June 30, 2016 by Michelle J. Lane, Realtor®
As a Realtor who specializes in homes that are part of an estate, I have seen a great deal of deferred maintenance in my time.
The two main reasons are:
- these are the homes of people who lived through the great depression and have the mindset that they will fix what needs fixing, but no more. They see no point in changing things out if they are not broken.
- The other reason is these are homes of people on fixed incomes – usually one person who has outlived their spouse for a number of years. So the money to keep the place up is not available.
The area I sell in – Newton, MA and the surrounding area – is considered affluent for the most part. For the purposes of this article, I am focusing on what would be considered the middle or working class who own homes. The affluent can spend far more than the rule of thumb would suggest and often do.
The generally accepted rule of thumb is that a homeowner should spend roughly 1-3% of the value of the home to maintain and improve. Of course, that would vary depending on home values in your area. In Newton, home prices start at $500K. Most people are not going to spend $15K per year on tiny bungalow. So, in expensive areas, where a high-priced home is still small, the rule of thumb is closer to the 1%.
Of course, you are not going to spend this each and every year. But you do need to put the money aside. When the roof or any other major component goes, you will need to have that money available to replace it.
You may be tempted to spend it on the more fun things like décor and furnishings. That’s a lot more enjoyable than replacing a furnace or a roof – what seem like invisible improvements. But deferring the maintenance greatly reduces the value of the property and hurts its ability to sell quickly, even in a hot market.
You are probably hearing all the stories about bidding wars, especially in the hot markets like the Boston. And you might think that any house will sell. But bidding wars are happening with the houses that are in move-in condition. Not on houses that need a lot of repair. Today’s buyers just don’t have the money to make the repairs after buying a home. And they are not able to make the repairs themselves. All the reasons for that will be in a follow on blog post, so stay tuned for that. This one will be long enough!
When clients have deferred maintenance on their homes, I have to explain why their home is not worth as much as their neighbors that was in better condition when it sold. I actually have people say they don’t understand why today’s buyers are so fussy. What’s wrong with Formica countertops and linoleum floors? The old appliances are built better, etc. Aside from aesthetics of the home starting to look a bit beat and shabby, it matters because everything used to build your home has a set lifespan. Sure, we agents call all tell stories of homes that are time capsules where everything put in the house 50 years ago is still there and working. I even sold a 1912 home with its original furnace that was still running. But those are the exceptions, not the rule. Everything is going to go sooner or later.
To give you an idea of when that sooner or later is, the chart in this article breaks down the Average Life Span of Homes, Appliances and Mechanicals. This will not only help you plan for replacement of these items in your house, but should help buyers know how much they are going to have to put into a house they are buying and when they can expect to spend that money.
The contents of this chart have come from several sources, mainly a This Old House article. http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/article/0,,216991-4,00.html They even give a rough estimate of the cost to replace each item.
Average Life Span of Household Components
| Appliance Items | Lifespan |
| Kitchen Appliances | 10-20 years |
| Central A/C | 15 years |
| Electric Water Heater | 11-14 ones that are SS lined can last longer |
| Furnace (Hot Air) | 15 |
| Hot Water Boiler | 20-30 |
| Thermostats | 35 |
| Roofing | Lifespan |
| Asphalt / Rubber | 10-25+ |
| Wood Shingles | 10-40 |
| Metal | 25-40 |
| Clay Tile / Concrete Tile / Slate / Copper | 50+ |
| Flooring | Lifespan |
| Carpeting | 8-10 (I’ve seen it left unreplaced for 50+) |
| Linoleum / Vinyl / Laminae | 25 |
| Engineered Wood / Concrete | 50 |
| Bamboo / Hardwood / Tile / Marble / Slate | 100+ |
| Garages | Lifespan |
| Garage Door | 20-25 |
| Garage Door Opener | 10-15 |
| Light inserts | 20 |
| Footing and Basement | Lifespan |
| Poured Concrete / Fieldstone / Concrete Block | 100+ |
| Sump Pump | 5-12 |
| Bamboo / Hardwood / Tile / Marble / Slate | 100+ |
| Materials | Lifespan |
| Wood – Floors / Doors / Cabinets / Windows / Millwork | 100+ |
| Cast Iron – Tubs / Pipes | 50+ |
| PVC Pipe | 50+ |
| Fiberglass | 10-15 |
| Bamboo / Hardwood / Tile / Marble / Slate | 100+ |
| Porcelain – Sinks / Toilets | 50 |
| Engineered Trim | 30 |
| Insulation | 100+ |
| Hardboard / Flooring Underlayment / Softwood | 30 |
| Particleboard / Plywood | 60 |
| Electrical | Lifespan |
| Accessories and Controls | 10+ |
| Copper wiring | 100+ |
| Exterior | Lifespan |
| Brick / Stone / Engineered Wood / Fiber Cement | 100+ |
| Vinyl | 20+ |
| Engineered Wood / Concrete | 50 |
| Stucco | 50-100 |
| Paint | 7 |
| Mortar | 25-50 |
| Caulking | 5-10 |
| Decks | 10-30 |
| Aluminum Downspouts / Gutters | 20-30 |
| Galvanized Steel Downspouts / Gutters | 20 |
| Copper Downspouts | 100+ |
| Window Glazing | 10+ |
Notice that natural materials – stone, brick, wood, cast iron, have a very long life span. Which is why homes with these materials in abundance are worth more than homes with linoleum, carpets and fabricated materials. There are exceptions – PVC lasts as do some engineered woods. And this will improve over time. But the difference is that natural materials develop a patina over time that gives them character. Fabricated materials just get shabbier over time. Not to discourage any one from using them. There is not the same supply of natural materials that there once was so new construction has to move to these newer materials. And some building codes require them. But scarcity is another element that gives the natural materials value.
All of these life spans are averages – they will vary based on how well used items are and the climate. And, of course, on how well you maintain the house. A leaking roof will rapidly deteriorate interior components. But this should serve as a good planning tool – for maintenance and for knowing what a buyer will mentally deduct to come up with the market value of your home at the time of sale.
Now there are always exceptions. A good number of the estate homes I sell are more valuable to a builder for the land they sit on than they would be for a home buyer to live in. So if you are thinking of selling your home and not sure where you fall, contact me before you do any work on your home and I will let you know the value of your home as it stands and with repairs and upgrades.
