The maintenance and upkeep of a property is a daunting task. Depending on your level of skill and experience, you probably look at that garage door that needs painting or that garden that needs de-weeding and you probably feel like weeping. It’s easier just to ignore it right?
As a homeowner, a poorly maintained property can affect the value of your home and the value of your neighbour’s homes. If certain areas aren’t maintained then it can lead to further issues for other areas of the property.
If you’re renting a property certain aspects of the home, like the garden, are your responsibility to maintain. Double check your tenancy contract to find out what areas you’re responsible for.
In a recent survey, Lloyds Bank found that more than half of those asked spend £250 or less a year on the maintenance of a home! This is considerably less than the country’s average spend of £714. So why are so many homeowners so unwilling to spend money on the upkeep of a property?
Ignore the Problem
Some issues can be a symptom of a much larger problem. For example, an expanding brown patch on the ceiling below the bathroom is not a good sign. It can be incredibly stressful maintaining a home, and more often than not the issue announces itself just before a summer holiday or Christmas day. For some it’s just easier to pretend the issue doesn’t exist and carry on.
According to Mark Trafford, founder of home maintenance company Maintain to Profit, there is a growing trend amongst homeowners who will choose to ignore small maintenance issues, so that they can sell the property as a “fixer upper”. These people are taking a foolish risk as minor maintenance problems can quickly develop into something serious.
Lack of know how
That long running joke about people who struggle with DIY is based on fact. Many homeowners haven’t got a clue how to stop their gate from creaking or how to paint a wall, and paying for a professional to come and do the job is scary because you don’t know how much it’ll cost.
In actual fact, spotting a potential issue before it can develop into a full blown disaster, and then hiring the suitable professional to perform some routine maintenance can help you to make money!
For example, say you’ve noticed a tiny leak in the roof. Getting that fixed quickly and by an expert can not only double the life of your roof, saving you money on more maintenance later on, but it can also add value to your home! Win/Win.
Lack of funds
As mentioned above, if there’s one thing you can count on when it comes to a serious maintenance issue, it’ll come when you have zero funds. Unfortunately money doesn’t grow on trees and if it is a serious problem, the costs of fixing the problem can be astronomical.
Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of help for homeowners in this situation. The best action to take is to perform planned maintenance of multiple aspects of your home, so that a minor problem cannot become a serious one. It will still cost you money, but you have to ask yourself which is more expensive, fixing a leaking bath drain, or fixing the hole the bath made when it crashed through your damp, rotted ceiling?
If you don’t have an eye for spotting an issue in your home, or if the home is currently in good condition, you could follow the 15% rule. Many landlords choose to squirrel away 15% of the rent money for any required maintenance. For example, if homes in your area are rented for £700 a month, you could put away £105 a month for a rainy day.
Some insurance policies do cover damage to a house, but only if it’s sudden. If they determine it was caused by gradual deterioration, which could have been prevented by routine maintenance, then you won’t see a penny. It’s also worth noting that if you don’t maintain something, say for example a roof, and it’s then damaged by something/someone else like a storm because you didn’t maintain it, then the chances of you claiming any money are slim.
Homeownership can be stressful but if you budget for regular maintenance and search for trustworthy professionals to carry out the work, you’ll end up saving yourself thousands of pounds and hours of sleep.
If you'd like to speak to an expert on how the best way to keep your home in great condition or increase the value of your home, get in touch with David Conway on 020 8422 5222.
