It's no surprise that food and fuel inflation, coupled with energy price hikes, has left many homes feeling more than just a pinch.
Subsequently, with families juggling income between bills and food, maintenance of their homes is coming way down on the list of priorities.
However, figures suggest we should be aiming to spend around 1% of our homes value on annual maintenance.
Whether that's replacing old or rotting fascia, having the roof attended to or re-decorating interior rooms and even outside decorating (including maintaining the gardens and driveway), we shouldn't be ignoring the fact that small problems have the potential to grow into expensive large problems requiring immediate attention.
Particularly with exterior maintenance - replacing old fascia, making good roofs or even re-surfacing old broken driveways, it will be advisable to call in a tradesman. Rotten fascias or roofs gone bad can lead to damp and water ingress into your home.
The resulting remedial work could include interior decorating and even furnishings and carpets. Suddenly a relatively small bill becomes a much larger one.
And if you come to sell your property, expect to get far less for it than if it were in a good state of maintenance and repair.
Around this time of year, if you're capable of, and have the right access equipment, small jobs like checking guttering for blockages from leaf debris, or clearing our drain grates from fallen leafs etc can all help prevent problems arising later on.
Also checking your roof, visually, for loose tiles or mortar missing from ridge tiles etc and getting someone in to repoint or re-position could save thousands in remedial work if left unchecked.
If you've got draughty windows or doors and haven't got around to replacing them, then draught excluder strips are a cheap way of making your home more efficient and comfortable.
