Save Money With a Maintenance Strategy
Do you ever wonder where the money in your maintenance budget goes? It can sometimes seem to evaporate into thin air! Because of our experience working with property managers and board members of HOAs, we understand that maintenance dollars are often stretched incredibly thin.
With this in mind, we thought it would be helpful to share a few strategies for developing a successful property maintenance strategy; one that doesn’t absorb dollars, but actually saves them.
Developing a Successful Maintenance Strategy
How Would You Define Your Outlook?
First, take a step back and consider what your current method is like. Most likely you will fall into one of three categories: reactive, proactive, or predictive.
A reactive maintenance plan means that you keep your head down, fingers crossed, and hope for the best. Problems aren’t fixed and upgrades aren’t made until absolutely necessary.
A proactive approach takes care of issues immediately, but there is not an effective strategy that looks very far into the future.
A predictive approach is the close cousin of being proactive, but takes it a step further by predicting what will need to be done in the future and preparing for it, thus allowing yourself to be taken by surprise as rarely as possible.
How Do You Develop a Maintenance Strategy?
With all of the above in mind, you’ll find a few strategies below to help make the most of your budget in an unpredictable world.
- Prioritize Improvements — This involves dividing the essentials from the nonessentials. At least temporarily, as you rebuild your budget, limit unnecessary improvements and focus on what needs to be done.
- Keep a Maintenance Log — These records are hugely valuable because, over time, they begin to tell a consistent story and establish a pattern of when aspects of your property need to be repaired, replaced, or refreshed.
- Build Your Budget — Using ongoing data from your maintenance records, set aside a bare bones budget amount. Then, any extra can go toward the nonessential upgrades.
- Make Your Upgrades Count - First sink your dollars into those things that will pay for themselves over time, such as energy-efficient window and door upgrades.
- Maintain More Than You Repair - This is huge! Don’t wait until something needs to be completely repaired or replaced, but invest a smaller, consistent amount in routine refreshing and maintenance. This is especially valuable when it comes to interior and exterior painting.
- Communicate — Keep everyone in your community informed! Make efficiency and property care a team effort. After all, in the end the goal is universal: to live in an environment that all can enjoy and be proud of.
Do You Need a Commercial Painting Company?
At Kaloutas, we have been providing commercial painting services throughout Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire for many years. Among these services are maintenance plans, allowing us to help you preserve your property and avoid the need for larger repairs down the road. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you might have!
Kaloutas is New England’s premier contractor for commercial & industrial painting, flooring, and related services. Established in 1987, Kaloutas has become a trusted resource for general contractors, facilities managers, and building owners from Connecticut to Maine. Our team prides itself on high quality workmanship, jobs done on time & budget, and tackling complex projects that other contractors don’t have the experience or resources to handle. Contact us today for a painting or flooring estimate, or give us a call at 978−532−1414 to learn more.
