If you want to preserve the appearance, quality, or value of an item, you need to take good care of it. The same applies to your house.
A House Loses Value Without Proper Maintenance
A house requires regular maintenance in order to ensure that every part is working as intended. Not only is the future value of your home depends on whether you have taken good care of your home or not, but the safety of your family will also be compromised by ignoring maintenance tasks.
According to estimates, a home can lose up to 10% of its value without upkeep. You might not feel the consequences of it now but, in the future, when you decide to sell the property, it will be difficult to find a buyer who would be willing to make the purchase at the price that you want. Suddenly, you will regret all the years that you could have cleaned and repaired but did not.
That is because replacements will be very expensive for the buyer. If they buy a home that was not properly kept by the previous owner, they can expect to shell out more money to fix things soon after they move in.
Upkeep, of course, can cost a lot if you sum it all up. You could be looking at hundreds to thousands of dollars a year for maintenance, depending on the size and requirements of the house.
However, ignoring them will cost a lot more money in the long run. So, here is the maintenance work you have to do diligently.
Clean Your Home Appliances
Your home appliances require maintenance. The most obvious is the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system which periodically has to be cleaned or repaired. This will ensure that the air that you and your family are breathing is fresh and clean. The HVAC costs a fortune to replace. As soon as you notice any sign of distress, call the professionals ASAP!
Your dryer vents, on the other hand, is a fire hazard. Fibers from clothing get stuck in it, preventing hot air from being released outdoors. Make dryer vent cleaning a part of your regular home upkeep if you do not want any incidents that will endanger your life and damage the property.
Pay Attention to Stains
The brown stains on ceilings and walls are not natural signs of old age. It means that there is a water leak that you do not know about.
If the stains appear on the ceiling, there might be a problem with the roof. A hole in the roof might be causing rain to seep into the house, damaging the ceiling.
If stains appear on the walls, you should investigate your plumbing. There might be a pipe leaking somewhere which meant that, aside from damage, you are losing money from expensive utility bills.
Water leaks create the ideal space for mold to grow. The organism can be a health risk, causing respiratory symptoms and ailments. Therefore, their presence can lower the value of a house being sold.
In some places, large quantities of mold is a violation of the public health code. The homeowner is required to disclose the problem to home buyers but, even if it is not, you cannot really hide it. Mold has a distinct musty smell and can cause sneezing.
Apply a Fresh Coat of Paint
Peeling paint makes a house look older and unkempt. However, more than physical appeal, the paint actually protects building materials from environmental elements like sunlight, rain, snow, etc.
Giving your exterior a fresh coat of paint is not very expensive, but it can add a lot to the value of your home. Moreover, it improves curb appeal, boosting buyer interest once you want to sell.
The Lawn Needs Love, Too
It is easy to neglect the lawn if you are not the type who enjoys spending time outdoors. Grass grows quickly that, even after a few months of zero upkeep, things could go out of control fast.
Maintaining the lawn, however, is easier and much cheaper than having to renovate the whole thing from scratch once you are ready to sell. You would not want to just sell your home without a well-manicured lawn because, according to Home Light, lawn care can add an average of $1200 to the property’s value.
Proper maintenance is important for an expensive investment such as your house. Although maintenance can be expensive, neglecting these tasks would only cost you to lose money in the long run.