| The British are a nation of homeowners and, for the past few years, their homes have been their fastest-growing asset - which makes it all the more surprising that people seem reluctant to take great care of them.
Take maintenance. People are often advised to spend a certain proportion of their property's value each year on maintenance, but usually such expenses are spread out over the years, sometimes in small amounts and at others in very significant amounts. Usually the significant amounts come into play after maintenance has been ignored for a while.
The key is to do whatever is necessary before it becomes absolutely imperative - it's a lot cheaper to mend that roof before it starts to leak than after it’s caused untold damage. So it makes sense to check everything on a fairly regular basis.
Once you're on top of any maintenance projects, you may start to think about improvements, either for the benefit of you and your family or to enhance its resale value. Try to strike a balance between your enjoyment of the property and how its future value might be affected.
Major work requires a professional but you should know, or learn if necessary, something about the subject yourself before you go out to hire someone. Good builders are hard to find and you must try to be in a position to know whether you're getting a good service.
So read up about it, check out some suitable websites and, above all, communicate with others. Personal recommendations are worth their weight in gold. |
