What IS House Maintenance?

My definition of home maintenance is any job that involves checking, DIY, and basically maintaining(!) where you live. It’s about maintaining the structure, fixtures and fittings – and ensuring your home stays safe, secure and looked after for you in day-to-day life, and in emergencies.

It’s NOT things like cleaning, gardening etc… – which I class as chores more than maintenance. (Yes – arguably doing chores maintains the home as well, but I like to split them up as they are easier to manage this way.)

Reasons Why You Should Do House Maintenance

Running a home, however big or small, can be daunting to say the least. You probably made it a priority to buy a place that had a good structural survey, and that would be a good investment. It was a good investment because it had been maintained properly over the years…

In fact – it’s all too easy to let maintenance slip to the bottom of the priority list when there are so many other things to do. But here are the reasons why you should definitely make it a top priority – right now…

#1 – It Can Be More Expensive To Fix Something That Goes Wrong Rather Than Prevent It From Failing

Maybe it’s a burst pipe, or a leak in the roof, or a crack in a wall – whatever the thing is – a problem with the house can knock you for six. It is usually more expensive to fix once it’s gone wrong – so maintaining your home while everything is right means less cost over the long haul.

#2 – It Can Take More Time Once Things Go Wrong

If you regularly schedule in checks and maintenance work on your home you can work these things around your life and your schedule. Once something goes wrong though, you have to work around IT instead. You may have to take time off work, miss appointments etc.. – and that’s just frustrating to say the least.

#3 – It’s The Most Expensive Asset You Have

Your car is probably the second most expensive asset you have, and this is a very small percentage of the cost of a home – yet I will wager that you regularly get your car serviced and MOT’d. It should be the same for your home…

#4 – It Adds Value To Your Home

If you maintain it well then prospective buyers will see that, and be more likely to buy it at the right price. A less well maintained home may fetch less than expected because buyers automatically take money off their offer for the perceived work they may have to do to rectify things.

#5 – It Minimises The Chance Of Things Going Wrong

If you keep an eye on your home at regular intervals – then things are less likely to go wrong and there are less chances of costs mounting up as a result.

#6 – It Gives You More Faith In Your Home

I LOVE the fact that we did so much work on our home when we moved in. I now know every wall, every socket, every part of the house – and as a result I feel much more secure in the fact that things have been tackled right. There are less things to worry about, and I am aware of what needs regularly checking.

If you regularly maintain your home, you will get to know it so much better, and you will naturally feel more secure and safe living in it. Have I convinced you that house maintenance is a good idea? I do hope so, as it could save you so much time / effort and stress in the long term when it’s done regularly.

Posted on April 22nd, 2022

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