Seasonal home maintenance

A good pre-planned seasonal maintenance program makes a lot of financial sense.

Why preventive is so much cheaper than reactive

It’s no secret that we love our cars. And some clever marketing burned into our brains the importance of that routine tune-up you would eventually need to come back for. Sure, they were right. That 60,000 mile tune-up will not just make your car look and drive better. It will catch rust, rot, and failing systems before they become expensive or even dangerous problems later on. Most of us do actually preserve and protect our cars almost religiously, especially if we want it to carry us for the long-haul. But if your car breaks down, is it really all that difficult to get yourself into a new one? You can trade it in and purchase a new one in less than fifteen minutes. Your home, however, is a different story. You can’t just dump it and hit the used home lot when it starts to have problems. Yet we all maintain cars with a certain diligence and attention to detail that is almost scary sometimes. All the while, our cars are depreciating quickly. By the time we take it for its first wash it’s already lost as much as 20% of it’s value. Our homes, on the other hand, are virtually guaranteed to appreciate down the stretch. Yet most people don’t search for and handle problems until they’re much more invasive, expensive, or even dangerous.

The National Statistic on the Cash Value of Home Maintenance states that for every 1$ that is spent on home maintenance, up to $100 in repairs are avoided. When you consider the relative cost of some failing wiring or a few broken hose bibs and the catastrophic damage they can do, you realize the importance of taking a disciplined approach to your home maintenance program. Most homeowners are more likely to be thinking about small DIY improvements like the new backsplash they’re going to install or the new laminate floors for the entryway. But while there can be great dollar-for-dollar improvements to make, don’t overlook the all-important maintenance and repair tasks that collectively hold the core of your home’s value.

Real estate experts of all stripes recommend setting aside between 1 and 3 percent of the market value of your home each month for home maintenance and repair costs. If you have a newer home, or if you think your home requires limited ongoing maintenance, set the money aside anyway for large future expenses, such as re-roofing or replacing a heating unit. You’ll thank yourself later.

Your program should be tailor-made for your home, and should include monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks. A good rule of thumb though is to get things done as soon as the need appears. Don’t just put something off for six months because it’s October and that item is on your spring checklist. Handle it right when it pokes it’s head out rather than waiting for it to get worse. If a seasonal approach isn’t your thing, just pick two months out of the year about six months apart in which you’ll inspect and repair your home wherever there’s a need.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Maintain your home today and thank yourself tomorrow.

Some useful resources:

If you choose to handle your home maintenance yourself, this .PDF checklist will more than set you in the right direction. It touches on everything from draining sediment from your hot water heater to cleaning your kitchen exhaust fan filter.

http://www.prestige-ems.com/home_checkup.pdf

HGTV always has good stuff. Check out this “ultimate spring home maintenance checklist”:

http://www.hgtv.com/home-improvement/the-ultimate-spring-home-maintenance-checklist/index.html

Another excellent checklist with lots of good explanations:

http://www.homeinspectorlocator.com/resources/Inspection_maintain.htm#HOUSEHOLD%20PESTS

Here’s a site by Michigan State Extension with thousands of instructions on amultitude of tasks:

http://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/mod02/master02.html