Lot maintenance,
budgeted like an adult.

Planning figure for a maintained Valley lot: $0.08–$0.15 per square foot per year, averaged across the cycle — that's sealcoat every 2–3 years, crack sealing each cycle, striping refresh, and a patching allowance. A 20,000 sq ft lot: roughly $1,600–$3,000/year averaged. Against a $70k–$180k reconstruction, that line item is the cheapest insurance on the property.

Yr 1: baseline crack-seal + striping check. Yr 2–3: sealcoat + crack + re-stripe (the big cycle item). Yr 4–5: repeat, plus a patching pass as the surface enters its teens. Teens: budget an overlay conversation for the highest-wear lanes. The pattern is boring on purpose — pavement drama is what the cycle prevents.

Two line items punch above their cost: striping (crisp lines read as a managed property; faded ADA layouts read as a lawsuit invitation — California's serial plaintiffs photograph lots from the street) and trip hazards (raised patches, potholes, wheel-stop debris). Both are cheap to keep right and expensive to explain in a claim.

Ask every vendor for the same spec: sealcoat material and coats, crack-seal method (hot-applied or nothing), striping scope with the ADA count stated, patching unit prices. Then compare bottom lines. Our quotes come written that way by default — and phased so the lot never fully closes. Start with a walk: free lot assessment.