A Home Maintenance Checklist for Every Season

Blog_Sep

| Best Real Estate Agent | Buy And Sell Homes In Oradell Nj

Owning a home comes with year-round responsibilities, but you don’t have to dread these tasks. “Home maintenance is easier than people think,” says Jim Magliaro, risk consulting technical lead at the insurance company Chubb. The key is to complete seasonal preventive measures which are more manageable and less expensive than the costly repairs that might be needed if household systems are neglected. Here’s a primer on the essential tasks to be completed each season of the year.

Summer

Summer is a perfect time to make sure your home systems are in working order. The warm weather also makes this season an ideal time to take care of outdoor tasks that can deter pests and minimize the chances of property damage later in the year.

Here are important home maintenance tasks to complete in summer:

  • Test GFCI outlets.
  • Secure outdoor furniture.
  • Add anchor bolts to doors.
  • Cut back vegetation.
  • Trim branches and remove dying trees

Test GFCI outlets. Kitchens, bathrooms and other areas that may be exposed to moisture should be equipped with ground fault circuit interrupter, or GFCI, outlets. These outlets are designed to avoid electrical shocks and minimize the possibility of fires by shutting off the flow of electricity when a ground fault occurs. The easiest way to test that the outlets are working properly is to plug in a radio, turn it on and push the test button on the outlet. If the radio shuts off, the outlet is working as it should; if not, it should be replaced.

Secure outdoor furniture. Summertime storms can upend patio furniture and large equipment, such as trampolines and swing sets. Secure items to the ground or deck with anchors, bolts or cords, and properly store items when not in use. It may also be helpful to create a wind barrier around furniture by planting shrubbery or installing a decorative wall.

Add anchor bolts to doors. Joe Meisinger, chief underwriting officer for personal insurance at Travelers, says 27% of the home claims his company receives in the summer are related to wind damage. High winds can cause garage and house doors to fail, but anchor bolts help secure doors to the structure of a home. They may be especially useful in areas prone to tropical storms and hurricanes. If you are replacing a front door, Meisinger suggests getting one that opens out. That way, high winds will seal a door shut tightly, rather than trying to push it open.

Cut back vegetation. Keep pests at bay by trimming or removing vegetation that may be close to the house, advises Mike Malone, senior vice president of marketing and inside sales for pest control company Arrow Exterminators. Left unchecked, this greenery could attract and conceal insects, rodents and other wildlife.

Trim branches and remove dying trees. Walk around your property and look for overhanging limbs, cracked branches or dying trees. Trimming branches and removing unhealthy trees in the summer can help prevent a tree limb from falling on your home or vehicle during a future storm. Meisinger recommends maintaining a 10-foot clearance between the house and tree limbs.

Fall

Fall can be a busy season for household chores. “It’s always a good time to prep the house for the winter,” Meisinger says. That means getting heating systems in order and preparing for the cooler weather ahead.

Here are important home maintenance tasks to complete in fall:

  • Clean out gutters.
  • Add insulation.
  • Protect pipes.
  • Clean the chimney.
  • Inspect your HVAC system.

Clean out gutters. Falling leaves and debris can fill gutters and clog downspouts. In snowy climates, ice dams are the main hazard associated with clogged gutters going into the winter months. However, keeping gutters free of dirt and debris should help you avoid the problem.

Add insulation. Insulation is important not only for comfort, but also for protecting the integrity of your home. It can prevent ice dams and pipes from freezing and may protect against fires. However, be careful not to add too much insulation. People naturally create moisture in a house through cooking, cleaning and bathing. Too much insulation, combined with a lack of ventilation, means that moisture has no place to go and can lead to a wet attic and mold growth.

Protect pipes. Water pipes in crawl spaces, attics or basements may be prone to freezing in the winter. Adding insulation to a house is one way to prevent that from happening. Other ways to prevent freezing include plugging drafty cracks or holes in walls near pipes or wrapping them with foam or another insulating substance. Outdoor pipes, such as those for sprinkler systems, should be drained and their water source turned off to prevent frozen or burst pipes in the winter.

Clean the chimney. The fall is a good time to have a professional inspect and clean your chimney if you have a fireplace. They can remove creosote that has built up inside and check for other potential hazards such as bird nests and debris.

Inspect your HVAC system. You don’t want to wait until the winter to have your furnace checked. “Staying on top of HVAC maintenance during the milder seasons will ensure your system is running at its best when the frigid winter or sweltering summer arrives,” says Matt Orcutt, portfolio leader for ducted and split systems at Trane Residential, a premium HVAC brand that’s part of the Ingersoll Rand family. “A tech will clean the system, look for leaks and monitor for potential issues that could impact its efficiency.” Fall is also a good time to have boilers, radiators, heat pumps and similar systems inspected.

Winter

Ushering in ice and snow, winter can be a harsh time of the year in many parts of the country. Not only do homeowners need to protect your home against external damage from storms, but they need to address potentially devastating internal hazards. One-third of all home claim payouts made by Travelers in the winter are fire-related, according to Meisinger, making it the most expensive loss to incur during the season. However, you need to worry about pest control and internal air quality during the cold winter months as well.

Here are important home maintenance tasks to complete in winter:

  • Change the furnace filter.
  • Seal cracks and holes.
  • Update alarm and alert systems.
  • Clean out your dryer vent.
  • Review your insurance coverage.

Change the furnace filter. This isn’t an annual task, but one that should occur every couple months during the heating season. “It’s crucial to replace air filters every 30 to 90 days, monitor for abnormal sounds or smells, keep the outdoor unit free of dirt and debris and inspect the base pan for blocked drains,” Orcutt says. Otherwise, you could be faced with less-efficient heating, higher utility bills and potential health hazards due to air pollution.

Seal cracks and holes. “Wildlife look for a warm environment to seek food and shelter from the frigid temperatures,” Malone says. To ensure they aren’t overwintering with you, seal exterior cracks or holes with caulking, foam or another filler. Make sure screens are firmly affixed over vents and other larger openings. Pay particular attention to the roofline, chimney and areas where pipes enter the house.

Update alarm and alert systems. Though they won’t prevent a fire, alarm systems can minimize damage and save lives in the event of one. Homes should have a smoke alarm outside every bedroom and on every level of the house. Photoelectric alarms may be best at detecting smoldering fires that can fill a home with carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. “Maybe even get a smart smoke detector,” Meisinger says. These devices will send phone alerts in the event a fire or carbon monoxide is detected.

Clean out your dryer vent. While you should be cleaning a dryer’s lint trap after every use, vents need a deep cleaning at least one a year. Over time, lint can accumulate and even ignite. Check the vent hose and remove any accumulated buildup. Also, make sure the external vent is properly screened to prevent pests from accessing your home through it.

Review your insurance coverage. Not all home maintenance chores involve manual labor. As the calendar turns to a new year, it’s a good time to review your homeowner insurance policy. If you’ve made improvements in the past year, make sure those will be adequately covered and consider shopping around for a better deal if you haven’t compared insurance costs recently.

Spring

Spring can be an unpredictable time that brings snow, flooding and high winds, and Meisinger notes 30% of all home claims made to Travelers from 2009-2016 occurred in the spring. Household chores during these months focus on preparing for shifting weather patterns as well as cleaning up any damage from the winter months.

Here are important home maintenance tasks to complete in spring:

  • Clean out gutters (again).
  • Do an exterior inspection of your property.
  • Renovate with impact-resistant materials.
  • Check your sump pump.
  • Turn off water when on vacation.

Clean out gutters (again). Between snow melt and spring showers, there is the potential for a lot of water to be running through your downspouts. “Make sure drainage systems are clear and working properly,” Magliaro advises.

Do an exterior inspection of your property. Those living in northern climates may not have spent a significant amount of time outside during the winter months. Even those in sunnier climates may not regularly inspect their home’s exterior. The spring is a good time to look for missing shingles, loose siding and hanging branches.

Renovate with impact-resistant materials. Hail causes some of the most expensive damage in the spring, according to Meisinger. If you need to replace roofing or siding, use an impact-resistant material to avoid future damage. The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety has developed a national standard that can be used as a checklist to guard against hurricane and wind damage.

Check your sump pump. Take action to ensure that water from outside doesn’t cause damage inside. “This is a great time to go down to your basement and check your sump pump,” Meisinger says. You can test that your sump pump is adding enough water to raise the pump’s float and see if it is pumped out properly. For a more thorough evaluation, consult with a plumbing professional.

Turn off water when on vacation. Magliaro notes 45% of property claims made to Chubb are related to internal water damage. To avoid expensive damage to your home, consider turning off your water supply when leaving for an extended period of time. Another way to avoid water damage is to check pipes to sinks, toilets and appliances for leaks or loose connections.

10 Secrets to Selling Your Home Faster

Blog_Aug

| Best Real Estate Agent | Buy And Sell Homes In Oradell Nj

Consider these low cost ways to sell your home faster….

Selling your home quickly not only allows you to move on with your life, it also means fewer days of keeping your home in pristine condition and leaving every time your agent brings prospective buyers for a tour. According to real estate information company Zillow, the best time to list a home for sale is on a Saturday between May 1 and 15; homes listed during those times sell six days faster and for 0.7% more than the average annual home price. A National Association of Realtors survey published in July found that the average home was on the market for 27 days in June, compared to 2012, when the average time on market was about 11 weeks. But how fast your home actually sells, and at what price, depends on factors beyond timing. Here are 10 secrets to selling your home faster, no matter when you list it.

1. Take great photos. According to NAR’s 2018 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 44% of recent buyers started their search online. Of those, 87% found photos very useful in their home search. If your listing photos don’t show off the features of your home, prospective buyers may reject it without even taking a tour or going to the open house. Hiring a professional photographer and posting at least 30 photos of your home, inside and out, is a good way to attract buyers. Photography is often free for home sellers, as shoots are often conducted at the expense of real estate brokers as part of marketing the property.

2. Clean everything. Nothing turns off buyers like a dirty house. Hire a company to deep clean if you can’t do it yourself. “When the (home) is on the market, no matter what time of day or night, it should be clean and neat,” says Ellen Cohen, a licensed associate real estate broker with real estate brokerage Compass in New York City.

3. Depersonalize the home. Remove all your family photos and memorabilia. You want buyers to see the house as a home for their family, not yours. Remove political and religious items, your children’s artwork (and everything else) from the refrigerator and anything that marks the house as your territory rather than neutral territory. The same goes for any collections such as figurines, sports memorabilia or kids’ toys that can make a buyer think less about the house and more about you. Family photos can be replaced by neutral art or removed entirely – just be sure to remove any nails and repair nail holes where any hanging photos used to be.

4. Let the light in. People love light and bright, and the best way to show off your house is to let the sunshine in. Open all the curtains, blinds and shades, and turn lights on in any dark rooms. If the natural light situation is lacking in any room, strategically place lamps or light sources throughout to set the mood. And while your house is on the market, open all curtains and turn on lights every time you leave your house for work or errands in case you get word a buyer would like to tour the space before you get home.

5. Make your home available. Buyers like to see homes on their schedule, which often means evenings and weekends. Plus, they want to be able to tour a home soon after they find it online, especially in a hot market where they’re competing with other buyers. If your home can be shown with little or no notice, more prospective buyers will see it. If you require 24 hours’ notice, they may choose to skip your home altogether. “That’s one less person who gets to see the property,” Cohen says. Be ready to leave quickly as well – if you’re still cleaning up or hanging around outside when the buyer arrives, it can make for an awkward interaction.

6. Set the right price. No seller wants to leave money on the table, but the strategy of setting an unrealistically high price with the idea that you can come down later doesn’t work in real estate. Buyers and their agents have access to more information on comparable homes than ever, and they know what most homes are worth before viewing them. A home that’s overpriced in the beginning tends to stay on the market longer, even after the price is cut, because buyers think there must be something wrong with it. “Pricing correctly on the lower side tends to work much better,” Cohen says.

7. Remove excess furniture and clutter. Nothing makes a home seem smaller than too much big furniture. Rent a self-storage container or a storage unit and remove as much furniture as you can. It will immediately make your home seem calmer and larger. Remove knickknacks from all surfaces, pack them away and store the pieces upon which you displayed them. Take a minimalist approach to books, throw rugs and draperies, and clear off your kitchen and bathroom countertops, even removing appliances you normally use. If you can scale down the contents of your closets, that’s even better, because it makes the home’s storage space look more ample.

8. Spread the word. Your neighbors are often the best salespeople for your home because they love the neighborhood. Make sure they know your home is for sale and are invited to your open house. Also share your listing on social media and ensure your real estate agent does the same. Share the news on neighborhood email lists, Facebook groups and other social media outlets. Collaborate with your real estate agent to promote your home’s listing information through multiple accounts. Especially if you or your agent has a decent pool of social media followers, Cohen says, “You can promote properties for nothing.”

9. Repaint in neutral colors. A new coat of paint will do wonders to freshen up your home, both inside and out. This is the time to paint over your daughter’s purple bedroom, nix the quirky turquoise bathroom and cover up the red accent wall in your dining room. Busy wallpaper can also turn off potential buyers. Your goal is to to create a neutral palette so buyers can envision incorporating their own personal touches in the home. “You just want people to see the space for what it is,” Cohen says. Rather than a stark white, consider neutral shades of gray, taupe and cream on the walls.

10. Spruce up the front of your home. You’ve heard it 100 times before, and it’s still true:Curb appeal matters. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. A new or freshly painted front door, new house numbers and a new mailbox can breathe life into your entryway. Fresh landscaping and flowers in beds or in pots also enhance your home’s first impression. Trim trees and bushes, tidy up flower beds, remove dead leaves from plants, clear out cobwebs from nooks near the entrance and pressure-wash walkways, patios and decks. Leave the outdoor lights on, too, because prospective buyers may drive by at night.

11. Here are 10 tips to sell your home faster:

  • Take great photos.
  • Clean everything.
  • Depersonalize the home.
  • Let the light in.
  • Make your home available.
  • Set the right price.
  • Remove excess furniture and clutter.
  • Spread the word.
  • Repaint in neutral colors.
  • Spruce up the front of your home.

Taking the Plunge: Is Adding a Swimming Pool to Your Home a Smart Move?

Blog_July_19

| Best Real Estate Agent | Buy And Sell Homes In Oradell Nj

Before you call up a local pool installer, consider the costs, hassle and potential added value that a pool could bring.

As we head into the heart of summer, thoughts naturally turn to fun in the sun while staying cool. For some, that might even mean contemplating the addition of a sparkling swimming pool. But what does it take to turn your backyard into a watery oasis? And do swimming pools add value to your property? To answer these questions and others, let’s take a deep dive (pun intended) into the wonderful world of swimming pools.

Humans have been building pools as communal baths and gathering places for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until the post-World War II era that their popularity skyrocketed in residential use. In those early days, private pools were seen as a coveted luxury and a celebrity status symbol, but over time, in-ground pools have become more prevalent and accessible to all homeowners. (read more)

The data relating to the real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange Program of the NJMLS. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than RE/MAX Real Estate Limited are marked with the Internet Data Exchange logo and information about them includes the name of the listing brokers. Some properties listed with the participating brokers do not appear on this website at the request of the seller. Listings of brokers that do not participate in Internet Data Exchange do not appear on this website.
All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Last update: 06/05/18.
Source: New Jersey Multiple Listing Service, Inc