Maintenance Tips For Homeowners

Nine Home Maintenance Tips Worth Doing

Whether you are going to be selling your home shortly or years down the road, making sure you keep up with the maintenance of your property is essential. A home that does not have proper maintenance will undoubtedly suffer when it does become time to sell.

When you talk to people who are successful in selling their homes both quickly and for a reasonable price, you will usually discover that their success resulted from forethought.

They may have been lucky to make as good of a deal as they did, but they likely spent a significant amount of time preparing for that lucky moment. Making a home appealing to buyers takes work – much of which occurs before the house goes on the market.

There are some home maintenance items that most people do not always think about. Many things that make a house stand out are the result of regular maintenance, tasks that may seem a little mundane but do a lot to keep up the functioning and appearance of a home.

When performed periodically, these little jobs can help you avoid paying costly replacement or repair fees in the months leading up to putting your home on the market. Unless you plan on selling your home for a bargain to shoppers searching for a fixer-upper, keeping up with the little things is worth the effort.

These home maintenance tips can go a long way in helping your sale go smoothly and does not end up going south due to a failing home inspection. Remember that a skilled home inspector can tell when a homeowner has not been keeping up with regular home maintenance items.

You can bet your bottom dollar that they will point this out to the buyer while the home inspection takes place. Whether you are selling now or not, use these nine maintenance tips to keep your home running like a well-oiled machine! If you are selling by following this advice, you will keep your negotiating after the home inspection to a minimum.

Maintain Your Filters

One of the more critical maintenance tips for homeowners is keeping up with changing your heating and cooling filters. Your central heating and air conditioning unit works hard to push air throughout your house. You help the unit operate efficiently and effectively by changing your filters regularly.

It already requires a significant amount of energy to run air through the various vents – failing to install a clean filter makes this process much more challenging. It can put unnecessary strain on your central air unit. Pay particular attention to the rating of the filter you are using.

Some filters must be changed monthly, while others are “rated” to last much longer. A quality filter can usually be bought for your system designed to be modified less frequently.

Change Batteries For Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Detectors

While changing the batteries is a minor maintenance item. Ensuring your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors work is a good idea. Your family’s safety depends on it!

The last thing you ever want to go through is having fire destroyed your home when it could have easily been avoided. Having working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors is critical.

In some states, including mine (Massachusetts), they are a requirement for sale. This great law is designed to reduce casualties from two potentially hazardous situations.

You don’t need to be selling your home to realize that keeping up with your local smoke and carbon monoxide detector regulations can be a difference in saving lives!

Inspect and Clean Your Furnace or Boiler

Heating and cooling systems push a lot of dust along with temperature-controlled air, and this dust and possibly condensation can lead to the degradation of your unit and the ducts it uses. An annual inspection by a certified service professional is always a good idea.

The service person can clean up any accumulated debris and verify that your system functions as it should. When you have a forced hot water heating system serviced by oil, the maintenance requirements are slightly more stringent.

Unfortunately, oil does not burn as clean as gas and, therefore, can cause a system to be cleaned more regularly. Most heating companies recommend an Oil-fired heating system be tuned up once a year, where gas can typically be done every two years.

Keep in mind that staying up with maintenance on your heating system can extend the lifespan by years. Also, if a buyer sees you have not been maintaining the system, they may consider offering less for your home, thinking they may need to replace it sooner than expected.

Keeping up with your heating system is a maintenance tip you should never neglect, as it is one of the most costly items in your home to replace.

Check Your Water Heater

Your water heater may heat thousands of gallons of water a year, and like every appliance, it can only perform well for so long.

A yearly maintenance check is recommended for any water heater you purchase.

Seals can fail, and drains can clog – especially if you have hard water. If you notice even minor leaks or severe scale build-up, consider contacting a plumber or water heater installation company to take a look.

It is far better to catch a failing water heater before it goes out entirely than to come home to a flooded room or basement. Water heaters are an area that home inspectors will pay particular attention to. Making sure that you do not have any pipe fittings that are leaking or corroded is essential.

At home inspections, leaking fittings are common because most homeowners ignore a maintenance item like this until it becomes a bigger problem.

Check Your Toilets and Faucets

Home inspectors and appraisers notice everything, and they will see if you have any problems with your toilets or sinks. Take a moment every six months or so to inspect your basic plumbing fixtures. Water will find any available avenue to escape, especially when under pressure, and you can guarantee that sooner or later, one of these fixtures will begin leaking.

If you are handy, replace the faulty seal. If not, bring in a plumber to tackle the problem before it becomes much bigger.

Spruce Up Your Front Door

It may seem trivial, but your front door is usually the first close look anyone gets at your home and is worth sprucing up every year because of this. If you have a hardwood door with a natural look, take the time to clean and polish it. Consider touching it up or repainting it as necessary if it is painted.

Buyers like a welcoming, well-maintained front door. Have an old door handle that is very weathered? Consider upgrading to something that will be visually appealing while also offering good home security.

Keep in mind that maintaining the curb appeal of your home will pay you back when it comes time to sell.

Vacuum Refrigerator Condenser Coils

Most people do not think of inspecting their refrigerators. They seem like self-contained units, and there is not a lot the average person can do to maintain them. However, the condenser coils on the back of your fridge will collect dust, and this dust can inhibit its operation.

Pulling the fridge out and cleaning off the dust can help your fridge work more efficiently and will allow you to clean behind and underneath it as well.

If you clean your coils, the refrigerator will work noticeably better. Refrigerators are expensive to replace, so this is an important maintenance tip for homeowners not to forget.

Clean Your Exhaust Hood

Cooks working in professional kitchens are required to clean vent hoods regularly. It is a dirty job, typically involving caked-on grease and dust. Your kitchen vent may not be as dirty as used in a professional setting, but it still poses a fire hazard and is unsightly when not cleaned regularly.

Take a few minutes to wash off any accumulated grime and replace the filter if there is one. Exhaust hoods are a simple maintenance item that will stick out like a sore thumb if you do not deal with them.

Maintain Your Garage Door

Your garage door and opener also require regular maintenance to operate as intended. The chain on your opener must be lubricated, along with any exposed metal joints, and you should check to make sure the door runs smoothly in its tracks.

Most inspectors will pay close attention to a garage door because of the potential for significant injury to a child or pet. Most newer garage door systems have electronic eyes at the bottom that sense movement. These need to be checked regularly to ensure they function as intended.

An Ounce Of Prevention

Taking the time to do these things now, before you ever put your home up for sale, will make the whole selling process more manageable when you finally begin it in earnest. You and your family will also enjoy the benefits of a cleaner, more livable home.

While the above-mentioned home maintenance items are mostly considered small potatoes, there are always other common home-selling issues that could derail your sale far more quickly. Things like a failed septic system, not taking out required permits for work, and appraisal issues are potential roadblocks.

When selling a home, it is essential to stay ahead of the curve and pay particular attention to all the potential issues that could get in the way. A prepared home seller enjoys the benefit of not facing those unfortunate things that can surface in a Real Estate transaction!

Other Home Maintenance Resources Worth Reading:

• Ten quick home maintenance tips to keep your home in great shape via Popular Mechanics.
• A terrific resource on how to maintain a home by The National Association of Home Builders.

Use these additional home maintenance resources to keep your home in tip-top shape! When the time comes, you’ll also increase the odds of selling your home for top dollar.

About the author: The above Real Estate information on nine maintenance tips for homeowners was provided by Bill Gassett, a Nationally recognized leader in his field. Bill can be reached via email at billgassett@remaxexec.com or by phone at 508-625-0191. Bill has helped people move in and out of many Metrowest towns for the last 31+ Years.

Thinking of selling your home? I have a passion for Real Estate and love to share my marketing expertise!

I service Real Estate sales in the following Metrowest MA towns: Ashland, Bellingham, Douglas, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hopedale, Medway, Mendon, Milford, Millbury, Millville, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrewsbury, Southborough, Sutton, Wayland, Westborough, Whitinsville, Worcester, Upton and Uxbridge MA.