Maybe you’ve seen it in your neighborhood. A once-lovely home starts to show signs of neglect over months or years. A shingle or two might be missing from the roof, the yard is overgrown with weeds, algae is covering the siding and the front lights are not working.

What appears on the outside is often a reflection of the inside of the home. Maybe the under-the-cabinet kitchen sink pipes have a slow leak. The home owner knows about it but keeps forgetting to call the plumber. But as time goes on, the sink issue gets worse, mold starts to grow under the cabinet and the leak gets bigger causing puddling and more problems.

As you might imagine, the person or persons living in that home are overwhelmed and likely need help managing home maintenance projects. They can’t take care of the home like they once did because of progressive physical or cognitive challenges.

The problem is they don’t want to move. They want to age in place.

Home Upkeep

Experts often say that the home—and the equity built in it—is your greatest asset. Because of this, it’s imperative that your or your loved one’s home is maintained on a regular basis to prevent neglect and a dramatic reduction in home value that goes along with it. In fact, a lack of home maintenance could cause a loss in about 10 percent of its value, according to some experts.

Conversely, maintaining and retaining a home with a high value can benefit homeowners for many reasons. The owner could sell the house and use the proceeds to move to a retirement or an assisted living community. A well-maintained home’s value could even be used for a reverse mortgage to pay for care down the line. Or the home could be passed on to heirs.

Long Stay

Yet as we recently reported, the vast majority — about 90 percent — of people over age 65 want to stay in their home for as long as possible. About 80 percent believe they won’t ever leave their current home, according to research by AARP. 

That equates to a lot of homes that will need regular maintenance over the long term. Not only will the homes need to be maintained for home value purposes, but if they’re not, they also pose a major safety issue for the homeowners.

We Can Help

But there is an answer: Call in the professionals to help keep the house maintained on the inside and out, which will encourage you and/or your loved ones to remain, safely, in your homes.

Life Managers & Associates can make it happen seamlessly. LMA can be the additional set of eyes on the home and be on the lookout for problems and remind you of home maintenance issues. We can coordinate and schedule leaf and snow removal services, gutter cleaning, landscaping, repair and home cleaning services so you and/or your loved ones can stay in the home for as long as possible.

Life Managers & Associates manages the details of life with the same care as a loving family member to enable clients to live independently. We help them feel safe and supported — saving money and alleviating stress for all.