pay for an unexpected maintenance issue is a real possibility for many. With the cost of borrowing increasing as a result of interest rate rises over the last 12 months, there’s a real risk that households end up creating debt to resolve a maintenance issue, putting them under greater pressure and stress.
Total household spending on maintenance and repair of the home was £3.8bn in 2021, based on Statista data from Jan 2023.
Caring for home appliances
Appliances within the home are an essential part of our lives, and we rely on them to make our lives easier. Regularly maintaining them will ensure they operate efficiently, extend their lifespan and reduce the chances of issues and costly repairs.
The best thing is that it costs little to no money to do this.
It goes without saying, but cleaning and caring for your appliances can prolong their lifespan significantly and with Which? (link to report) reporting that some appliances only last 6-7 years it can save you having to replace them so frequently. If you’re looking to be more sustainable, increasing a product’s lifespan is one of the most effective environmental strategies, as it has the potential to slow down the production and consumption cycles, preventing waste and emissions.
Over the last couple of years the cost of home appliances has increased. The Consumer Price Index data (CPI) for household appliances released in May 2023, that covers fitting and repair shows an increase of 9.4 from 2021 to 2022, highlighting a large increase to the costs for households.
Based on extending the lifespan on your main appliances by an average of 1.5 years, and an average appliance lifespan of 7 years, that’s a saving of £140.71 per year.
With energy prices having soared over the last couple of years, Which? Has calculated that the cost of running your main household appliances works out at £447 per year, that’s a 58% increase since October 2021.
The impact of regularly cleaning and caring for your appliances will help appliances run more efficiently, with it not being unreasonable to assume a 5% improvement in appliances that are maintained, over those that aren’t, that’s a saving of £22.35 per year.
The potential benefit of regular cleaning and care of your appliances is a saving of £162 per year.
So far we’ve not taken into account the cost of repairs.
Based on the IBIS World report published in July 2023 on the Household Appliance & Garden Equipment repair sector, over the last five years it has declined at 1% per year, with a contributing factor being the tendency to replace, rather than repair.
In fact, 65% of consumers in Europe choose to replace their faulty products rather than repair them.
The introduction of ‘Right to Repair’ legislation back in 2021 required manufacturers to produce spare parts for appliances that have been discontinued for between 7-10 years.
These factors combined with the cost of goods increasing, and levels of household debt, it is predicted that even more families will prioritise repairing existing appliances and refrain from just buying new ones.
According to Repair Aid, the likelihood that one of our main kitchen appliances will need repairing within its first three years, depending on the type, ranges from between 8% and 25%.
Figures on the average cost of a repair on some of our main household appliances from Checkatrade, highlight that it can range from £90-200, excluding call out fees.
Planning and prevention
The everyday melee of household life often gets in the way of being organised and yet a little planning can go a long way in saving money, protecting against unexpected costs and improving your mental health.
We’ll focus on two specific areas, admin and maintenance.
If you’re not one of those highly organised people, with colour-coded calendars scheduled with military precision, the chances are you could benefit from being better at planning.
Knowing important dates, planning when things need to be checked, giving yourself time to do things properly, will all have a positive impact on your expenditure.
From checking your heating controls, providing your utility providers with regular readings, to knowing when your insurances are due and getting your boiler serviced, can save over £800 per year.
When it comes to maintenance, there is one golden rule – keep it up!
Checkatrade in their Property Maintenance Cost guide July 2022, highlighted that 30% of homeowners are forced every year to complete an unexpected emergency repair on their home, costing on average £900.
Keeping your home in good order not only prevents issues, you will also reduce the costs of future repair.
Let the gutters block and damp will damage the roof timbers and walls. Let the painted woodwork lapse and you’ll be replacing windows and doors.
Value when you sell
According to Checkatrade, keeping on top of maintenance jobs can have the potential for adding up to 10% to the value of your home.
Many buyers may feel put off by the prospect of having to address numerous DIY and maintenance jobs around their potential new house, and may ask you to drop the asking price.
According to L&C Mortgages, cleaning your gutters, checking for leaks and ensuring your home is well maintained, free of structural issues or pests is important. Broken parts, such as loose door handles, are other small fixes that can improve the ability to sell your home.
