Protect the home with maintenance
Besides a lack of inventory, a reason for many people to rent rather than buy is home maintenance. When the roof leaks or the air conditioner quits on you, they like knowing they can call the landlord or property manager to come to the rescue.
Yes, maintenance is an ongoing part of homeownership and can be expensive and frustrating to handle.
Every house is different, but here is a basic list of things you should do periodically to protect your investment:
• Inspect your roof or pay a professional to check it out for you, especially if it’s been exposed to severe weather. Hail is particularly damaging.
• Head up to your attic and look for any roof leaks and signs of termites or rodents.
Squirrels or rats nesting in your attic are not particular about what they chew, and they sometimes gnaw electrical wiring, which can lead to damaged infrastructure or fire.
• Check out the paint on your home. It seems cosmetic, but paint is a first line of defense against the weathering and aging of wood. Also, damaged paint can indicate the start of a larger problem. Brick, stucco and siding should be inspected as well.
• Depending on traffic, hardwood floors should be refinished every five to 10 years. If they get too worn down, you risk permanent damage to the wood.
• Check for leaks in any room that has plumbed fixtures.
• In some older homes, cast iron was used for the wastewater lines. These pipes eventually fail. If the seepage is under the foundation, you will probably never notice, but it may be worth having a professional plumber come check it out. If the leak gets bad enough, it can damage your foundation.
• Watch for cracks in the walls or other signs of foundation issues. The main cause of foundation problems, whether pier and beam or slab, is fluctuations in the moisture content of the soil. If the soil beneath a foundation swells uniformly or shrinks uniformly, it is unlikely to cause a problem. When only part of the foundation moves, though, you are likely to see signs of damage.