2020-2021 Marin Home Resource Guide
33
Proactive Home Stewardship
By Guest Contributor:
Alex Stadtner
Healthy Building Science, Inc.
healthybuildingscience.com
PROACTIVE
HOME
STEWARDSHIP
YIELDS
HIGH ROI
Our home is one of our
greatest assets, but for many
of us, it is more than a financial
investment. We pour sweat
equity and emotion into creating
a safe and healthy place for our
families to shelter and rest.
We build a sanctuary.
There are chronic and acute threats to every building, yet very few
devote the necessary budget or planning for the proper maintenance
of a home. To stay ahead of expensive and stressful setbacks, there
are significant benefits to regular inspections, proactive home
maintenance, and emergency preparedness.
A good home stewardship program covers hundreds of items that
should be inspected and serviced every year. A rule of thumb for
budgeting is to allocate between 1–4% of the home's value for annual
home maintenance. For a $1 million house that is $10-40K/year on
maintenance. This percentage may sound exorbitant, but this also
considers the cumulative impacts of big projects like deck replacements,
painting and new roofs (not to mention the unexpected). ››
