Look after your house, it could save you BIG $$

Takeaway: Routine maintenance costs money in the short run but saves money in the long run I was at a relatives house recently and she was lamenting how many issues she was having with her big, beautiful old home. I told her I'd take a look around and let her know what I thought. Well there were issues everywhere. What was most interesting is that they were mostly maintenance issues. The gutters were overflowing because of pine needles blocking the flow, this was causing damage over two levels of the house, rotten wood, leaking walls and carpet damage. Some of the roof flashing was missing allowing water to penetrate the roof (and ceiling) causing wood damage. Some bathroom fixtures were loose or missing leading to leaks inside the walls. The cooling system had leaked damaging the ceiling because it needed some very simple routine maintenance. Loose stones on pathways, broken kitchen vents, peeling paint, broken windows all can lead to other issues and building costs if left in disrepair. I gave her a list of things I thought were most pressing, the first and foremost issues to repair were anything involving water leaks. Water will do damage, lots of damage, fast. After that keeping things neat and repaired will lower the long term repair costs, increase comfort and improve safety around the house. The bottom line is the longer that routine maintenance is delayed the more likely issues of cleaning and simple repair turn into legit projects that can cost real money. The best solution for my relative is to book in seasonal repairs and maintenance on a schedule. Year over year the same basic cleaning and repairs will cost a few hundred dollars a year and possibly save tens of thousands.