Does your home look older than it actually is? Every homeowner would love for their home to look young and in good shape. According to a study, regular maintenance helps increase home value by about 1 per cent annually.

Here are simple maintenance strategies to prevent your home from aging faster than it needs to:

Focus on Moisture

Moisture is probably your home’s worst enemy. Water can wreak havoc with the entire structure of your home – foundation, walls, floors and roof. For example, in addition to being simply annoying, an overflowing gutter can adversely affect your foundation. 

Here’s a simple procedure to keep moisture at bay:

• Pay active attention when it rains. Check for overflowing gutters and whether water is entering the house. Ensure water flows away from the house.
• After a storm or heavy rain; inspect the roof, foundation, basement, ceilings, windows, and doors for damage and leaks.
• Make it a routine to test and check water-related equipment like your refrigerator, washer and water heater and do the required maintenance. This can be done twice a year. Also, inspect outdoor watering systems for leakages.

When you set routines for maintenance tasks, protecting your home and enhancing its value becomes easier. Additionally, you learn a lot about your home and can spot other problems like termites quickly before they cause costly damages.

Moving to the next Level of Home Maintenance

If you’re very particular about keeping your home in great shape and want to go beyond water patrolling, here are some ideas.

Maintenance can work as a springboard to bigger projects like remodeling a kitchen or a basement makeover. If you plan to redo one room every year; you should be fixing, maintaining, and improving in a phased manner.

Basement:

• Dark stains could indicate plumbing leaks. Repair if required.
• Check ductwork for energy-wasting leaks.
• Clear the dryer vent of lint. This makes the machine last longer and fires are prevented.
• Seal and caulk basement windows for air leak prevention.
• Once you’ve ensured your basement is moisture sealed, you can try converting it into another living space.

Kitchen:

• Clean and dry all cabinets. This is a great way to get organized.
• Remove cleaning supplies and wastebaskets and check for leakages under kitchen sinks. Fix if required.
• Move out the fridge and thoroughly clean the space. Check for mold growth in the drip pan.
• Check cabinet hardware and repair hinges if required.
• Repaint walls with paint which has a tough, semi-glossy sheen. This will resist moisture and withstand repeated cleaning.

Maintenance Fund

Some experts advise saving 1 to 3 percent of the initial house price each year for maintenance purposes. Though this might not always be possible, try to put aside enough to take care of a large replacement project. Then you’ll not get caught off guard with bills.

Try to build a reasonably sized fund over a period of time by putting aside whatever is manageable. If you don’t have a sufficient fund and major maintenance expenses come up, an equity loan can be availed after careful consideration.

Your house is a financial asset as well as your shelter. Try to keep it in the best of health by caring for it with proper maintenance.

The Home Loan Advisor is a tool that was built to provide homeowners with insight into opportunities available in the current market, without having to shuffle through all of the clutter on the Internet. Not only does the Home Loan Advisor analyze your property, current market conditions, local market comps, and other variables in our proprietary algorithm, but we match you with potential lenders who have products that may help you and provide you with a sense of stability.

Refinancing also means that you need to know the value of your home. You can get a free home valuation report from Neighborhood IQ to find out your home’s worth to help you decide if you should refinance now.