There has been a lot of talk about the virtue of home management on the news (CNN, FOX, ABC) lately. As the first and recognized leader in home management today, The Proper Home receives many calls from both media organizations and homeowners interested in learning more about home management.

Among the most common questions we receive is, “how does home management save homeowners money.”

The short answer is that home management can save you a LOT of money – which is the number one reason that homeowners use our Stonebridge Home Assistant™ program.

Now – for the more detailed and somewhat longer answer…

To begin, you must understand that your home is a collection of technology and machines. Virtually all of the systems in your home require energy and optimal conditions to perform well. Even electronic devices require attention, albeit very simple. However, failure to provide the simple attention many devices require can cost you a fortune!

To illustrate this, let’s look at your dependable refrigerator. Most refrigerators are created with a design life of about 14 years. We estimate that an average refrigerator will typically last 22 years when maintained properly. We also know that a poorly maintained refrigerator lasts only about 9 years.

When you factor the replacement cost, inflation, costs of operation, initial cash outlay and other considerations into the equation, here is what your refrigerator actually costs you at various life spans:

In this example, by maintaining your refrigerator well, you will have over 81% cost efficiency of what you would otherwise need to pay out by simply cleaning your refrigerator four times a year and having it serviced as required by the manufacturer. Over a 22 year potential life cycle, that adds up to a savings of more than $30,000! There is a year or so of college already in the bank by performing simple maintenance.

Now add these numbers up throughout the rest of the devices in your home and you will begin to see exactly how much your home is really costing you and your family. It can be stunning! Unfortunately, homeowners are unaware of the real costs of ownership and consider such costs a part of ownership. In actuality, these costs are costs of negligence – not of ownership. They are very expensive. The reality is that most homeowners spend far more than required when it comes to operating their homes because they do not take the time to perform very simple maintenance.

In a recent study conducted by River Bend Research and The Proper Home, we were able to reduce the electrical demand by a home of about 7,300 square foot an average of 46% by implementing a few simple ideas and routine maintenance of the property. That was a reduction of almost $700 a month or $8,400 per year. There is your trip to Hawaii or another credit card paid off.

These types of expenses are known as operating expenses. There are other types of expenses that hide until something goes wrong. These are known as catastrophic expenses.

Catastrophic expenses are those that occur when a system failure occurs. When a refrigerator, range or electronic device fails, the costs always come at the most inconvenient times. When an air conditioner, furnace or well fails, they may well cost up to $10,000 and more. Catastrophic expenses are unexpected and often unprecedented in terms of cost or potential danger to your home.

The reality about catastrophic expenses is that they can most often be mitigated or eliminate altogether – but rarely are by homeowners. In most cases, simple maintenance and inspection are all that is required to keep the systems in your home running at their most efficient potential.

In future posts, we will explore more expenses and ways you can keep your home running as efficiently as possible.

If you would like to learn more about the Stonebridge Home Assistant and keeping your home at its best, please visit us at The Proper Home (TheProperHome.com).

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