CID'S Can Save Money and Preserve Value Over the Long Haul
by Arthur Raybold

The best way to save money over  a 20-30 year period is to obtain bids from the absolutely best paint contractors who have a history of performing great work at fair prices. These are people who come back to fix anything that might go wrong between the 1^st and 5^th and the 1^st and 10^th years, respectively, of wood and or stucco applications. And you will have some things go wrong: discoloration from inconsistent batches of paint from the factory (you might find this out several years after the application); water penetration from wind-driven winter rainstorms; cracks in the stucco from minor quake damage or the settling of new construction.

If you take the lowest bidder over a 20-30 year period, when trouble comes, he or they may no longer be in business. One week ago, we lost two jobs to the same neophyte contractor who bid 20% below three established contractors. It will not be possible for this short-sighted contractor (with the help of a short-sighted manager) to make any money or to have any resources to come back and address a serious problem. An inexperienced contractor has more call back problems because his crews have not worked together long enough to have developed a quality crew ethic. Such an ethic takes years in the making.

If you consistently contract with the low bid landscaper, roofer, paint contractor, maintenance company, arborist, etc., you will have more homeowner turnover and renters than is prudent. Homeowners want professional people working around their homes-workers that are polite (who don't mind moving deck furniture for homeowners who received notices to do just that), who wear company uniforms, who don't play loud music or climb up on ladders while people are getting ready for work, who drive clean and quiet vehicles, who don't leave caulking tubes and debris lying about, who are glad to answer any questions about what they are doing and when they will be finished and who are more than happy to return to any area of work that needs some extra effort.

The board that consistently goes for the low bid is going to experience unhappy campers who are going to camp elsewhere. Frustrated and unhappy homeowners are going to sell their properties at less than market value because they want to get out now. And, consistently poor decisions affecting maintenance issues  are going to cheapen the value of those homes, especially when an association across the street has been pursuing quality at fair prices for many years.

Always look to the future when making maintenance decisions. You will save money by not having to do things twice and you will enhance the value of your property.