Whether you plan to live in your home for years, or put it on the market soon, you will need to maintain it to preserve its value. If you plan to stay in your home, you still want to maintain your value. Make sure to keep up with repairs on an ongoing basis, so that you don’t wind up with a major expense later. If you plan to sell your home, you need to focus on repairs that will make your house feel like a home.

Where should you start?
It can be a bit overwhelming to tackle home improvement and maintenance. If you have just purchased your home, you probably got a thorough inspection. The inspection report will give you a good starting point. Ask your inspector for an order of priority to follow. You may need to budget for the high priced items. If the roof is old and showing signs of trouble, you will want to replace that as soon as you can. A faulty roof can cause a lot of other damage, which will cost you more money. Maintaining the plumbing and electrical service also is crucial. Problems with either of those systems can cause tremendous inconvenience. Landscaping shouldn’t necessarily be your highest priority, but it can create goodwill in your neighborhood. You need to inspect all the trees on your property. A dead limb hanging over your new roof can be a disaster ready to happen.

How much will my home’s value improve with a renovation?
If you want to remodel your home, whether you are creating a new addition or renovating an existing area, it will add value, but probably not as much as you think. You will probably recoup about 80% on average for any major renovation. For example, if you spend $100,000 building a second story on your home, you can plan to add about $80,000 to the value of your home. An appraiser can give you an exact value, but that is a rough guide. If it costs $50,000 to remodel your kitchen, it will probably add about $40,000 to the value. Be sure to talk to an appraiser before starting renovations to make sure the job will add value to your home. Some projects can actually harm a home’s value. For instance, one homeowner who planned to convert a freestanding garage into a mother-in-law suite changed her mind after talking to an appraiser before proceeding. The appraiser told her that her home was worth more with a garage than it was with a mother-in-law cottage. She would have lost money in the transaction.

Now that you are a homeowner, you will need to set aside money for routine repairs and maintenance. Tuck away about $500 a month and save up for any big repairs that may come up. Keep on top of the minor repairs and they won’t turn into major problems.

1. Have you checked you Air Conditioning system for leakage? This can be a major source for increased energy expenditures. Leakage can occur from several different locations, but one I find all too frequently is where the condensate drain connections in the evaporator section of the A/C are not plugged or sealed. This portion of the A/C is usually located in the attic or basement/crawlspace, and the unit is usually in line and adjacent the furnace or heat pump + air handler. Sometimes the air being lost is enough to blow your hair back, and enough conditioned air is leaking (heated or cooled) to condition a small room in the home. Think about it, you don’t want your hard-earned dollars leaking into the attic or other unconditioned spaces of the home.

2. Weatherproof exterior outlets that are damaged are not to be taken lightly. These outlets are designed to keep moisture away from the electrical components of the outlet. If damaged like this one with a missing cover, the outlet may cease to function, and any electrical protection (against shock) for the user of the outlet can be lost.  Check the condition of your exterior outlets annually.

3. Caulking …everybody has heard of it. It is the application of flexible sealing compounds to close up gaps in buildings and other structures against water, air, dust, insects, or as a component in firestopping. It is very important to the durability of the exterior building components of the home, as well as an integral part the overall weather envelope.  Have a look at your home and see what condition the caulking is in.  In the photo below, NONE was present.