In the first step of this guide, I discussed the importance of becoming familiar with your home, your neighborhood, and your city. Familiarizing yourself with these three things will help you understand what needs to be done and how to go about doing it.
Step 2 was all about paperwork. When you own a home, you’re going to have a lot of paperwork that needs to be created and organized properly. One of the most important parts of paperwork is creating the budget for the house. Creating a budget will hopefully enable you to not only do the work that needs to be done, but the renovations you want to do as well.
When I was young, my father needed me to hold a piece of plywood, while he cut it. I told him, “I hate holding wood, while you cut it; I get covered in sawdust. Can’t you get someone else or just use a clamp?” He said, “Son, come out here and hold the wood. You’ll learn how to measure and cut wood. I’ll show you how to install it. You’re going to need to know how to do these things on your own house one day.” I said, “Dad, when I grow up, I’m going to hire someone to fix my house for me.” He said, “When you become a homeowner, you’re going to need to know how to do these things, whether you want to or not.”
He was right.
Every homeowner needs to know how to maintain their house, even you. It’s not a matter of how much money you have, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how much you dislike this kind of work. Some repairs will need to be done immediately, and it’s your responsibility.
The average homeowner is capable of many repairs, maintenance, and even some upgrades, regardless of whether or not they grew up with a father like mine. I encourage you to try. Do what you can and learn as much as you can on each job, so you will become aware of your limits. If you hire a professional to do a job, assist them and ask questions as you go. Then, you can watch your limits diminish over time.
At the beginning, beware of biting off more than you can chew. Hire professionals for any field in which you are not skilled. In many cases, if a job is done wrong, it could damage the house or even pose a health hazard to you and your family. But as I said earlier, every homeowner will need to do their own maintenance from time to time, and before you start working, you’re going to need some tools.
In this initial phase of maintenance, you should consider what needs to be done to the house before you move in, to make you feel safe and secure. Focus on a few of the quickest, easiest safety repairs and upgrades you can make. I will go over some of them below, but a more complete list of the safety deficiencies for your home can be found in a home inspection report, provided by Upright Professional Inspections. Keep in mind that all of the safety deficiencies in our reports are written in red. There are, however, other items that may not be included in the report that are included in the initial maintenance. Remember, this initial phase of maintenance is all about providing peace of mind.
The first thing I recommend to everyone who has just purchased a new home is to change the locks. You never know how many copies of the old keys were made or who still has one. The safest thing to do is to replace the locks on all exterior doors of the house. Also, make sure there are no other ways to enter the house, via unlocked windows or unlocked exterior attic access panels.
Once the home is secure from external threats, the next thing to do is to make sure it’s safe from internal ones. Verify that all of the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms are working properly. Also, make sure that you don’t smell gas anywhere inside the house. Then, gather your entire family together, and create an evacuation plan. Everyone needs to know where the closest points of egress are located, including exterior doors and windows, in case of an emergency. They need to know where to meet outside of the house, so everyone can safely be accounted for. Assign roles and responsibilities, especially for assisting anyone with special needs.
The next thing to do is to make sure all of the lights work in stairways. This might include buying bulbs and telescopic bulb changer designed for installing light bulbs above stairways. It seems silly, but you never want to risk using the stairs in the dark, especially in an unfamiliar house.
You should also consider adding a security system to your new house. You may want to start with a Ring doorbell or something similar, to ensure nobody steals your packages. In time you can upgrade and get a system that includes other cameras around the exterior of the house, security lights, motion detectors, window opening sensors, and glass break detectors.
All of the items listed above need to be addressed on or before the “move in” day. After that, you can begin to address your new home’s other safety deficiencies and necessary repairs in accordance with your budget and schedule.
The second phase of maintenance is all about helping your new house feel more like your home, by making it fully functional and comfortable. This phase will definitely take more than a few days. In fact, it never ends, because once you get your house to that point, you’ll have to do regular maintenance to keep it that way. In this phase, you will begin the repairs on the list you created while budgeting, starting with the most important ones and working your way down the list. The key to it is to not do too much at one time-not only because it can be overwhelming, but because you never fully know how much time and money a project will actually take, until you’re in the middle of it.
From indoor plumbing and central air conditioning to WI-FI, all of a house’s functional amenities provide comfort and convenience. It’s time to get out the list of your house’s deficiencies and start making repairs, so you can make sure everything is functioning properly. By the end of this phase, your house should have no more deficiencies found during the original home inspection.
Permits may be required by your city, especially for repairs that involve structural changes, electrical, gas, or plumbing work, or work that includes significant modifications to the H.V.A.C. system. When making a major repairs to critical systems, it’s best to check with your local building department to inform you of the specific requirements for your projects.
Completing all of the repairs on your list may take a long time. Prioritizing the major and minor repairs is up to you. Some people like to focus on one room at a time, while others like to do all of the similar jobs throughout the house at the same time. It doesn’t matter how you choose to do the repairs, as long as you do them.
We’ve all heard of the carpenter’s house that’s never complete or mechanic with a clunker. It doesn’t matter if you have the ability, if you lack the motivation. Do what it takes to stay motivated, even if that means scheduling a painting parties, so you can work with your friends or doing nothing at all once in a while, because everyone needs times of rest.
There will be jobs that only licensed professionals should do, such as replace the H.V.A.C. unit. You will be able to handle the majority of the jobs yourself, such as replacing a faucet or door handle, or patching a corner-pop in the foundation. There will also be jobs that even your children will be able to do, such as replacing light bulbs, changing air filters, and mowing the lawn.
Home maintenance needs fluctuate constantly, and while the air filter might have been new and the gutters might have been clean during the original home inspection, they may not be anymore. It’s your responsibility to determine when any maintenance needs to be done.
Here is a list of the 10 most common home maintenance that is forgotten:
It’s important to be aware of how old each of your systems and components are, so you will not be caught off guard, when they need to be replaced. You need to budget accordingly and schedule this maintenance. Regular maintenance typically extends the life of many of the major systems and components, but they all have limited life expectancies and will eventually need to be replaced.
Below is a list of some of the major systems with their average life expectancy in years:
| Systems & Components | Life Expectancy in Years |
|---|
| Septic Tank Pumping | 3-5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Water Heater | 8-15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dishwasher | 9-16 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washer & Dryer | 10-13 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oven | 13-17 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Silicone Caulk | 8-20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fridge | 10-20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| H.V.A.C. | 15-20 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asphalt Shingles | 15-25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Energy Efficient Windows | 15-40 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Septic System | 20-40 |
The goal is to have a home that makes you feel comfortable, a home where you can host parties or enjoy quiet nights in, a safe home in which you can raise a family. The way you achieve that goal is by ensuring all of the systems and components are functioning properly. Regular maintenance actually enables you to make enjoyable memories with loved ones that will last a lifetime.
Well, it’s up to you if there will be more maintenance or not. This final phase of maintenance is about upgrading and renovating your house to make it more you. Yes, you should be repairing your house and maintaining your house in ways that reflect your personality. What differentiates this from previous phases is that these upgrades and renovations are not necessary. Maybe you want to give your wife the walk-in closet she’s always wanted or your husband the coveted walk-in shower. Maybe you’re looking to convert the attic into a “man cave” or the shed out back into a greenhouse. This phase of maintenance upgrades your home into your dream home.
Common upgrades for houses include replacing windows with energy efficient windows, adding insulation to the attic, and changing pluming lines from PVC to PEX. Common renovations include adding cabinets or an island to the kitchen, adding a pool or even adding additional square footage to the house. These may be unnecessary, but they can also increase your home’s value. More importantly, they can bring you joy and peace of mind, which is a lot more valuable than money.
Renovating is extremely hard work. So much time and energy goes into budgeting, researching, designing, scheduling, & overseeing, and you want to make sure that the renovations are either something that you can’t live without in your dream home or something that will provide a return on your investment. When you renovate, be sure to:
Becoming a homeowner is a significant milestone in one’s life, but there’s more to becoming a good homeowner than buying a house. It’s a lifestyle that takes time, money, and energy. You need to become familiar with your house, neighborhood and city. You need to create and manage all of the paperwork associated with owning a home. Also, it will take a lot of work to properly maintain your house. My hope is that this 3-part guide has helped you gain a better understanding of what it entails, so you will be able to make informed decisions and be a great new homeowner.