Ask a Pro: What are low cost maintenance and home repair tips?

Q:  What tips can you share on keeping my home maintenance and repair costs to a minimum?

A:  Regularly inspecting your home, inside and out, helps you find the little problems before they become big ones, and once problems are found deal with them quickly.  This simple recipe is your best bet for minimizing costs.  Not all problems are created equally, so consider which might ‘grow’ in scope if left alone and deal with those first. 

Water is your homes biggest nemesis, so problems involving water require immediate attention.  A minor drip under a sink, for example, will destroy the floor of a cabinet, and then your sub-floor, if given time.  By regularly inspecting your home and dealing with any issues found quickly you are investing the least amount of time and money in any particular issue as you haven’t allowed it to develop into something more expensive.