How to Keep Your Home in Tip-Top Shape
Becoming a homeowner has plenty of advantages, such as the fact that you’ll no longer pay rent, you have a location to retire to, you can build home equity, you’ll have more privacy than with a rental unit, and you can even improve your credit score. Of course, where there are pros, you must also accept cons. Possibly the biggest disadvantage of homeownership is that you become responsible for all of your maintenance needs. Instead of being able to contact a landlord whenever something goes wrong, you’ll have to use your own best judgment on when you need to conduct regular maintenance and when you’re in need of home improvements.
Ideally, you could keep your house maintained well enough to avoid the need for expensive home improvements, but things happen in life, and you never know when an accident or weather event could damage your home. Here are just a few tips to keep your home in as best shape as possible and perhaps even save some money when things do go wrong.
Take care of your windows.
As far as home maintenance tasks go, you probably don’t give much thought to your windows on a daily basis. They let you see outside, and you know they’re important for ventilation, but how often do you think of getting replacement windows? If you want to keep them in good shape, then you’ll need to do annual maintenance to check them for cracks, leaks, chipped paint, and other imperfections. If you let these problems persist, then your energy efficiency can suffer greatly. In fact, heat loss through windows could raise your energy consumption by 25-30%.
New windows will be much more energy-efficient, especially if you still have windows from a previous decade, and the money they save on your energy bill can pay them off quickly. To save even more money, have your installation handled by a trustworthy company with years of experience, like this provider of windows in Portage. These are licensed and insured professionals who provide lifetime guarantees—something you may not get with contractors. Their technicians can also help with the siding on your home as well, which can be another energy concern.
Keep appliances in good shape.
As long as the appliances could function well when you bought your home, you may not have given them much more thought. However, appliances like your dryer, refrigerator, dishwasher, and oven make up the bulk of your energy bill, and it pays to keep them in good shape. Instead of immediately replacing old appliances, consider services like appliance repair in Honolulu, Hawaii to save some money.
These professionals specialize in commercial repairs for all major appliances, and each of their technicians has a minimum of ten years of experience repairing appliances and getting them to perform better than ever. They even give first-time customers a free service call, and convenient next-day repairs, so don’t hesitate to call and see how much an appliance repair service can help.
Check the exterior for damage.
When most people think about home improvements, their minds focus on the interior of the home. You can’t afford to neglect your exterior, however, as it regularly takes a beating from all seasons and weather patterns. It’s important to check your roof for missing shingles after any major storm, and it pays to keep your gutters cleaned and to check trees that might be in danger of falling on the house or electrical lines.
Of course, keeping your exterior in good shape is also great for your curb appeal. This is your first impression on potential buyers, after all, so if you think you might want to sell in the near future, your exterior needs some extra attention.
