Method/Operations
Discipline IV
Operations
How a property is kept, planned for, and paid for once it stands.
The Position
A finished house is not a finished job.
A house starts aging the day the last trade leaves. The roof has a life, the water heater has a life, the deck has a life, and they rarely end in the order anyone expects. Most owners learn the schedule from a leak.
We walk a property once a year with the owner — the work that was done and the work that was deferred — and leave a short written plan drawn from the owner’s records and, where needed, a licensed inspector’s report: what to do now, what can wait, and what each will roughly cost.
For owners who want the whole property on paper, we assemble the House Book: every system, warranty, finish, and trade contact in one place, with a maintenance calendar. For owners holding more than one building, the reading becomes a capital plan — five and ten years of what each property will ask, so repairs are budgeted, not discovered.
Who This Is For
A Good Fit
- Owners of older homes who want a plan rather than a surprise
- Second-home owners who are rarely on site
- Owners of small rental or mixed-use buildings planning their repairs
- Families who have just finished a build and want it kept as it was handed over
Not A Fit
- Property management or tenant services — we read the property, we do not run it
- Home inspections — we work alongside your licensed inspector
- Repair work — the reading is advisory; the owner engages the trades
The Lifecycle
Property Review
The annual walk with the owner, and a short written plan of what to have done, when, and roughly what it costs, drawn from the owner’s records and, where needed, a licensed inspector’s report.
House Book
Systems, warranties, finishes, and trade contacts in one place, with a maintenance calendar.
Capital Plan
Five and ten years of repairs and replacements, budgeted across one property or several.
Seasonal Notes
A short letter at the turn of the season: what to check, and what to schedule.
Engagement
Annual Review
Once a yearThe Property Review and its written plan.
Scoped Engagement
Per propertyA House Book or Capital Plan, delivered as one document.
Principal Hours
By the hourThe principal’s reading of a single system, a repair quote, or a decision.
Terms are set out in the letter of engagement.
Every engagement begins the same way.
Begin The DiagnosticAdjacent Disciplines
What This Engagement Covers
Maison de Thu is a design and owner's-side house. We hold design, owner's-representation, and diagnostic engagement contracts.