Chance Gates' Blog

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By: John Riha

Published: March 9, 2010

Regular home maintenance is key to preserving the value of your house and property.

“It’s the little things that tend to trip up people,” says Frank Lesh, former president of the American Society of Home Inspectors and owner of Home Sweet Home Inspection Co. in Chicago. “Some cracked caulk around the windows, or maybe a furnace filter that hasn’t been changed in awhile. It may not seem like much, but behind that caulk, water could get into your sheathing, causing mold and rot. Before you know it, you’re looking at a $5,000 repair that could have been prevented by a $4 tube of caulk and a half hour of your time.”

Maintenance affects property value

Outright damage to your house is just one of the consequences of neglected maintenance. Without regular upkeep, overall property values are affected.

“If a house is in worn condition and shows a lack of preventative maintenance, the property could easily lose 10% of its appraised value,” says Mack Strickland, a professional appraiser and real estate agent in Chester, Va. “That could translate into a $15,000 or $20,000 adjustment.”

In addition, a house with chipped, fading paint, sagging gutters, and worn carpeting faces an uphill battle when it comes time to sell. Not only is it at a disadvantage in comparison with other similar homes that might be for sale in the neighborhood, but a shaggy appearance is bound to turn off prospective buyers and depress the selling price.

“It’s simple marketing principles,” says Strickland. “First impressions mean a lot to price support.”

Prolonging economic age

To a professional appraiser, diligent maintenance doesn’t translate into higher property valuations the way that improvements, upgrades, and appreciation all increase a home’s worth. But good maintenance does affect an appraiser’s estimate of a property’s economic age—the number of years that a house is expected to survive.

Economic age is a key factor in helping appraisers determine depreciation—the rate at which a house is losing value. A well-maintained house with a long, healthy economic age depreciates at a much slower rate than a poorly maintained house, helping to preserve value.

Estimating the value of maintenance

Although professional appraisers don’t assign a positive value to home maintenance, there are indications that maintenance is not just about preventing little problems from becoming larger. 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, meaning that getting off the couch and heading outside with a caulking gun is more than simply a chore—it actually makes money.

“It’s like going to the gym,” says Dr. John P. Harding, Professor of Finance & Real Estate at UConn’s School of Business and an author of the study. “You have to put in the effort to see the results. In that respect, people and houses are somewhat similar—the older (they are), the more work is needed.”

Harding notes that the 1% gain in valuation usually is offset by the ongoing cost of maintenance. “Simply put,” he says, “maintenance costs money, so it’s probably best to say that the net effect of regular maintenance is to slow the rate of depreciation.”

How much does maintenance cost?

How much money is required for annual maintenance varies. Some years, routine tasks, such as cleaning gutters and changing furnace filters, are all that’s needed, and your total expenditures may be a few hundred dollars. Other years may include major replacements, such as a new roof, at a cost of $10,000 or more.

Over time, annual maintenance costs average more than $3,300, according to data from the U.S. Census. Various lending institutions, such as Directors Credit Union and LendingTree.com, agree, placing maintenance costs at 1% to 3% of initial house price. That means owners of a $200,000 house should plan to budget $2,000 to $6,000 per year for ongoing upkeep and replacements.

Proactive maintenance strategies

Knowing these average costs can help homeowners be prepared, says Melanie McLane, a professional appraiser and real estate agent in Williamsport, Pa. “It’s called reserve for replacements,” says McLane. “Commercial real estate investors use it to make sure they have enough cash on hand for replacing systems and materials.”

McLane suggests a similar strategy for homeowners, setting aside a cash reserve that’s used strictly for home repair and maintenance. That way, routine upkeep is a snap and any significant replacements won’t blindside the family budget. McLane’s other strategies include:

Play offense, not defense. Proactive maintenance is key to preventing small problems from becoming big issues. Take the initiative with regular inspections. Create and faithfully follow a maintenance schedule. If you’re unsure of what needs to be done, a $200 to $300 visit from a professional inspector can be invaluable in pointing out quick fixes and potential problems.

Plan a room-per-year redo. “Pick a different room every year and go through it, fixing and improving as you go,” says McLane. “That helps keep maintenance fun and interesting.”

Keep track. “Having a notebook of all your maintenance and upgrades, along with receipts, is a powerful tool when it comes to sell your home,” advises McLane. “It gets rid of any doubts for the buyer, and it says you are a meticulous, caring homeowner.” A maintenance record also proves repairs and replacements for systems, such as wiring and plumbing, which might not be readily apparent.

John Riha has written six books on home improvement and hundreds of articles on home-related topics. He’s been a residential builder, the editorial director of the Black & Decker Home Improvement Library, and the executive editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. His standard 1968 suburban house has been an ongoing source of maintenance experience.

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As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional, I encourage all questions and comments on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog. Please feel free to use my back door to the MLS and search the houses available in the Reno/Sparks and most Northwest Nevada neighborhoods. I can be reached by email @ chance@ballard-company.comhttp://www.myspace.com/chancegates .  You can also follow me at http://www.twitter.com/chancegates .  If you are behind on your house payment and looking for a loan modification, go to making homes affordable For a free copy of my report   “5 Steps For Reno/Sparks Homeowners To Prevent Foreclosures” go to my about page http://chancegates.com/about and ask for more information on preventing foreclosures. or   to request a modification.  If the modification fails, contact your local real estate professional to help short sale your home.  To make sure there is no deficiency judgment a homeowner might find it necessary to hire an attorney

Don’t let your new home become a money pit of despair. Let a home inspector find the home’s hidden defects before you get stuck with the bill.

By Lisa Scherzer of SmartMoney

After a home inspection turned up everything from leaky toilets to termites, Cincinnati couple Hannah Powers and Ben Clinkinbeard thought about rescinding the $305,000 offer they’d made on a four-bedroom home. Instead, they got an estimate for the cost of repairs, and worked it out that the seller would pick up the $10,000 tab. “You can’t wash dishes and flush the toilet at the same time,” Powers, 28, says. “That’s a problem you’d think someone would mention.”

Though you may think you’ve found your dream house, no property is perfect. For buyers who signed contracts before May 1 to meet the deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, now is the time to make sure your new home isn’t hiding any defects or problems.

Some homebuyers, in the rush to meet the deadline to get the tax credit, may have overlooked a few of “these issues related to home inspection,” says Robert Lattas, a real-estate attorney in Chicago.

Here’s what you should know.

Inspection contingency
As Powers and her husband did, buyers should be sure to make the purchase contingent on a home inspection. The contingency period typically lasts a week or two. This is when the buyer should get an inspector to check the house for problems that need fixing — and to look for other obviously important information that could kill the deal. This could include things like water damage, a furnace that’s too old or flaws in the foundation.

And with the hurry to get contracts done by April 30, “I’m sure there were many contracts that did contain a post-contract inspection period,” says Alan E. Katz, a real-estate attorney with Greenfield Stein & Senior in New York.

Keep in mind, however, that while a standard home inspection can be revealing, inspectors technically don’t have to check for problems with appliances, sprinkler systems, septic systems, smoke detectors, lead paint, radon, asbestos or pests. Some inspectors, who may also be engineers, can check on these details, but often they’d be considered extras.

Negotiating the repair
Many states, including Illinois and New York, require home sellers to fill out a property disclosure statement, which is supposed to note any “material defects” with the house that are known to the seller.

If the inspection uncovers a problem that wasn’t noted in the disclosure form, the buyer might — depending on how the contract clause was drafted — have the right to terminate the contract, have the problem fixed by the seller before closing or get a credit for the cost of the repair at closing, Katz says.

House Inspectors In Big Demand

If the seller lied on his report — for example, he knew there were flooding issues but didn’t disclose the information — the buyer could sue. But the buyer would need to be able to convince a judge or jury that the seller knew of the material defect and did not disclose it to the buyer, Lattas says.

Most real-estate agents and attorneys representing homebuyers would recommend against letting the seller handle the repair. The risk here is that the seller will do a shoddy fix-up job. As a buyer, “I don’t want the seller to fix these issues, because I’m not aware of their quality,” Lattas says. A better alternative is to try to negotiate a repair credit as Powers and her husband did. But be aware that the contract might cap the credit amount.

Final walk-through
A standard contract typically includes a provision requiring the seller to “maintain” the property between the contract date and closing date. That means if the buyer sees a gash on the hardwood floor during the final walk-through that wasn’t there at the time of inspection, that’s considered a changed condition. “You might be able to bring this up and ask for a price abatement,” Lattas says. At that point, the seller will likely concede — he’s out of the property and presumably buying another home.

Also note that every contract indicates what in the house is included in the purchase price and what’s not. Ellen Assael, a real-estate agent with ZipRealty in Westchester, N.Y., had a client who, during the final walk-through, discovered that all the air-conditioning units had been removed. Under the contract, the units were supposed to be left in the house. “There was big trouble at the closing table,” Assael says. Ultimately, the seller gave the buyers a credit.

Property permits
Did the seller add a porch to the house or renovate the kitchen? If he did, make sure you have an amended certificate of occupancy or building permit that verifies the improvements were reviewed by the municipality and done according to code.

“Sometimes owners don’t even know they need to get a permit to reflect the addition,” Katz says. Either way, buyers should have a provision in the contract that has the seller saying that the structure doesn’t violate any code. This could also affect the buyer’s ability to get bank financing. “If you don’t have a valid certificate of occupancy, the bank won’t go through with the mortgage commitment,” Katz says.

As a Reno/Sparks real estate professional; I encourage all questions and comments, on the Reno/Sparks real estate market or any of the articles posted in this blog.

I like to meet my clients at my office. This allows time for me to answer all questions, to find if we are a good fit and to get the disclosures done. This is also the time to get them pre-qualified if they have not done so already. I find for a lot of my clients that it is more comfortable for them to talk to a mortgage broker at my office. This also allows me to inform them on the strengths and weaknesses of different lenders to determine which will be the best for them. After getting them pre-qualified, I do this first to get a price range, and then the discussion turn to what type of house is right for the client. This is where I usually like to end the first meeting.

I then enter all the information on what type of house they want to call home into the computer and email them houses that fit into their criteria. This way the clients can preview the houses on their own. Once the buyers have 4 or 5 houses they would like to see the inside of they call me. When going through the houses I like to point out every thing, I see, that is wrong with the house. If there is something wrong with the house that is going to be a problem, it time to move to the next house.

Once the client found the house they want, everything I pointed to wasn’t a problem, we make an offer on the house. This is the time to mention everything that the buyer needs to have checked. I always recommend having a home inspection, where I pointed out everything I notice, I’m not a home inspector. Getting a home warranty is also a very good idea, this is in case something breaks after the client moves in.

Skipping ahead in order to try and keep this article short (to late): Offers gets accepted, title gets opened, inspections are ordered and done, repair list is made, home warranty is ordered, repairs are done, appraisal is back, loan docs are drawn, final walk through is done, loan docs are signed, funds are distributed, purchase is recorded and title is place in the new owners name. Keys are handed over with the recommendation to change all locks and new owner moves in. Done with no glitches, yea right!! In real estate there is always glitches.

As a Reno – Sparks real estate consultant I encourage any questions or  comments on the Reno – Sparks real estate market or about any of the articles I post.  You can email me at chance@ballard-company.com

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