Although the terms are used interchangeably, there is a difference between home maintenance and home repair or replacement. Home maintenance concerns itself with keeping your appliances and living spaces in a state of functionality. Home repair fixes broken functionality. Therefore, the key to taking a bite out of home repairs is to prevent a loss of functionality through regular home maintenance. Here are some tips to keep in mind when it comes to maintaining your home and its functionality.
Set a budget for regular maintenance
One of the reasons why many homeowners put off regular home maintenance or attempt to DIY it is the money factor. This mindset is usually associated with not just repairs but replacements. Consider the cost of replacing your furnace, for example. That job can run you anywhere from $3,000 to $8,000. However, this mindset doesn’t serve you because it’s based on the premise of replace versus repair and maintain.
You’d be better served by setting aside approximately 1% to 4% of the value of your home each year, which you’ll earmark for maintenance. For example, if the value of your home comes in at $300,000, then you’d put aside between $3,000 and $12,000 a year for these tasks, or $250 to $1,000 a month. This takes the bite of home maintenance (and repairs) because it allows you to plan for home upkeep, rather than being surprised by it.
Do seasonal maintenance
Doing regular seasonal home maintenance breaks down the big task into smaller ones. This prevents the feelings of overwhelm that sometimes come with executing big jobs like this.
- Some examples of seasonal home maintenance tasks include:
- checking and cleaning your fireplace in the fall
- inspecting and cleaning your gutters, roof, and downspouts in winter
- spraying for pests in the spring
- and pruning trees and shrubs in the summer
For some of these jobs, like pruning and maintaining your trees, it’s best to hire a contractor like Genesis Tree Services because there are issues like power lines and deep roots to contend with. However, from a budget standpoint, hiring the job out isn’t an issue. You’ve already put home maintenance into your monthly budget.
Tackle it through monthly maintenance
Setting up a monthly maintenance schedule offers you another way to take a bite out of home repairs. Setting up this schedule allows you to catch up on maintenance tasks that you might have missed. It also allows you to start home maintenance if you’ve just moved into a new-to-you, but older home.
In the latter case, because you don’t know when the prior owner last did maintenance work, you may feel better about setting up a monthly maintenance schedule. You may not have to keep the monthly schedule forever — just until you get to know your new home a bit better.
Taking the bite out of your home repairs comes down to maintaining your home’s functionality by doing regular maintenance work on it. Replacing items like the furnace or the fridge can be costly. You can avoid much of this cost by setting up a regular maintenance schedule. For more tips on how to make your home repairs more manageable, follow TheHomeMag on Facebook and Instagram.
