The 3 Building Maintenance Areas with The Highest Return on Investment

When trying to keep a building in good operating condition but also keep your building’s reserves as full as possible, one key strategy is focusing on the building maintenance areas with the highest return on investment.
Here are three building maintenance areas that provide some of the highest ROI:
The Roof — the roof is one of the most expensive and crucial parts of the building. When things go wrong with the roof, the repairs to the units below tend to run in the tens of thousands of dollars. The lifespans of building roofs vary by material, going as low as 10 years for an asphalt flat roof and as high as 50 years for some EPDM membranes. Keeping the roof properly maintained extends its life and decreases the chances of a leak and costly repairs.
HVAC systems — proper maintenance of HVAC systems can help you save 15% – 20% on energy costs every year, which, for an entire building, can be a significant ongoing cost saver. Preventative HVAC maintenance at least twice a year (fall, to prepare for winter; spring, for summer) can help to avoid many of the costlier repairs that tend to turn up for older units.
Parking Lots & Landscaping — while hardly thought of as an integral part of the building, the proper maintenance of these outdoor areas determines in large part how others view the whole building. The costs of adequate maintenance to these outdoor areas are also low enough that it’s easy to achieve an adequate benefit relative to cost.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but when deciding where maintenance funds will be best spent, the three areas above are almost always a good choice.