Enough reserves and Capex

[Brandon Rivera]

Hello everyone.  I'm a complete noob and have been lurking on BP for the last few months trying to educate myself as much as possible.  Excuse my ignorance but I have a question I'm hoping someone can shed some light on.  I will begin renting my first property soon for approximately $1700/ month according to my real estate agent based on comps.  I set aside 10k for reserves which amounts to 6 months of rent.

The unit has a brand new a/c and the roof (shingle) was replaced by the association (it's a townhouse) 8 years ago .  The appliances are in good condition.  My question is this, with 10k in reserves and no anticipated major expenditures, are you still setting aside 10% per month for capex?  At one point do you stop and use the 10% monthly to pay down mortgage or accumulate for down payment on another unit?  I will still set money aside for vacancy and maintenance but was wondering at what point was there enough reserves to stop deducting capex.  Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Brandon Rivera]

@Brandon Sturgill. Thank you for the response.  That's the answer I was hoping for.  I agree that holding 10k is a waste.  I'm trying to be conservative until I gain a bit of experience so that I don't get caught with anything unforeseeable due to inexperience and fail before I get started.  Thanks again for the response!