By Dian Hymer
The end of summer is a good time to start thinking about what you need to do to prepare your home for winter. The blistering summer sun takes its toll on exterior surfaces. It dries out caulking and cracks paint. Before the rainy season, your home should be sealed up tight. Otherwise, you risk leaks, dry rot and mold.
Buying a home is the biggest investment most people make in their lifetimes. A good routine of home maintenance is necessary to preserve the value of your investment.
Learning what is needed to keep your home well-maintained is the first step.
Your home inspector can be a great source of information. Buyers are encouraged to be physically present when the home inspector does his or her inspection. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Let your inspector know that you're particularly interested in learning what you need to do to keep the property in good shape.
Homeowners who have been in their homes for some time and who have done virtually nothing since they purchased the property should review the home inspection and pest control reports. These reports often include information about maintenance.
It might make sense for a novice homeowner to hire his or her home inspector to consult on maintenance from time-to-time. Find out if your inspector can be hired to consult on an hourly basis. Make notes and keep them in a file entitled "Home Maintenance."
House Hunting Tip: Finding good people to help with the maintenance can be difficult. If you have the good fortune to buy a home from an owner who kept the property well maintained, ask the seller for contact information for people who worked on the property-handyman, contactor, tree-trimmer, roofer, gardener, housekeeper, etc.
Also find out how often the sellers employed these people and approximately how much it costs on a monthly or annual basis. Use this information to budget accordingly.
Be sure to ask the sellers if there are any areas of the property that need routine maintenance, such as drains that need periodic clearing or a skylight that will leak if it's not kept well-caulked.
A benefit of employing people who have worked for the seller is that they already have a lot of information about the property. Your real estate agent may be able to refer good people to you if the seller doesn't turn out to be a good resource.
Lining up a good team of people to work for you is half the battle.
The rest of your home maintenance program depends on your scheduling to have the work done on a regular basis.
It's helpful to keep a maintenance record. This should include the name of the contractor; the amount of the bill and the date work was performed. Or, simply save the paid invoices in a file so that you know who to consult the next time you need help.
What's required to maintain a home will vary from one property to the next. But, generally, roofs need to be kept free of debris. Broken tiles, shakes or shingles need to be replaced. Vent pipes and chimneys need to be properly sealed.
Drainage systems require periodic upkeep. This starts with the gutters and downspouts, which should be cleaned and flushed. Ideally the downspouts should tie into an underground drainage system that carries the water away from the foundation. Ifyou don't have an underground system, at least use surface drains.
The Closing: Before the rainy season have all exterior cracks sealed, and make sure the furnace or boiler is in good working order.
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