Home Maintenance Checklist

Performing home maintenance is important for your safety, security, and resale value. By following a checklist, you can keep your home in good shape and protect your investment. Routine maintenance can also protect you from costly emergencies, such as termites or wood-destroying insects. You can also prevent spring flooding by cleaning your basement and garage regularly. Check your house’s foundation and exterior for cracks and leaks, too. If you’re not confident in your own abilities, consider hiring a professional to do the work.

Though most small home maintenance chores can be completed by you, some repairs are difficult to do yourself, and can lead to more expensive and dangerous problems. Learning how to do home maintenance on your own will help you save money, and you can apply these skills to your future homes. It can also help you get more enjoyment out of your house.

Home maintenance costs are one of the biggest expenses that most homeowners fail to factor in when buying a home. According to the State Farm, you should budget one to four percent of the home’s value to pay for repairs and maintenance. This figure means that, if you plan on selling your home in 2021, you’ll need to budget anywhere from $3,750 to $15,000 per year for maintenance.

Home maintenance tasks require hard work and money. But they can save you hundreds of dollars in repairs in the future. By performing small home maintenance tasks on a regular basis, you can prevent a small problem from turning into a huge problem. A monthly furnace filter, for example, will save you more than $100 in future repairs.

The cost of home maintenance can vary by location, climate, and type of home. For example, a homeowner in an urban area would spend a lot more than a rural one. A rural Oklahoma home would require significantly less maintenance than a suburban house. An average American household spends about $1,200 on home maintenance every year on lawn care. A more conservative estimate would be one to three percent of the home’s value. There is no universal formula, however. However, a rule of thumb is good to follow when budgeting your home maintenance budget.

Spring is a great time to take care of your home’s exterior. Check for rotting or cracked wood, and replace old shingles or guttering. You can use silicone to repair many problems that occur on the outside of a home. This way, you can avoid the high costs of repairing these problems and keep your property in great condition.

You should also check the outlets in your house on a regular basis. If you find dead outlets, you should call a professional electrician to get the problem fixed. Make sure you also test GFCI outlets. Some experts recommend testing these outlets monthly, while others recommend testing them annually. You should also check the locks on your doors and check the caulking around bathtubs and showers.