What to know about home repairs and maintenance

There’s been a steady stream of headlines about the repair and maintenance costs that companies are facing in the wake of the Great Recession. 

According to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics, the average repair and replacement cost of a single home in the US is now $2,000.

The analysis also notes that there is some variance in the total repair and overhaul costs between households, with some households spending as little as $1,500 per home. 

And that doesn’t even include the cost of the new appliances or the additional maintenance that goes into replacing old ones.

If that doesn`t sound like a lot, that`s because it is.

A recent study from the Brookings Institution found that the average cost of repairs for a single-family home is $1.3 million, and the average repairs for three-bedroom and four-bedroom units are $2.6 million.

As for the actual costs of repairing and overhauling homes, the Center for Responsives calculates that the median total repair cost of single- or two-family homes is $3,895.

That means that the costs of fixing and upgrading a single or two family home are about half of what it would cost to replace or repair it.

And yet the average price of a repair and new home for a typical family is about $5,200, while the median repair and refurbishment price for a three- and four, or four-family, home is about a third of what that same family would have to pay.

The cost of home repairs is higher than the cost for replacing older ones, and that is the result of two factors.

First, people don`t have enough money to pay the full repair and remodeling costs.

Second, there are no guarantees that the house will be kept in working order.

But the fact that so many of the problems with the housing market can be traced back to the recession means that it`s imperative that we figure out what to do about it.

The best way to do that is to have some sort of public discussion.

And that discussion is the key to solving the crisis, not just for the economy, but for the entire country.