Proactive vs Reactive: The Smarter Way to Paint, Protect and Preserve Your Strata Building

Why waiting for paint to fail is the most expensive maintenance strategy of all – and how a structured and tailored Avello CoatCare program can save your owners corporation more than $90,000 over five years.

For the 2.5 million Australians who call a strata home, the building envelope is the single biggest shared asset – and paintwork is its first line of defence. Yet many owners corporations and bodies corporate still treat painting as something you do only when the building starts to look tired, or worse, when water is already getting in.

Maintenance strategies in strata painting fall into two broad categories: reactive and proactive. Understanding the difference is critical for cost savings, asset preservation and the long-term presentation of your building.

Reactive vs Proactive: What's the Difference?

Reactive maintenance – fixing after failure

• Issues are addressed only after damage has occurred
• Repairs are typically more costly, unplanned and disruptive
• Deterioration accelerates once coatings begin to fail
• Greater downtime and disruption for residents
• Higher risk of safety and compliance issues

Proactive maintenance – preventing failure

• Regular inspections and scheduled upkeep
• Problems are caught and treated before they escalate
• Extends the lifespan of coatings and substrates
• Predictable budgeting and controlled, planned costs
• Enhances property value, street appeal and owner confidence

Put simply: reactive maintenance takes a short-term view and pays for it later; proactive maintenance takes a long-term view and pays less overall. A proactive approach protects building assets, reduces lifecycle costs, maintains a professional image, supports warranty compliance and provides genuine peace of mind to owners and tenants.

A Proactive Model in Practice: The Avello CoatCare System

One example of a structured, proactive program is the Avello CoatCare System offered by Avello Group, a painting and remediation specialist working with strata communities. Under the CoatCare model, a full repaint is delivered once, and the building is then kept in as-new condition through a planned annual care program:

1. Inspection and scope – A detailed building inspection to assess the full requirements.
2. Collaborative planning – A tailored action plan developed with owners and stakeholders.
3. Surface preparation – Deep cleaning of all areas scheduled for remediation and painting.
4. Repairs – Damaged surfaces restored and remediated before any coating is applied.
5. Application – Paint systems prepared and applied to all agreed substrates.
6. Ongoing care – Annual wash-downs and touch-ups, internally and externally up to three metres.
7. Property health check – A yearly drone inspection (where suitable) with a written condition report.

Because the building is washed, inspected and touched up every year, small defects never get the chance to become major remediation projects – and the workmanship warranty continues for the full duration of the program. Through Avello's partnership with paint supplier Wattyl, paint warranties can extend for up to 25 years.

Cost-Benefit Analysis: What the Numbers Say

The worked example below compares two ways of paying for the same painting outcome over five years. It assumes an exterior repaint of $200,000 with annual maintenance of $4,000, an interior repaint of $80,000 with annual maintenance of $2,000, builders CPI (indexation) capped at 4 per cent, and borrowing costs capped at 6 per cent. Your building's actual figures will differ – ask any contractor to model the numbers for your property.

Option 1: Upfront repaint with ongoing annual care

The owners corporation pays for the repaint in Year 1, then a modest annual care fee that rises only with indexation. It's worth noting that the initial project is not a single lump-sum bill: depending on the size of the building, the works can run anywhere from six weeks to 18 months, with the initial project costs spread across the term of the project as the works progress.

Option 2: "Even spread" maintenance program pricing

Some maintenance programs quote the same scope as a flat, equal annual payment. It looks simpler on paper – but because the contractor carries the Year 1 repaint cost and recovers it over time, borrowing costs and indexation are built into every instalment.

‍The bottom line

Same building, same scope of works – a difference of $92,003 over five years ($397,480 versus $305,477), or an average of more than $18,000 every year. On these figures, the money saved would fund more than ten additional years of annual maintenance – extending the care program to around 15 years of protection, complete with annual inspections and condition reports, for the same total spend.

And the financial saving is only part of the picture. The proactive model also delivers:

• Avoided repair costs — Coatings and substrates are protected continuously, avoiding the accelerated deterioration – and expensive remediation – that follows coating failure.
• Longer building lifecycle — By incorporating a tailored Avello CoatCare System you future-proof your building against rising repaint costs. The need to repaint extends well beyond what is normally expected, and the requirement for a full two-coat repaint is reduced – meaning you get a longer life out of the original project repaint and a reduced repaint cost further down the track.
• Warranty protection — Workmanship warranties remain live for the duration of the care program, and supplier-backed paint warranties can run for up to 25 years.
• Asset value — A building that always presents well supports strata values and rental appeal.
• Predictable levies — Owners corporations can budget with confidence instead of facing special levies for emergency works.
• Transparency — Annual drone inspections and written condition reports give committees independent evidence of their building's health.

Watch Out for the Hidden Traps of 'Even Spread' Pricing

Equal annual instalments can be a legitimate way to smooth cash flow – but only if the contractor is completely transparent about what the smoothing costs. Before signing any spread-payment maintenance program, insist on a full breakdown of the borrowing costs and CPI indexation baked into the price, and a side-by-side comparison with paying for the works upfront. If a contractor won't show you that comparison, ask yourself why.

Twelve Questions to Ask Any Commercial Painting Contractor

Whether you engage Avello Group or any other provider, Avello Group encourages committees to test every proposal with these questions:

1. Have they taken the time to gather all the right details, including stakeholder information and site contacts?
2. Did they complete a thorough site inspection, or are they relying on online maps?
3. Do they understand the best access solutions for your project, and have they clearly outlined them?
4. Have they carried out a site-specific risk assessment, and will they share it openly with you and your stakeholders?
5. How well do they know your site – do they work to a 'no surprises' policy?
6. What guarantees and warranties do they stand behind?
7. Can they provide added value through services such as drone inspections and detailed reporting?
8. Have they clearly explained what is included and excluded in their proposal?
9. If they suggest staged payments, do they provide a transparent breakdown of borrowing costs and CPI indexation?
10. Will they present a cost-benefit analysis comparing your actual costs with the alternatives?
11. Are they tailoring their approach to your building's needs, or dictating their own process?
12. Have they partnered with a trusted paint supplier – such as Dulux or Wattyl – and can they prepare a custom paint specification for your building?

The Takeaway

Paint is not a cosmetic expense; it is the protective skin of your building. A proactive, planned care program – paid for transparently – costs significantly less over its life than reactive repairs or opaque spread-payment schemes, keeps warranties intact, and keeps your building looking its best year after year.

To learn more about the Avello CoatCare System, or to discuss a tailored strata maintenance strategy for your building, contact Avello Group:

P 1300 283 556
‍E info@avello.com.au