Every house seems to have one.
That repair you know needs attention, but it isn’t quite urgent enough to make it to the top of the list.
The faucet drips a little.
There’s a small stain near the ceiling.
The exterior wood is starting to show its age.
The air conditioner makes a noise it didn’t make five years ago.
And as long as nothing is leaking, smoking, flooding or making a truly alarming sound, it’s easy to say:
“I’ll get to it later.”
The problem is that houses aren’t particularly good at waiting.
Small problems have a habit of becoming larger ones.
A little water can become a big problem
Water is probably one of the best examples.
A small roof leak may not look like much from inside the house.
But what’s happening where you can’t see it?
Water can affect roof decking, insulation, drywall and wood. A plumbing leak under a sink or behind a wall can create damage long before it becomes obvious.
The repair you postpone isn’t necessarily the repair you’ll eventually pay for.
Sometimes you’re paying for everything that happened because you postponed it.
Your major systems don’t last forever
Heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters, roofs and appliances all have useful lives.
That doesn’t mean you should replace something simply because it’s old.
If it’s functioning properly and being maintained, great.
But there’s a difference between something that’s older and something that’s giving you warning signs.
Strange noises.
Repeated service calls.
Visible corrosion.
Leaks.
Difficulty heating or cooling the home.
Those are worth paying attention to.
Knowing that a major system may be nearing the end of its useful life also gives you something valuable: time.
An emergency replacement rarely gives you the luxury of shopping around, comparing options or planning for the expense.
Deferred maintenance can show up again when you sell
Here’s another piece homeowners sometimes don’t think about.
Eventually, many of those postponed repairs become visible to a buyer.
And then they become visible to the buyer’s home inspector.
A seller may have lived comfortably with a dripping faucet, damaged fascia, an older HVAC system and a few other deferred items for years.
A buyer sees them all at once.
Individually, they may not be significant.
Collectively, they can create the impression that the home hasn’t been maintained.
And perception matters.
Buyers don’t necessarily calculate only the exact cost of a repair. Sometimes they begin wondering what else they can’t see.
That can affect negotiations and, in some cases, what someone is willing to pay for the property.
Q4 is a good time to take a walk
Before another year gets away from us, take 20 or 30 minutes and walk around your property.
You don’t need to turn yourself into a home inspector.
Just look.
Walk around the exterior.
Look at the roof from the ground.
Look at the eaves and fascia.
Check around windows and doors.
Notice peeling paint or exposed wood.
Look for signs of water where water shouldn’t be.
Think about the last time your HVAC system was serviced.
Take a look at your water heater.
Think about the little things inside the house that you’ve learned to live with.
Then make a list.
Some items may need attention now.
Others may simply need to be watched.
And some may turn out to be nothing at all.
But at least you’ll know.
Maintenance isn’t just about selling
I talk about this from a real estate perspective because I’ve seen what happens when years of deferred maintenance finally meet a home inspection.
But maintaining your home isn’t primarily about the next buyer.
It’s about protecting an asset you already own.
You don’t have to make everything perfect.
Homes are lived in. Things wear out. Things break.
The goal isn’t perfection.
It’s simply catching the small things before they have an opportunity to become the expensive things.
In a nutshell
Every home has a list.
The question is whether the things on that list are staying small or quietly becoming something bigger.
As we move through the fourth quarter, take a little time to look around your property and pay attention to the repairs you’ve been postponing.
You don’t need to tackle everything at once.
Prioritize what can cause additional damage, address the things that need attention and make a plan for the rest.
A little maintenance today may save you from a much larger repair tomorrow.
And whether you plan to stay in your home for another year or another twenty, taking care of what you already own is usually time well spent.