What year was it? Also, did you try to connect all the houses (even across long distances)? Sometimes, it's a good idea to leave far-away houses alone for awhile.
EDIT: I've given it a lot of thought, and have done some more testing. I do think the load maintenance fees in 1.0.3 were too punishing. I decreased the load maintenance fees in a new version (1.0.4). My advice above still stands, though.