Monthly maintenance reserve for new buildings

Hi,

I hope I have landed in the right subforum with this.
What is your opinion on the topic of maintenance reserves for new buildings?

The reserve fund is generally recommended and in principle I also find it very important. But we have now been living in our new house for 3 years, everything went great with the general contractor and there have been absolutely no expensive construction defects or any in sight (I know, you can never completely rule it out).

So far, we have always set aside €150 per month as a maintenance reserve and a few thousand have already accumulated. They also remain as an additional emergency fund. But I am slowly wondering whether this is even necessary or maybe too much for a well-assessable new building (150 sqm living space). Of course, there are good alternatives for the €150, e.g. additionally for special repayments. In a few years, as the house gets older, you can increase it again for the first heating replacement, the first new facade, etc.

How do you see it or how have you arranged it for yourselves?

I believe one must distinguish that you should always have a certain 5-figure amount as an emergency fund (heating, water damage, etc.), but generally I would not set aside anything extra and would rather make special repayments, as long as my emergency fund is not touched. However, a low to mid 5-figure amount is always sensible to keep back, especially with a house.

The first 5 years you actually don't have to save anything because you are still under the warranty. After that, probably 5 EUR/m²/a makes sense. From 10 then 10 EUR/m²/a from 15 years 15 and so on and so forth.

The first 5 years you actually don't have to save anything, because you are still under warranty. After that, probably 5 EUR/m²/a makes sense. From 10 then 10 EUR/m²/a, from 15 years 15, and so on and so forth.

I think this kind of tiered structure makes sense. Especially at the beginning, every euro of extra repayment is worth its weight in gold.

So I would definitely set something aside, even from the beginning. Both gas and heat pumps can give out after 10 years. Also in the electronics. If you don't have money in reserve, it gets nasty. For the house, you generally calculate repairs in the thousands. Personally, I would probably save up to about 20k. Maybe even more. Only when the cushion is there would I be interested in other options.

After I finished building a few years ago, I asked myself the same question. There are various recommendations on the internet, some of which completely miss reality. The figures from Tolentino are, of course, dangerous when you consider that the heating can break down after 10 years and that for a 130m² house not even 10,000€ have been saved.

The regulation on housing economic calculations according to the Second Housing Construction Act (Second Calculation Ordinance - II. BV) specifies quite exact amounts. It recommends amounts of 7.10€/m²/year for the first 22 years, 9€ for the next 10 years, and thereafter 11.50€/m². After 40 years, for 130m², that comes to 44,000€. Can you pay for 2x heating, bathroom renovation, and windows + facade with that? Probably not. After 50 years, maybe also electrics and the roof. However, these are also values for owners’ associations. Renovations inside the apartment would have to be reserved separately.

On the other hand, you save reserves for the house, reserves for the replacement purchase of the car, reserves for the next special repayment, and reserves for the next vacation. After a few years, you have sums together that you simply do not want to have lying around in the account/uninterested overnight money. The probability that the vacation booking, special repayment, broken heating, and total loss of the car all happen at the same time is extremely low. I have therefore decided on a base amount of 20-30,000€ and the rest goes into the depot and is also available at short notice in case of emergency. So far, this has worked quite well.

What I find much more interesting, however, is: When is the maintenance reserve used? Do you take money out if you furnish a room yourself? What if you hire a painter? And if the flooring is renewed at the same time? What about buying furniture – presumably rather not, right? And with a new kitchen – maybe then? Does a subsequent terrace roof count? I think everyone comes to slightly different results with these questions.