Repairs vs. Maintenance vs. Capital Expenditures

[Michael E.]

I'm a little confused about the terminology of what is a "Repair" vs. "Maintenance" vs. "Capital Expenditure". CapEx is the easiest to understand for me...big ticket items like roof, water heater, HVAC, new floors etc, but what exactly is a Repair or Maintenance is less clear to me. Are CapEx and Maintenance the same thing? I've heard many people only budget for Repairs and Maintenance and don't use the term CapEx at all.

Would any of the following items fall under Repair or Maintenance, or be separate expense item all together...?

- Cleaning (at tenant turnover)

- New Paint (at tenant turnover)

- New Carpet

- Pest Control

- Lead Paint tests (in Maryland, I think these are required at tenant turnover if the property is built before 1978, unless it is certified as being "lead free")