As Fall lingers on the horizon, its a good idea to begin to get your home ready for the brisk, Fall weather. If you’re a homeowner, home buyer or home seller, these Fall maintenance tips are all things you want to stay on top of and pay attention to.
- Service HVAC unit. Do it now before the technicians get busy. Do it now before you’re cold and don’t have any heat. As a potential Buyer, search for service tags on HVAC units when looking for a home and as a Seller, its always likely the Buyers will ask for HVAC servicing after an inspection. If you already have records of this being done, it’s one more thing off of your list and thus, brings you to closing faster!
- Remove trees and debris from gutters and downspouts. Stay on top of this throughout the Fall and as the leaves fall. It will make the weight of the snow a little less on your roof, if it can easily melt and go off of the roof and into the gutters. Plus, as a Seller this adds to your curb appeal. Trees are beautiful colors in the Fall and eyes naturally go up to those beautiful leaves in the trees. If your gutters and roof look like there’s a lot of debris, it doesn’t help a Buyer feel “at home” when they first pull up to the house. As a Buyer, its a good sign if the Seller is taking care of their home and has attention to detail so that you can ensure you’re getting a home that’s been well-maintained. Be sure to notice it.
- Drain outdoor faucets, hoses and sprinkler systems. The last thing you want to be dealing with is a frozen pipe, inside or outside. Nothing rains on your Spring like having to dish out the cash at the first sign of nice weather to replace a sprinkler system. As a Buyer, this is often an item that is forgotten about. Be sure to ask for this prior to closing or be prepared to do it asap after closing. As a Seller, this can be a great negotiating item. As stated, Buyers tend to lose sight of this aspect so offering that you’ll have this service done prior to closing can be a great negotiation tool and another selling feature that other homes aren’t offering.
You can find more top Fall maintenance tips here.
The best way to protect your investment in your home is to care for it so be sure to touch on those maintenance tips at the change of every season!
Thinking about buying or selling this Fall? Let’s get you started!