Topic: How much can I expect to pay for appliance replacement/maintenance per unit?

Is there an industry standard for this? I've heard 2% of property value, $6-10 per unit average per month cost, etc.

Good question! So many considerations, like age of asset and even skill of your staff: do they repair or replace? I'm not aware of a standard for this but hope someone else has one to share!

Also depends on size of the property. The more units, the more economies of scale you create - thus lessening the amount/unit. From a lender perspective, we typically will never underwrite less than $200/unit per year and will go up from there depending on how old the property is/when it was last renovated.

This is definitely a one size does not fit all. When you say expect to pay for appliance replacement/maintenance per unit, there is really not a replacement factor unless you are asking about allocating for reserves. When it comes to maintenance it depends on the make, model, age, wages, cost of refrigerant in your area, type of refrigerant, size of compressor, etc.

I think it depends upon the size of the unit you want to repair or maintain. The more the unit, the more the amount will be. And also, according to me, it depends upon the type of the contractor you choose for the repair/maintenance. A genuine contractor like heating service Morris County NJ will charge you the fair amount, but this can't be same case when considered local one. A professional will give you the best service as compared to others.

When I started reading this thread, I thought the topic was appliances as in: range, refrigerator, microwave or range hood, and dishwasher. It would seem that a monthly budget number for each unit would vary by property as some have additional amenities -- like a washer and dryer. First one would need to understand how the appliance package is defined -- as in "what kinds of appliances would be included".

Later posts mentioned heating and air conditioning equipment. Obviously the first cost of this equipment would probably be the highest cost "appliances" on a property (if they were defined as appliances.) But, the recurring property cost for this kind of equipment can be controlled with three simple steps:

1. When new equipment is installed, file the warranty paperwork. Out of the box equipment comes with a five year warranty. Most manufacturers will extend the parts warranty to ten years if the warranty registration is completed. Look for additional warranty considerations. One HVAC manufacturer and MRO supplier offers a special two-year warranty that replaces the outdoor unit if the compressor fails or the coil leaks during the first two years of use. (These are normally the most difficult repairs.) To make the program even better, the manufacturer provides a $300 per unit allowance for use by the property which helps with labor cost to install the replacement or money for putting a resident in a hotel for the night if the unit is out of service and the temperatures outside are extreme.

2. Install the unit correctly -- including having the correct amount of refrigerant in the system. This can be confirmed by using a set of refrigerant gauges. If the onsite maintenance team is not qualified to install the equipment, there will be extra cost in having an outside contractor handle that. But, consider the additional cost an investment as properly installed and set up equipment will result in fewer equipment failures (and unhappy residents) in the future.

3. Adhere to a preventive maintenance program. The useful life of equipment can be extended if filters and coils are kept clean. In cooling, air flow through and around the unit is necessary to provide the transfer of heat from areas where it isn't needed to areas where it doesn't matter. The air flow is also necessary to keep the unit from being over worked while trying to maintain the comfort level and temperature requested by the resident.

And, when we've done those things -- we won't be any closer to providing a monthly budget number, but we will at least have made an effort to get that number under control!