When considering the purchase of a new home as an investment, we can easily ignore the importance of home maintenance. This is a huge mistake!
Home experts recommend that approximately 1-3% of your home’s market value should be invested annually into home maintenance. That is because continuous, proactive, and careful maintenance of your home can lead to long-term benefits such as saving you money, improving the quality of life for you and your family, and even boosting the investment value of your home. [1]
3 Great Reasons to Invest in Home Maintenance
- Investing in home maintenance can save you money!
By carefully and strategically organizing your home maintenance plan, you can save a great deal of money both on monthly expenses and future big-ticket costs. By continually maintaining your home’s critical systems with easy “to-dos,” you can also drastically cut your utility bills. Think of it like changing the oil in your car every 3-4 months. By routinely and consistently performing this task, you are reducing the chances of having to pay the extreme cost of new parts.
By investing in home maintenance, you are actively improving your chances of avoiding burdensome large repair costs and increasing the longevity of your home systems. A new furnace or heating system can cost between $2,500-$4,000 dollars, but these units can sometimes last for 30 years + when appropriately maintained. No different from a gym membership and healthy eating habits, the upfront investment may cost slightly more now, but they significantly reduce your risk of expensive and possibly dangerous health procedures later on in life.
- Investing in home maintenance can improve your quality of life
Proper home maintenance is about more than just saving money; it’s about improving your quality of life. By investing time and money into preventative maintenance, you can improve your home’s indoor air quality (IAQ), seasonal allergy exposure, and can create more consistent interior temperatures, ensuring that your family is safe and cozy all year long.
- Investing in home maintenance can increase your home’s market value
By improving the quality of your home, you can significantly increase the value of your home, which is critical to using your property as an investment vehicle. By maintaining both the cosmetics of your home and its critical systems, you will be able to enjoy consistent boosts in your home’s market value.
Big Ticket Costs
Large expenses can put a real damper on finances and stability. But the good news is, with some effort and discipline, you can easily prevent them! Below are some of the most common big-ticket costs that plague homeowners. [2]
- Furnace/Heat Sources: Average replacement cost $2500-$4000.
Though the lifespans and specifics for furnaces and heat sources vary depending on the brand of the product, the climate, and region of your home, furnaces tend to come with an average industry lifespan of 15-20 years. However, when properly maintained, they can last an additional 10+ years, saving you the homeowner a great deal of money and stress.
- Air Conditioner Units: Average replacement cost $2,500-$4,000
Much like your furnace and heat sources, the lifespan of an AC Unit is affected by make, model, and environmental factors. Similarly, they can last an extra 10+ years on top of their 15-20 year lifespan when exposure to the elements is reduced during the off-season and seasonal maintenance tips are followed.
- Water Heater: Average replacement cost $1,000
Water heaters tend to come with an average industry lifespan of 8-12 years. Note that when elevated, periodically flushed, and cleaned thoroughly though, they can last a great deal longer.
- Roofs: Average replacement cost range $2.50-4.50/square foot
When you do the math, you will see that even with a relatively small roof this expense can add up quite quickly. The lifespan of your roof can be increased with some good old-fashioned TLC. By replacing sealants, trimming overhanging branches, cleaning your gutters, and keeping an eye out for displaced or missing shingles, and storm damage, you could potentially add years to an average lifespan of 15-25 years.
Why Home Maintenance Matters
In the end, home maintenance works like any other form of investment; you get out of it what you put in. In the moment, it can feel like a burden and an expense, but homeowners must always keep a zoomed-out perspective. When we look at the value of our homes, the quality of our lives, and the money we save over the long term; investing in home maintenance is a no brainer.
So what to do now? How do I actually implement all of this great home maintenance information and start saving?
Stay tuned next week, where Divvy will break down for you a number of specific and actionable home maintenance tips specific to every season of the year.
Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash
[1] https://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/advice/home-maintenance-checklist/
[2] https://www.care.com/c/stories/5982/beginners-guide-to-seasonal-home-maintenance/