You have just purchased a new home in Piedmont.  It is a major investment, and you plan to live there for many years.  Maintaining any home can be expensive, and the costs, of course, are added on to your monthly housing payments.  As a result, you want to be practical, yet careful, in the funds that you are going to spend to keep your future home as close as possible to the condition that it is now, at it's purchase point.

Here are four reasonably inexpensive, yet valuable, steps that you can take to give you your biggest return on your maintenance dollar:

1. Have Regular Termite Inspections:  While your home is turned over to you termite free, it is still very hard to assure that every nook and cranny in your home was covered by the last inspection. Termites are a serious problem in the Bay Area, so, as the years go on, schedule regular inspections.  Stay ahead of any problems that may be developing.  Plan on an inspection every year to year and one half.  The costs involved in setting this up will far outweigh the costs to repair years of neglect in the future, especially if you plan to resell at some point. 

  2. Check For Leaks Of Any Kind-- You may notice, after being in the home a while, that air is coming in through cracks around the windows, or water is dripping from behind your washing machine.  You may notice water spots on the ceilings of a room which indicates a roof leaking. There may be an odd odor coming from the basement which could be water dripping in from outside.  Anything along these lines should be tended to as soon as possible to avoid the serious problems that mold can present now, and in the future, if not tended to. 

3. Check For Structural Cracks--You initial home inspection should have given you a sense of what will be normal in terms of your home's structural integrity.  However, as time goes on, make a plan to inspect your home to see if new cracks have developed, and try to get a determination as to what they might represent, so you can deal with them promptly if needed. 

4. Keep Your Carpets Clean--This is especially true if you installed new carpets when you moved in.  It seems a simple step, but by staying on top of this issue, you can, down the road, save thousands of dollars in replacement costs for new carpets.  Have them professionally cleaned at least once a year, especially the heavily travelled area.  If you don't, dirt can accumulate, get ground in, and damage both the carpeting and the floors below.  This becomes even more important if you have a large family and pets. 

Take these four suggestions, keep money in your pocket, and enjoy your new home now, and in the future. 

Posted by Bruce Wagg on

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