You closed on the house and now you're broke. But the water heater is failing, the kitchen appliances are ancient, and the exterior paint is peeling. Most financial advisors recommend keeping 1–3% of your home's purchase price in a repair fund. That's $4,000–$12,000 on a $400,000 home. If you've spent every penny on the down payment and closing, you'll be financing repairs on a credit card at high interest rates, turning a $2,000 job into a $3,000 nightmare.