Real Estate News: Home Maintenance Creates Value

City of Hialeah - Miami Dade County

The fifth largest city in the State of Florida with an area of 20 sq. miles and a Class 1 Fire Department. Hialeah has access to most major thoroughfare - linked by I-95, I-75, the Palmetto and Sawgrass Expressways, and the Florida Turnpike. It is home to Hialeah Race Track and rich with investment opportunities for apts, homeownership, retail and the manufacturing sector. Mayor Julio Robaina serves as strong mayor. His vision to encourage business growth and quality of life for the residents maintains the City of Hialeah as one of the most desirable and stable community in Miami Dade County. See all the details at www.hialeahfl.gov

4/06/2010

Home Maintenance Creates Value

Proactive maintenance is essential to preserving the value of your home. Without it your home could lose 10% of its value. Regular routine maintenance enhances curb appeal, ensures safety and prevents neglected upkeep from turning into costly major repairs.

Home maintenance affects your property value. Outright damage to your house is just one of the consequences of neglected maintenance. Without regular upkeep, your overall property value is affected. If your selling your house with chipped, fading paint, sagging gutters and worn carpeting you will be looking at an uphill battle in accomplishing your goal. Shaggy apperance will turn off prospective buyers and reduce the selling price.

Prolonging the economic age of your property is money in your pocket. Good maintenance does affect an appraiser's estimate of a property's economic age. The economic age is a key factor in helping appraisers determine depreciation of your home.

The value of maintenance has been established. A study by researchers at the University of Connecticut and Syracuse University suggests that maintenance actually increases the value of a house by about 1% each year. Which means that keeping up with regular maintenance actually makes you money.

How much will your maintenance cost varies. Some years your total expenditures may be a few hundred dollars. Other years may include major replacements, such as a new roof.

There are proactive maintenance strategies available to home owners. Knowing the average costs of your regular maintenance schedule can help you be prepared. You need to set up a reserve account for replacements. This is a cash reserve set aside that is used strictly for home repair and maintenance.

Always play offense, not defense. By making a schedule for regular maintenance you prevent small problems from becoming big issues.

Plan a room per year to redo and make it fun as well as cost effective. Every year you pick a room in your home to fix, and improve. This will keep your home from being dated without breaking the bank.

Keeping track of regular maintenance is very important. Having a notebook of all your maintenance and upgrades, along with receipts, is a powerful tool when it comes to time to sell your home.