How I Managed My Property to Avoid Overpaying for Maintenance

Keeping your home clean and in good condition can give you peace of mind and protect your asset against decaying. Without a cleaning routine, large repairs or replacements can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars more than you're ready to pay. Plus, you'll always come back to a clean home without a pile of dishes or dog hair everywhere.

In this article, I aim to share efficient ways that have worked for me to help you better manage your property. Also, I'll show you to avoid overpaying for maintenance and do some of it yourself successfully.

Estimating the cost of home maintenance can be difficult to determine, but the easiest way to figure that out is to take one percent of the house value. Here's how it works: if your house is worth $300,000, you should be spending $3000 on maintenance every year, and if you break it down further, it would be around less than $300 per month.

Depending on the state of your home, you might need more or less money as this is more of a general rule. Sometimes, even new homes can be quite problematic and demand more investments due to the mediocre quality of floors, roof, or pipes issues.

Since home maintenance could become a sizeable expense, there are a few ways to ensure its stays within the monthly budget. The professionals behind Mynd.co stress that having a partner that helps you make all the right decisions regarding property repairs and investments is a must. Plus, you'll never have to overpay maintenance and repairs with a partner helping you out.

To significantly save on costs, try to do simple fixes by yourself or call a friend to help you. For example, adding a new layer of paint in the kitchen is easier than you think. And if you see how much a painter would charge per hour, you will think twice before hiring them. With an abundance of videos that show you how to do small fixes around the house, you can save thousands of dollars every year and learn new skills that might come in handy. And someone online can explain it better than any professional so that next time you encounter the same problem, you'll know how to solve it.

To save on some robust repairs, do your own home maintenance regularly. It might cost you a bit more yearly, but it doesn't come close to the expense of hiring a contractor. Some of the most common preventive measures are keeping your home clean, taking care of pests, repainting the home's exterior, cleaning the gutter under the sink, and handling clogs in the pipes.

When it comes to keeping your house clean, it means regular vacuuming, swiping floors, cleaning the tiles, and disinfecting bathrooms. With the right types of paint and sprays, you can tackle the mold in your bathroom all by yourself. Don't forget that the air quality is significantly better in a clean house, and you'll have fewer problems with pests or rodents.

One of the smallest changes that will make a significant difference on your monthly bill is changing the thermostat and adding a programmable one. It will reduce all the unnecessary wear on your HVAC system.

Another useful thing is to get more LED lightbulbs and try to use as pinpoint light as you can. Instead of having all the lights on, try to use small lamps to create an atmosphere rather than light up the whole room. With a variety of interesting designs, you can find good-looking lightbulbs for every corner of your house.

Changing your air conditioning filters will allow the system to be more productive as it will use less energy to circulate air.

Of course, there are situations when you can't go around the problem. That's when you need a contractor to come and assess the situation. Often, a higher cost of the work means that the company has all the necessary licenses and insurance. That's why when it comes to plumbing, roof, or other structural work, the best strategy is to ask an expert to do it right.

Keep in mind that sometimes the lowest prices are not the best option, so make sure to get several offers to make the best possible decision.

Being a homeowner takes a lot of responsibility to care for your home and create a maintenance plan that will serve you for years. With these tips, you can save money to set it aside for future investments. Also, you'll be able to protect the asset you've worked so long to purchase.

Keep all this in mind when you decide to purchase a house and get ready for some dirty work from time to time. And, who knows, maybe you even start enjoying the housework.