Owning a home comes with a lot of responsibility. Unlike renting, where landlords are responsible for the upkeep and safety of a property, those who own a home are solely accountable for any necessary repairs or maintenance of the property. Though most property owners are aware of this, most fall short of their role simply because they’re unaware of the consequences. By first learning why home maintenance is so important, you can better position yourself to get onboard with the task at hand.
It Saves You Money
One of the biggest bonuses to keeping up with home maintenance is the potential to save money. Most major repairs are the direct result of failing to properly maintain the home or a system in the home. Essentially, investing a small amount of money to handle little jobs prevents the need to shell out hundreds or thousands of dollars for major issues. For example, having the air filters cleaned in your heating system reduce the likelihood of clogs or damaged vents which costs a lot more and requires an expert to fix.
It Keeps You and Your Family Safe
While keeping up with maintenance jobs can save you money, they can also save your property and your life. When little problems go unresolved they turn into bigger problems. Bigger problems often lead to serious consequences which can include injuries and in extreme cases, death. For example, if a property owner who lives in Connecticut where the use of chimneys is very common, disregarded the right thing like hiring local chimney sweeps in CT to thoroughly clean and inspect the chimney is increasing the potential for a house fire. As the buildup of materials like creosote, a highly flammable component, accumulates it can eventually block airflow and start a house fire putting everyone at risk. Whereas, maintaining chimney services can prevent all of that.
Keeps Home Efficient
Just as you must take your car for oil and air filter changes every few miles to keep it running efficiently, you must do the same for your house. When you’re neglecting even small tasks like changing the filter in your furnace, you reduce the efficiency of that system altogether. Eventually, you’re paying higher energy costs to heat the home because you’re not keeping up with maintenance. The same can be said for other systems in the home including plumbing and electrical. When you allow too much time to elapse before handling a small issue, it escalates, causing the systems to be overworked, less efficient, and more expensive to repair.
Increases Property Value
Outside of factors like the market, your property value is determined by how long you’ve had it (in other words equity from the mortgage) and how well it is maintained. If you were to try and sell your home today or tomorrow, but haven’t been keeping up with major systems and parts of the home, you’re going to have a hard time getting your asking price. While big renovations like an upgraded kitchen, bathroom, and patio are attractive, ultimately buyers are looking for a home they can move into that is safe and well-maintained. Interested buyers, if any are going to request that you make the repairs before they’ll make a deal or may be inclined to negotiate a much lower rate for the home.
Necessary for Insurance and Warranties
Here are two very important factors that homeowners tend to overlook when it comes to property maintenance – insurance and warranties. Often stated in contracts from property insurance agencies and warranty contracts, the responsibility of maintenance falls on the owner. Essentially, if you’re not doing your part to care for the house, systems, or appliances, the insurance agencies and/or warranties won’t do theirs. You can’t very well put in a claim for flooding in your attic if it is determined that you weren’t maintaining the gutter system. Just as if you’re not changing the filters in the furnace and a major clog or mechanical failure happens, you won’t be able to use your warranty to have the product replaced.
Though the many responsibilities of a homeowner may seem like a huge undertaking, neglecting the matter, as you can see, only makes things worse. If you’re looking to save money, ensure the safety of your family, maintain household efficiency, increase property value, and remain in compliance with your insurance policies or warranties, developing a routine or schedule for taking care of matters around the house is imperative. If you’re unable to do it all on your own, there are plenty of resources as well as professional contractors to help simplify the process for you.
