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Health & Fitness

Keeping Up With Your Home: A June Home Maintenance Checklist

Maintaining the value of your home. A monthly home maintenance checklist full of information, tips and advice for fellow homeowners.

Maintaining a home in New England can be a daunting task. It means protecting it from hot summers, frigid winters and lots of rainy weather throughout the year. You’ll need to stay on top of routine maintenance inside and out to protect your home, landscape and to ensure your property retains its value. Without preventative maintenance your home could easily lose 10 to 12 percent of its appraised value.

Regular routine maintenance enhances a home’s beauty (curb appeal), ensures safety and prevents simple up-keep from turning into costly repairs. From a professional appraiser’s standpoint, it enhances the properties economic age – the number of years a house is expected to survive.

A study by researchers at Connecticut and Syracuse Universities, suggests that regular maintenance increases the value of a house by about 1 percent a year. However, professional appraisers do not assign a positive value to home maintenance as any gain is typically offset by the ongoing cost of maintenance. Real estate professionals are quick to point out that regular maintenance will slow the rate of a properties depreciation maintaining its value longer and therefore its future sales potential.

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According to the U.S. Census, over time annual maintenance can cost upwards of $3,300 or 1 to 3 percent of a home’s initial cost depending on its geographic location. To put this in perspective; owners of a $200,000 house should plan to budget $2,000 to $6,000 per year for ongoing maintenance and up-keep depending on the age of the home.

Remember, consistency is the key to the well-being of your home. Proper home maintenance will not only save you money in the long run, it will keep your home safe, improve its overall condition and maintain its value. To assist our fellow homeowners in achieving this objective, has put together a comprehensive monthly home maintenance checklist for you to follow:

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  • De-clutter and organize your garage: I am a big fan of keeping things neat and organized. My wife might even suggest I’m neurotic. Rubbermaid’s Fast Track System is an excellent product. Simple to use and cost effective. We also highly recommend the Gladiator Garage Works which can be purchased from any Sears store. We use the Gladiator system for both our garage and tool room. Here are some DIY Basics on garage storage solutions to keep your garage nice and organized.
  • Clean and maintain your air conditioning system: A properly maintained air conditioning system will run more efficiently, use less energy and lower your utility bills. There are two kinds of systems: Window Air Conditioning Units and Central Air Conditioning Units. We highly recommend you work with an HVAC professional to inspect your central air system before using it each year. However, both systems can benefit from a good DIY cleaning on a periodic basis. For some tips to help you with this important task click here.
  • Energy Efficiency TIP: Clean and/or replace HVAC filters monthly or as recommended by the manufacturer (no longer than semi-annually). Dirty filters block air-flow through these systems, increasing your energy bill and shortening the equipment’s life. To change the air filter in your home view these easy to follow instructions here. Wondering what type of filter is best for your system? The Home Depot's website has this handy air filter buying guide to help you choose the right size and type of air filter for your HVAC system.
  • Power-wash your house, deck, patio and even your driveway and sidewalk. Pressure washing is fast, easy and quite frankly a lot of fun. If you are considering purchasing a pressure washer, there are two types to consider; gas or electric. Although an electric model may suit your needs for small jobs, we recommend a gas model for most homes.  We are a big fan of Husqvarna although there are many quality brands to choose from that will fit your needs and budget. Gas models are more costly up-front, however they tend to be more efficient, do a better job and last longer with proper maintenance.  Click here for a helpful guide on how to use a pressure washer.
  • Mowing your Lawn the Right Way: Yes there is a method to the madness and although it may sound silly the results speak for themselves. We are not talking about a lawn that looks like Augusta National Golf Club. We are talking about how to achieve a healthy lawn, while protecting yourself and trees. Here is a terrific article we found in Dummies.com on “Mowing your Lawn the right Way”.
  • Preventing Tick-borne diseases: Property management suggested methods to minimize ticks on your property.

Check out this month’s e-Newsletter to see featured local tradesman, articles suggested reading(s) and the homeownership word(s) of the month.

**If you would like to be added to our mailing list to receive a complimentary, no obligation Greenwood Real Properties e-Newsletter, including our monthly home maintenance checklist, please complete the Contact Us Form and let us know. We will take it from there!!

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