Building new and maintenance

From The Home Guide - your renovation and building resource

Property Ownership is a big part of the NZ psyche, the “quarter acre pavlova paradise”. Whether it is the quarter acre, lifestyle block, townhouse or apartment, once you own a property then you really need to be maintaining it.

Preserving your home

The Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) recommends that we should be spending an average of between $2,000 and $11,000 annually on property upkeep, depending on its age.

However, for many people, home maintenance gets put into the too hard basket. All too often work happens only when something falls off, you fall through it, or things get to a point where you simply can’t avoid urgent repairs.

A much better and more cost effective option is to establish a good understanding of your property’s maintenance needs from the start – for both new and older buildings.

The best way to do this is by having an expert assessment carried out – such as a Realsure HouseProud Maintenance Inspection.

Realsure is the only ISO registered building surveying group in New Zealand that exclusively employs Accredited Building Surveyors.

Our maintenance inspections will all be carried out by accredited surveyors. We inspect your property and grounds thoroughly, take all factors into account and identify what work needs to be done and will need to be done over the next few years.

We also prioritise the work for you so that you can easily put together a plan of what you need to do and when to do it, within a specified budget.

A maintenance survey of a property is no different from a Realsure pre-purchase survey, and is undertaken to the same inspection Standard.

Look at it this way. If you feel unwell, you go to your GP. They assess your condition through an examination, asking questions and taking various factors into account. They then make a diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate remedy. It might be pills and rest, further tests, or a specialist referral and you proceed with confidence because you are in capable expert hands.

Yet when it comes to the healthy condition of a property, probably the biggest asset most of us will ever own, we often skip the “doctor” stage and try to guess what’s wrong and go straight to a specialist in one area, without considering all the factors which might be causing the problem.

A Realsure Accredited Building Surveyor has the experience and qualifications to provide a considered review and diagnosis of your home, advising of “illness” requiring repair, further investigation, or appropriate expert advice.

Often cost is a key reason for people putting off house maintenance. However, such delays usually prove more expensive in the long run. The most cost effective approach is to really understand what condition your property is in, to understand what needs to be done and in what order.

Costs can really mount if a component is allowed to deteriorate to a point it cannot be repaired. It may then also cause damage to adjacent areas of the home. Ultimately that may affect the health of your family too.

However, if you act on problems early you can prevent them from escalating. For instance, rust spots on the roof and some loose roof fixings can be cleaned back, primed and painted and the fixings hit back or replaced with washers and screws. All simple maintenance.

However, if the problem is left for a couple of years rust holes may develop requiring whole sheets of roofing to be replaced.

It could potentially mean rain water getting into the roof cavity causing rot to the timber framing, damage to the insulation and ceiling lining, and mould that sets off the kids’ asthma.

Owners of new homes also often fall into the trap of thinking they can sit back and ignore maintenance needs.

However, new homes need regular maintenance too. It is important to note that, for newer homes if you don’t undertake the maintenance as required by the manufacturer of your roof, cladding, and other components, then you could jeopardise your warranty.

Knowing from day one exactly how to maintain it allows you to create a smart, cost effective maintenance programme.

If you are building a new home or doing major renovations you can use Realsure Quality Tracker to monitor key stages of the build from planning right through to occupation.

It is unlikely you will have the qualifications or experience to see or identify building faults or defects, so Realsure becomes a highly experienced independent arbiter during the construction process.

Realsure will keep an eagle eye on the key stages of the build ensuring you end up with a quality home. Not only does this protect your home construction investment, it takes a lot of the stress out of the construction process for everyone involved.

Before you buy any home, do any maintenance, plan any alterations or begin to build, call Realsure.

A Realsure Accredited Building Surveyor will provide you with qualified information about your home empowering you to proactively, cost effectively, and confidently choose and look after your pavlova paradise.

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