Spring is the prime home buying-and-selling season, and it’s also the ideal time to work on those preventative maintenance issues that didn’t get attention over the winter. For sellers, performing these chores gets the house into that pristine working order that buyers want. And for newly-minted homeowners who just closed a deal, it’s a great time to make a checklist of items that may need attention before the winter sets in.
Nancy Harris Keenan, a real estate agent with Keller Williams’ Brookhaven office, has been renovating houses for the last six years, and in both those capacities, she knows first-hand how important preventative care is to both buyers and sellers.
“Home maintenance is something I constantly harp on,” she said. “People just don’t want to think about it, but it’s important for the health of the home.”
Kennan has a list of items that she’s learned from experience need to be on the spring time chore list. The best place to start, she suggests, is with your senses.
Listen: Odd noises can be a signal that something's amiss. Those scratching sounds overhead or the knocking water pipes shouldn't be ignored.
“When you hear a weird noise coming from the garbage disposal, it usually means something’s out of whack,” said Keenan. “The same goes for most appliances. The question may then become whether to repair or replace. Consider that you’re probably going to pay $100 for someone to come out and just look at your microwave,” she said.
As for the overhead scratching, that’s a fairly solid sign that critters have invaded. “There are openings in areas you can’t see,” said Keenan. “Animals can climb through the ridge vent of your roof and nest in your insulation. They can also get into your crawlspace. I recommend trapping them before they climb in your walls and die.”
Another preventative course is to seal or screen any holes or vents where pipes enter the house. In a crawlspace, plastic or concrete can form a protective barrier not only against furry invaders but moisture and mildew as well.
Feel: If you need a sweater to withstand the chill in the kitchen, or can't sleep because the bedroom is stifling, you may have air leaks or poor insulation that's affecting the comfort level of the house.
“On almost every house I sell, air leaks come back on the inspection,” said Keenan. “The problem can usually be solved by caulking around windows, doors and siding, or adding more attic insulation. If you have an older house, the windows may have lost their ability to keep the cold or hot air out; new windows have better insulation and can keep your house quiet, too. Another good practice is to have a service contract with a company to come and check your air conditioner and heater twice year. Keeping the filters clean and those systems in good shape can make a difference.”
Smell: Most homeowners are aware that the smell of gas signals a problem that requires immediate attention. But other odors can be difficult to pinpoint.
“If you smell sewage, that could mean you have leaks in the sewer pipes,” said Kennan. “Maybe there are tree roots growing into them, or they’re old and leaky. Other smells can be caused by wet insulation or mold. There are great products on the market now that you just spray on, and mildew or mold is gone.”
See: Take an outside tour of the home and start by looking up. Cracked or missing roof shingles should be repaired before water seeps in, doing more damage. Gutters and downspouts should be in place and free of debris.
“This is one of the biggest problems I see in resale homes,” said Keenan. “If your gutters aren’t clean, you’ll get water in places it should not be. Check the downspouts to be sure water is flowing away from the house. If water gets in a crawlspace, it can create a musty smell or mildew. In fact, if you have trees around the house, you should look at these items every week.”
Another point of water entry is the chimney. If there’s no cap or screen to keep out rain – or pests – the problem can go from being a minor to a major one.
“I see a lot of chimneys, especially on older houses, that are open to the elements,” said Keenan. “There are companies that specialize in fireplaces who can check it out.”
While most home maintenance checks don’t need to be done monthly, they should be performed at least twice year. “And that’s definitely true of those spaces you never go into,” said Keenan. “Check out those crawlspaces and attics before a bigger problem arises.”
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