New to Home Ownership? 4 Essential Maintenance Tips

May 5, 2019 by Lauren Norris
So you’ve made the jump from renting your home to owning it. Congratulations! This is a big step that will provide you with years of satisfaction and pride. Of course, any new purchase calls for some important maintenance, and a home is no different. Indeed, homes carry a lot more demand for good maintenance than other, simpler purchases. Keep an eye on these four areas in your new home.

Watch the Roof

If you’ve just built a home, wear is not a problem with your shingles. However, even a fairly minor thunderstorm or other wind event can dislodge some shingles, eventually leading to a destructive and expensive leak. Check your roof after bad weather and make sure that wind and hail haven’t ripped any shingles away. If you’ve bought an existing home, try to find out when the roof was installed and determine how much longer you’ve got until it’s time to replace it.

Fight Termites

Nothing is more heartbreaking than discovering an infestation of these wood-destroying monsters. The damage they cause can quickly add up to thousands of dollars, all for want of a much less expensive treatment. Do-it-yourself treatments are just not effective; it takes professional-grade chemicals to keep them at bay. Talk to an exterminator about applying termite control products so that you can head off the problem before it starts.

Clean the Gutters

Most people don’t relish this wet, nasty job, but it’s essential. Clogged downspouts can cause overflowing gutters, and the runoff from that can send water into places you don’t want it. The rainfall can end up trickling into your windows, seeping through gaps in your siding, and pouring onto landscape plants that don’t need it. Watch for any overflow each time it rains, and pay the system a visit if you see anything.

Service Your Heating & Cooling

These essential systems are out of sight and out of mind until something goes wrong during extreme weather. Have a technician from a company like Master Service Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration pay you a visit before there’s a problem. Annual inspections and service will improve energy efficiency and help prevent costly and inconvenient breakdowns. Be sure you change filters according to schedule as well. Owning a home is a great thing to do. But like any investment, it does involve some basic maintenance and upkeep. By keeping on top of these simple tasks and others like them, you will improve the durability and beauty of your new home.   Lizzie Weakley is a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and walks in the park with her three-year-old husky, Snowball.

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