How much maintenance is involved with owning vs, renting?

I have no service contracts. Our appliances are over 10 yrs old and still going strong. I spend about $1000/yr to repair and replace stuff inside our 1200-sf co-op. Last year, I replaced microwave, kitchen faucet, hose on the dryer, and repaired some faulty wiring and a leak.

I've owned large 1 bedrms in coops in Chelsea and GV. One was in a 100 year old factory building with a 1970's conversion to apartments (I think) and the GV building is from 1953. I have spent virtually nothing on physical maintenance in 20 years outside of coop special assessments, of course. I know it happens, but I've never had an appliance break down or a/c die. I've replaced a/c's that were 15 years old and appliances that were 20 years old, but otherwise, nothing I can think of in an average apartment really needs servicing of the kind one must budget for.

In general, with an apartment, things will fall out of fashion long before they break.

New condo maintenance roughly:

* Repaint every 3-5 years, depending on your tolerance;
* Play with the HVAC every couple of years, especially IF you ignore the fact that on these new units you must change the filters regularly;
* Refinish floors every 6-10 years;
* Cosmetic update bath (new cabinetry, lighting, reglaze tub) every 10-15 years or so, depending on your tolerance;
* Redo kitchen with new appliances/counters every 10-20 years, depending on your tolerance.

I can tell you from having owned a suburban home that washers go on forever, while dryers break if you look at them funny. No one has ever explained to me why that is, but I share it with you.

Also, if you're a first-time buyer, you might like my book. Http://tinyurl.com/2ag28z

ali r.
{downtown broker}

In twenty years in new buildings, I've had a refrigerator and a microwave go and needed to replace a w/d. I replaced the d/w and a w/d a second time with european brands to suit my taste. A subzero required occasional service calls. Except for touch ups or accent walls, I've only repainted three times in twenty years and have never had the floors refinished. An overhead light went bust and needed to be replaced. I've replaced two HVAC units. IMO if you are not too picky, the maintenance costs should average less than $1000 per year, particularly if you are in a building with a super or handyman. Of course those are lumpy expenses. But if you want to keep your apartment in mint condition, follow Ali's recommendations.

maintenance while renting = $0 hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha..... they have a saying... another board meeting another maintenance increase....

w67, with all due respect, you pay for the upkeep of your apartment in your rent. Older buildings generally have lower rents. Newer buildings or remodeled ones have higher rents.

PMG, with all due respect, rents are determined by market forces regardless of the "age" of said unit.. in this mkt, some of the "newest" highrises have the lowest mkt rents (200, 220, 240 RSB comes to mind) b/c they are filled w/ flippers gone bad that think a 1 or 2 yr of negative cash flow carry will allow them to sell at $2000psf.... highly doubtful. But they got their unicorns and i got mine...

maintence is factored into your rent. You pay it even though you don't see it. It kind of reminds me of all the silly renters who think they don't pay property taxes...

El_P, if that was the case please explain to me: (i'm restraining myself, holy moferof stupidity)

Case in point:
220 Riverside Blvd 42A sq ft. 1898. 10% down, total monthly carry of $27K (f the mortgage break, it goes away after 1st mill)
For rental
220 rental at $11K. http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/rental/540010-condo-220-riverside-boulevard-lincoln-square-new-york

Even if you got 42A at half price, it would still be $19K versus $11K... do you brokers even have a math brain cell?

w67 very few people want to live next to a raised highway 7-8 normal-sized blocks from the subway. The abundance of units for sale and for rent on RSB is telling. Do you have any other examples? My building on RSD has one unit for sale / rent. One other unit was for rent, but in two weeks it was under contract. My building is 2 normal-sized blocks from an express train and it was built 20 years ago. It is true that rents are driven by market forces, and they will be weak for a while. Still, nothing beats owning at a low cost. I've spent less in total than I would have paid at market rents over the years, and I own my apt outright. I don't think that the market rental on my place is going to sink to below $900/mo any time soon. Could I sell and bank my gains? Yes, but the transaction costs and capital gains taxes, plus moving costs and a few years of market rate rentals would make selling a very costly proposition. If I were already renting, I wouldn't buy now unless I got an amazing deal--like possibly on RSB. If the MTA adds a train station to the Hudson Line in the area, and if they bury the highway, which is a possibility, that area will improve considerably.

I won't count the money spent cleaning, re-sealing stone, etc. since I would have done the same thing if I rented the place (you may claim that re-sealing stone and the like should be the owner's responsibility, but I have never met a LL who did such things while a tenant was in occupancy). I have spent close to Zero in the last 15 years on painting (maybe $20 for brushes for touch ups?). I've spent TOTAL less than $1,000 in 15 years on appliance repairs (NB most repairs have been done by diagnosing problems, ordering parts and installing them myself). I've spent less than $100 for electrical repairs (mostly replacing light switches), I'm not counting replacing light bulbs, which I would clearly be responsible for as a tenant.

However, a very major expense which I have incurred is in homeowner's insurance, which is probably $1,500 to $2,000 a year more than I would pay for a comparable renter's policy due to "betterments and improvements".

Thank you to everyone who responded to our question. The answers were all very helpful and we appreciate everyone's imput.

30yrs_, as a tenant you shouldn't be responsible for replacing your bulbs because if there is no light you can't live there and the landlord is responsible for that. Which is another reason I rent because little things add up so they should pay.

Yemm - ARE YOU SERIOUR? YOU DON'T REPLACE YOUR OWN LIGHTBULBS? UNBELIEVABLE!!!!