daniel chigunwe
Jothan Chiketa
Once an asset has been acquired, there is need to safeguard it from incidentals which render it invaluable due to the following:
1. Lack of maintenance
There is always a need to maintain one’s property to leverage its state of repair in a good condition. Like other assets there are three types of maintenance which must be undertaken on a property such as the periodic maintenance, emergence maintenance and routine maintenance.
The periodic maintenance is normally carried out after about five to ten years, that is, painting of property is such an example.
The second is emergency maintenance which occurs whenever there’s a natural cause such as cyclone elnino, severe winds and even bolts of lightning. The last is the routine maintenance which is done occasionally such as roof and plumbing repairs.
2. Structural failure
The failure of a structure is also a cause of concern when the foundation of the building fails or sage, the building will crack as a result hence the need to repair it.
3. Natural wear and tear
This may happen due to chemicals or salts which may affect the walls and plastering. Peeling off of walls, marks and cracks are a result of natural wear and tear.
4. Failure to remodel
When owners of property fail to remodel their property or assets according to current trends, they will turn to be outdated in terms of use .
5. Piercing of objects on to the walls
This involves striking nails on the walls and the building becomes disfigured, thereby making it defaced.
Normally this issue happens on properties which are on leasehold
6. Failure to handle property in an acceptable manner
At times property owners do not handle property in a fair manner i.e dirt and even not cleaned at all, fissures continue to affect it until it develops serious problems.
7. Lack of knowledge for up keep
If one has no knowledge of safeguarding a property, it will always deteriorate because small issues which needed fixing will not be attended to.
8. Substandard materials used for construction
Use of substandard materials when constructing the property is a thorny issue because when a structure is built with substandard materials it quickly depletes as the materials are not all weathered on the same note, the lack of quality on work done also contributes to the downward trend of the building.
9.Building a property without local authority’s approval
Whenever property owners build their house’s without the local authorities inspecting them, the, there are a lot of short comings which happen such as building not according to the model bye-laws which will affect the development since they maybe built upon servitudes and others fall on their own due to structural design failure or construction.
10. User Clause
When a residential property has been designed for household habitation but later used for something else such as industry or manufacturing, that asset is bound to seriously change its behaviour al pattern, meaning it is more prone to severe wear and tear because of exposure to substances such as chemicals.
11. Increased house occupancy
If the house is designed to accommodate a household of say five people but end up accommodating say 15 or 20 people, the property will now be subjected to more wear and tear such as that of the walls.
The environment in that property would also be unfriendly due to inadequate ventilation.
12. Lack of or poor property management
When properties are leased out to tenants, they are mismanaged. The property owners may also mismanage by failing to repair whenever there is need and in time in order to avoid continued depletion of the assets. There are so many factors which reduce the property value and I have just looked at a few in this article.
Non-disclaimer
No warrant is given to anyone who uses this information, hence users may seek for advice from the writer or other professionals.
Jothan Chiketa is a member of the Real Institute of Zimbabwe and writes in his personal capacity. He may be contacted on email: jchiketa1972 2gmail.com or whattsapp 0773 323 624
Bongani Ndlovu