Starting Out
Market News & Data
General Info
Real Estate Strategies

Landlording & Rental Properties
Real Estate Professionals
Financial, Tax, & Legal



Real Estate Classifieds
Reviews & Feedback
Updated over 6 years ago on . Most recent reply

How do you calculate capex and repairs?
I've begun running numbers on properties and would like someone who has experience to lend a helping hand. For properties that are basically turnkey, already renovated, and appear to need very little work, I've been allocating 10% of monthly rent to cap ex and 2.5% of rent for simple repairs.
For a property that my partner and I will look to renovate ourselves and will have everything new (basically a gut job), we are allocating 10% of monthly rent TOTAL for cap ex and simple maintenance/repairs.
I know every property is different, but I am curious how you savvy investors on BP calculate cap ex and maintenance/repairs?
Most Popular Reply

- Real Estate Broker
- Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH
- 19,534
- Votes |
- 28,438
- Posts
Originally posted by @Spencer Cornelia:
I've begun running numbers on properties and would like someone who has experience to lend a helping hand. For properties that are basically turnkey, already renovated, and appear to need very little work, I've been allocating 10% of monthly rent to cap ex and 2.5% of rent for simple repairs.
For a property that my partner and I will look to renovate ourselves and will have everything new (basically a gut job), we are allocating 10% of monthly rent TOTAL for cap ex and simple maintenance/repairs.
I know every property is different, but I am curious how you savvy investors on BP calculate cap ex and maintenance/repairs?
Instead of using a % of gross rents to calculate capital expenses I think investors would be better suited to just itemize it.
For example.
- A typical roof (Cleveland area, my market. Yours may be different) will last 30 years. The cost of a roof is going to be around $5,000
- A furnace is going to last around 40 years. The cost of a new furnace install is going to be around $3,000
- A hot water tank is going to last around 15 years. The cost of a new hot water tank install is going to be around $1,000
How old the above 3 items are on the prospective property is going to determine how much life they have left and how much you should account for in cap ex savings.