Estimating Maintenance and CapEx - First Rental Investment

[Emily Kessler]

I'm looking to invest in my first rental property and have been researching how to accurately estimate cash flow. I've seen some different advice for estimating maintenance and repairs and CapEx and was wondering if anyone has good advice to share. The most common way I've seen is 5-10% of the monthly rent for each one, but that doesn't seem like it would always be accurate. In my area, two similar homes (size, age, etc.) could have a rent difference of $300-400 depending on location, but the maintenance and CapEx wouldn't really be affected by location so basing the estimation off of the rental income doesn't seem accurate. Does anyone have a different method that they have found to work? Thanks!