Tag: home maintenance

Keeping Your Home Warm in the Winter in Colorado

Colorado winters begin in November and can last until April or even May. During this time, temperatures can drop well below freezing, with nighttime temperatures often falling into the single digits or even below zero. Snow is a common occurrence during Colorado winters, with many areas receiving significant amounts of snowfall throughout the season.

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Prepping Your Lawn for Winter

Winter is approaching and your lawn is ready for the changing of the seasons. Your water bill is going down for a few months, but your grass will thank you for taking extra good care of it before the cold blows in.

When it comes to winterizing your lawn, there are several projects you can tackle while the sun is still gracing us with its presence (and before the wind gets uncomfortable).

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How Much Homeowners Should Budget for Home Maintenance?

Whether you are a first-time homeowner or a seasoned one, the issue of home maintenance is both essential and frequently overlooked or avoided until necessary. Why? Because there are a lot of things to maintain around a home and everyone wants to hope for the best. The “I’ll deal with it when it happens” train of thought is common but can also put homeowners in a pickle when something big breaks down – like their water heater or air conditioner. 

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The Summer Care Guide for Your Lawn

Part of becoming a homeowner usually means that you are purchasing a lawn that needs regular care. Not all new homeowners are equipped with the knowledge it takes to care for their grass. For all our first-time homebuyers or new lawn caretakers, here is our best advice for caring for your lawn this summer.

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Summer Home Maintenance Checklist for New Homeowners

Summer is nearing and if you are a new homeowner, then you may not be used to this time of year when it becomes necessary to do a little home maintenance.

You have made an investment of hundreds of thousands of dollars for your new home and it only makes sense to take care of this investment. By doing regular maintenance each quarter, you can help to save yourself money in the long run.

Here are some of the most common areas to take care of now that the weather is getting warmer:

  1. Cooling Systems—Before the summer kicks in and you really need your air conditioning system, now is the time to get it checked out. Have your HVAC system serviced so that your unit doesn’t die on you when you need it most. This is also the best time to consider putting in new ceiling fans in rooms that don’t already have them and to clean the existing fans.

 

  1. Check Your Roof—Now that the winter and spring storms are done, it’s a good idea to check your roof to see if you have any loose or missing shingles. If you can, get up on the roof with a ladder. Or, if you prefer going high-tech, you can use a drone to fly over and take pictures so you can see if there are any problems.

 

  1. Outdoor Entertaining—If you have a pool, outdoor patio or deck, or grill, now is the time to get them ready for summer entertaining. Have your pool’s chemicals checked. Also, go through your deck and look for loose boards or any cracks that show that the boards need to be replaced. This is also a good time to pressure wash your deck and see if you need to add sealant to your deck. Finally, check the gas lines for your gas grill. If you use propane tanks, be sure to get a fresh one before you start grilling.

 

  1. Check Your Alarms—Every quarter of the year is the proper time to check your home’s alarms and detectors. Change the batteries out in the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors to help keep you and your family safe.

Now that weather is getting warmer and drier, it’s time to do some maintenance checks on your home. If you do this now and keep up with it regularly, then your house will take care of you for years to come.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

Household Projects Perfect for January

As a homeowner, each season brings its own list of home maintenance tasks that need to be completed, and January is no exception. Even though it’s dark and cold (and often snowy) outside, that doesn’t mean you are off the hook when it comes to keeping up with your home.

Here are some suggestions for tasks you could complete this month to keep your home in top shape:

Check Your Batteries

Go through your home and check the batteries and test all the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they are in optimal condition and that you can depend on them in an emergency.

Clean the Coat Closet

Whether you have a mudroom or a simple closet, take some time to organize the space. Get rid of anything that no longer fits, doesn’t have a match, or is in poor condition. Make sure your weather gear is easily accessible and you have what you need to brave the winter weather.

Tackle that Junk Drawer

We all have one. The drawer where all the miscellaneous knick knacks and gadgets go can easily get out of hand if it’s not organized regularly.

Make Things Cozy

Pull out those fuzzy blankets, candles, and teapots! Go around your home and figure out how to make each room cozy and comfortable since you’ll be spending more time indoors this time of year.

Protection from Water

If you want to protect your home from potential water damage, make sure you know where your water shut off valve is (just in case). Are those gutters clean? They are designed to send any possible water or snow runoff into an appropriate spot which could be problematic if they overflow into other areas.

This should give you plenty of projects to tackle this month to stay on top of the place you call home.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.

The Power of a Good Decluttering Session

We’re all enjoying Fall but that doesn’t mean you can’t do a little spring cleaning right now. In fact, we encourage people to do this as the holiday season approaches.

Whether you need the room for new toys for the little ones or are feeling cramped just ahead of visiting relatives for the holidays, it’s always a good idea to run a decluttering session in your home. And the benefits go beyond just feeling less packed in. There are actual health benefits to decluttering your home.

The Benefits – We already know the obvious one here: less clutter means less stuff to have to clean and dust plus less stuff to trip over and step around.

But did you ever consider the psychological benefits of a decluttered home? Mentally, having less clutter keeps you less anxious. By looking all the time at the stuff in your home, you may be thinking that you have to clean it or move it or pick it up. With less things to clutter the home, you have less worries.

Also, when you are decluttering your house, we encourage you to donate all the unneeded items. The act of donation shows gratitude and a sense of wanting to help others, not trying to foist your unwanted junk on someone else. So, donating these items can help you with your overall personal outlook on life.

How to Declutter — The best way to do this is on a room-by-room approach. Go into each room with the mindset of getting rid of things you no longer need or want, are broken, or not being used.

The best way to do this is to set up three different piles for your “stuff.” The first pile will be things that you plan to keep. These should be your essentials as well as those personal items that you could never bring yourself to part with. The second pile should be for things that you wish to donate. If you haven’t used it or looked at something in over a year, chances are you don’t need it. Unless it has serious sentimental value (like a family heirloom), then put it in the donation bin.

Reserve the third pile for trash and make sure that this one is your smallest pile. Even if you think it is trash, someone might be able to find use or value in it with a donation. Only toss things in here if they are broken beyond repair or something that no one could possibly want.

Maintaining a Clutter-Free Zone — Once you have your house de-cluttered, try to maintain it as best as possible. A good rule of thumb (especially for kids and toys) is that for every new item you purchase, one old item needs to be donated. This will keep the clutter down to a minimum and help keep your peace of mind.

An uncluttered home is often the sign of a happy soul as it means that you are not letting your personal possessions take over and rule your life and home. By spending some time decluttering your house, you can ensure some peace and calm in your own life.

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Whether you’re buying, selling, refinancing, or building your dream home, I’m here to help you explore the many financing options available. Ensuring that you make the right choice for you and your family is my ultimate goal. I am committed to providing my customers with mortgage services that exceed their expectations. Find out more by visiting my website.