Q: What is the key to making sure your home retains and/or grows in value?
A: Regular Maintenance!
Many of us can merely fantasize about having a personal maintenance professional at our beck and call to take care of every little crook and cranny of our house and all of its systems. Luckily, most home maintenance chores can be done easily by any adult who lives in your house with a minimum number of tools. Truthfully, if you don’t regularly maintain your home, fixing things gets more complicated AND more costly. However, if you do a little maintenance on a regular basis, it is easy to stay on top of all the little things that can otherwise add up to big things if you let them go too long.
Breaking down tasks by season (and even by month) to keeps yourself organized and ensures that you don’t miss anything. Every quarter you will want to make sure that you do the following:
Clean: trash bins, sink drains, dishwasher screen: yes, it can be nasty, but it will make a huge difference, and all you really need is elbow grease
Check air filters. It is pretty easy to see the difference between a dirty one and a clean one…don’t you think?
Vacuum/clean air intakes
Look for leaks around plumbing.
Inspect grout and caulking in kitchen and baths and fix as needed
Test smoke and carbon dioxide detectors.
Take a good look around the outside of your home to check for any changes to the siding, soffit, brick, gutters, downspouts, decking, etc..
Test GFCI outlets in kitchen and baths: c’mon, you know it is fun to push the test button and have the other one pop out.
Every season, you should reserve a list of chores specific to that time of year. To get started, here are our ideas for Fall Maintenance:
Get furnace maintained by professionals.
Powerwash windows and siding: get rid of the green scum that tends to grow on the north side of your house, and get rid of all of the dirt and bugs that have been blown onto your house by the wind.
Check caulking and weather stripping around doors and windows and replace as needed. You’ll be grateful when the winter winds start whipping around.
Clean out gutters and downspouts: this is very important for proper water run off to prevent unnecessary standing water in crawl spaces and basements, among other things. Click here for tips on how to get started.
Rake and dispose of leaves: this can even turn into a fun social activity for family and friends!
Clean out dead garden foliage: a great way to spend some of these beautiful fall afternoons we’ve been having
Aerate and overseed lawn…maybe you will want to outsource this to a lawn company, but you can rent aerators at hardware stores.
Winterize exterior plumbing by removing hoses and covering spigots
Clean out dryer vent to prevent fires starting from excessive lint build-up. Depending on how your dryer is vented, you might need a handy-helper to help you with this. But a good investment would be to ask your handy- person to install one of these extra lint trap devices, so you can do it yourself whenever necessary.
Replace batteries in smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and test functionality
Check fireplace, chimney and chimney flue, especially if you have a wood-burning fireplace…no one wants to have a chimney fire. If you are suspicious of excessive creosote build-up or flue malfunctions, call a licencesd chimney person.
Inspect roof for missing, loose, or damaged shingles. You don’t have to climb all over your roof, but get a ladder and take a close up look at your roof. It might be initially hard to know what to look for, but the more you are familiar with your shingles, the more easily you can spot defects.
Drain hot water heater to prolong the life and efficiency of this appliance by Following these instructions.
Cover and/or store outdoor furniture
Service lawn mower after last round of lawn mowing to be ready for the spring (drain the gas, sharpen the blade, etc.) so you can keep your lawn in tip top shape. Your neighbors will appreciate the extra effort in leveling up your curb appeal.
Your home represents a significant financial investment. If you want that investment to grow and pay you back, you must continue to invest money and sweat equity to keep it running smoothly and looking good. A little pride of ownership goes a long way in helping your home retain its value over the years. If you do find yourself needing a little extra help with these chores, Talk to your favorite F.C. Tucker Emge REALTOR®, and they will happily give you names of appropriate professionals that they trust. #LetsTalk.
