It's easy to forget about gutters in North County. They sit dry for months at a time, collecting leaves, palm fronds, and dust. Then the first real storm arrives and all of that turns into a clog.
When gutters overflow or leak at the seams, the water lands right next to your foundation, splashes up on stucco, and soaks the fascia boards the gutters hang from. Over a few seasons, that causes rot, stains, and cracks that cost much more to fix than the gutters themselves.
The most common problems we see are sagging runs that no longer drain toward the downspout, seams and end caps that have lost their seal, downspouts that dump water onto walkways or against the house, and loose hangers pulled out of soft fascia.
Most of this is repairable. Re-pitching a sagging run, resealing seams, replacing a damaged section, and extending a downspout away from the foundation are all quick fixes when they're done before the rain.
If you're scheduling a roof tune-up, have the gutters checked at the same visit. The roof and gutters work as one system, and it's cheaper to fix both while someone's already on a ladder.