Check out this post from one of our agents, Barbara Josenhans. Find out more about Barbara at fctuckeremge.com/barbara.josenhans.
Throughout the course of the past year, I have toured homes that have truly run the gamut: from $5,000 properties (yes, those do exist, and this one came with its own raccoon) to $475,000 McMansions. From New Construction, to a house built prior to 1900. Several Foreclosures. A former meth house. Empty houses. Houses that are filled to the gills. Immaculately clean houses. Houses that are so dirty I have to go home and take a shower. Remodeled and updated houses. Houses that are stuck in 1962.
After you have seen what I have seen over the past months, and heard the comment of prospective buyers, even though I am not even close to being ready to sell my house, I took the pro-active approach this spring and paid for my own termite inspection (I passed!) and did some unglamorous work to my very wet crawl space to correct some problems we have had since moving in 10 years ago…like a sump pump and exterior grading around the house. We, got some new furniture and are going to re-paint and touch up some trim. If I ever have time to go pick out new fixtures, I have also talked to some one about redoing our weird ½ bath, which has been on my to-do list for approximately 9 years.
All this to say: take care of your properties, my friends. It is important. Be good stewards of what you own. Yes, home maintenance does come with a price tag and eats up both your time and your money, but in the long term it is more costly in more ways than one if you let things go. And if you need help finding professionals to assist you in projects, give me a call and I can point you in the right direction.
When buyers today walk into a new house, they want to see and smell that it has been taken care of. Keeping it regularly maintained and updated are key. Yes, it will cost money, but it is really money you can’t afford not to spend.
While home maintenance won’t necessarily increase the value of your home, it certainly will help your home RETAIN its value. You can’t move into a house and not do anything to it for 7 years and expect to sell it for more than you bought it for. Homeownership takes work. And, in the process, you will enjoy your home more.
I walked around a gorgeous property in Gibson County a few weeks ago, and continue to be amazed and humbled by the care and attention the owners had given their 4 acres and 3 structures. I think about the houses my husband and I grew up in and realize how well our parents continue to take care of our childhood homes and how grateful I am that our parents are living in such well-maintained conditions. I hope that I can do as good a job as these role models.
