Regular maintenance is imperative to preserving the upkeep of your home. Routine maintenance has the added benefit of fostering curb appeal, preserving safety, and ensuring that small repairs don’t turn into costly outsourced jobs later on.
The truth is that Maintenance does make a difference. It affects your property’s value in ways you didn’t realize.
How does Maintenance affect property value?
A home that appears neglected from the outside decreases the selling price. As your home is compared with other of the same nature, same neighborhood, size, etc., its appearance from the exterior makes a difference.
Neglected maintenance can also lead to damage. You do not want it to go that far.
Appraisals
While improvements and upgrades definitely increase your home’s value, smaller adjustments like regular maintenance don’t necessarily translate to a higher estimate of the value of your home. However, regular maintenance does increase the property’s economic age.
If it is clear your house is in good condition that adds up to more years your home is likely to survive in the condition it is already in. To a potential buyer, this is a nice thing to know – that their home is in good condition and huge repairs, or upgrades are likely not necessary in the near future.
Maintenance Strategy
It’s important to have a strategy for the diligent maintenance of your home. Otherwise it becomes very easy to keep setting aside small maintenance tasks – until they are huge problems.
- Set a Small Fund Aside
Maintenance becomes easier when you know you have a few bucks set aside to fix small problems. This way you don’t feel the urge to side-track replacing some blinds in favor of taking your parents out for dinner.
- Go Room by Room
Sometimes we all need some organization, which becomes more digestible when separate our goals into smaller tasks. Try going room by room in the house in order to pinpoint areas that need maintenance, and then take care of them.
It’s better to spend $5 to fix something simple now than having huge, costly repairs later on.
- Write it Down
Keeping track of all the small maintenance and upgrade jobs you did on your home, along with costs, can be extremely useful when you decide to put your home on the market. For potential buyers, your list shows you care about your home, and that the home is in good condition because you were meticulous.
A well taken-care-of home can turn into a huge incentive to potential buyers.
Have questions? Call me today at 604-218-9000 for a Complimentary Home Evaluation!
