Been doing property maintenance across London for years now, and I see the same mistakes over and over. Quick rundown:

1. Gutters and downpipes. They get blocked every autumn, water backs up, and suddenly you've got damp inside the walls. A 30-minute clean twice a year saves you thousands in damp treatment.

2. Boiler servicing. Tenants won't tell you it's making a weird noise — they'll tell you when it dies in January. Annual service, every time.

3. Sealant around bathrooms. That grey, peeling silicone around the bath isn't just ugly — it's letting water behind tiles. Re-sealing takes an hour and costs almost nothing vs. ripping out a rotten subfloor.

4. External pointing. London's Victorian terraces are beautiful but the mortar between bricks erodes over time. Once it goes, rain gets in. Repointing a section early is a fraction of the cost of dealing with structural damp.

5. Smoke and CO detectors. Legal requirement, but I still walk into properties where they're either missing or the battery's been dead for months.

If any of this sounds familiar and you need someone reliable to sort it — I'm here. Free quotes, no call-out fee, anywhere in London.