Keep $ In your Pocket with Preventative Maintenance


Preventive maintenance can mean the difference between maintaining the value in your home or depleting the equity you might have gained; keeping hard earned cash in your pocket, or throwing it into the wind with an unnecessary or unexpected expense.

The best way to help maintain any appreciation and protect your investment is to do minor routine tasks, proactively and systematically, to help keep the home operating and functioning normally. Avoiding major operating malfunctions or complete failures can easily be avoided if homeowners take just a few minutes to do some routine minor household tasks.

Many of these items can be done by the homeowner, cutting costs significantly, although the cost of hiring a professional is usually better than not performing the maintenance at all. Having to spend money on replacement appliances and installation costs can be several times more costly than the simple maintenance of them.

Maintenance Check-List

1. __ Service heat&a/c system once a year.

2. __ Change the filters in your heat&a/c system once a month.

3. __ Drain hot water heater once a year.

4. __ Don't leave light sockets without bulbs.

5. __ Periodically run a pitcher of ice cubes through garbage disposal to sharpen blades.

6. __ Replace dripping faucets immediately to conserve water.

7. __ Don't allow toilet tanks to drip - replace ballcock
assembly.

8. __ Check weather stripping around doors for air leaks.

9. __ Visually look at roof after high winds to detect loose shingles.

10.__ Visually look around outside roof line to find holes where animals might enter.

11.__ Check batteries in smoke detectors monthly/replace annually.

12.__ Wrap outside pipes in winter to prevent freezing.

13.__ Remove garden hose from outside faucet in winter.

14.__ Water around foundation during dry periods to prevent
cracking or shifting.

REMEMBER: better maintained homes sell faster and for higher prices