Find Your Home Maintenance Strategy

Having owned homes in New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and California … I thought I knew a lot about home maintenance. It wasn’t until I started My Handyman of Southern NH, that I began to learn how complicated a home can be, that a home is really a living/breathing (made from natural materials) structure and it needs ongoing maintenance.

Unfortunately with our busy lives and frequent moves, many home owners (myself included) have focused on home repairs following the traditional:

• First 6 to 9 months after moving into a new house
• Fix it when it breaks, i.e. toilet leak
• Six months leading up to selling (listing) your house for sale
• … plus special projects to enhance your lifestyle at home, i.e. a kitchen remodel (California), finishing the basement, an addition (Portsmouth NH), etc.

Now I know it’s not smart to wait for the home inspection to tell me there is wood rot on several window sills or below the sliding door to the deck. I now understand that the longer these water problems are allowed to fester, the more extensive the damage (often hidden) and the more expensive the repairs … so it’s not wise to wait for someone else to pinpoint necessary repairs.

Yes, we’re all focusing on the drop in our home’s value but these losses are due to the housing bubble with inflated prices. If you look back 5 to 10 years, and calculate more typical real estate appreciation of 5 to 6%, you will find most housing hasn’t lost value. Home ownership remains one of American’s greatest privileges with significant financial benefits from tax deductions for mortgage interest and taxes, to appreciation for the entire home value versus your equity which might be as low as 5 or 10%.

Hopefully you’re convinced it’s wise to maintain and update your home. Now we can help you find a strategy for maintaining your home, one that fits your personality and lifestyle. While houses don’t come with an owners manual like cars, we hope to provide you with checklists and other information to help you tackle routine mainenance with confidence.

Find Your Home Maintenance Strategy

Let’s look at the different approaches to home maintenance. DO NOT focus on which is the best or right approach. What is most important, is picking one that you are comfortable with, as that’s the one you are most likely to stick with year after year. If we don’t have a checklist for your strategy, let us know and we’ll develop one that fits your strategy.

• Home maintenance driven by an EVENT:
  • When preparing your home for sale
  • Getting settled after you move into your new home
  • After something breaks or you find a leak
  • To prepare for a family event like a wedding or special company.

• Home maintenance done on a SCHEDULE:
  • Using a seasonal checklist which is common
  • Breaking tasks down into monthly checklists
  • Rotating through room-by-room checklists, i.e. focusing on the attic when putting holiday decorations away.

• Home maintenance as a series of PROJECTS:
  • Painting 1-2 rooms each year
  • Updating different rooms, like a bathroom … then the kitchen
  • When re-decorating a room, like the living room
  • Setting up a home office

• BUDGEt driven home maintenance:
  • Budgeting a percentage (1% annually is recommended) of purchase (or assessed) home value
  • Allocating percentage of disposable income

What’s important is that you find a strategy that works for you. Don’t worry about following the right way to maintain your home, but stick to an approach that will take the stress out of home ownership. If you fix things when they break, great. If you prioritize by project, then keep a running list of items in one place and use it as a guide to select the next project, you’ll get ahead of the curve on breakdowns & repairs … and the associated stress.

The biggest challenge often is finding one approach that works for you AND other members of the team, your significant other and your children. If you don’t have the skills, tools or interest then it’s time to call Mr. Handyman, and we’ll take care of your list for you!

Don’t assume it’s all or nothing. You might decide to devote 2 weekends a year (one in the spring, the other in the fall) to home maintenance projects. Prioritize and do the chores you’re most comfortable with, or enjoy the most … and then let Mr. Handyman finish your list so you can enjoy your home with confidence.