If you’re like me, your home is your sanctuary. It’s a place where you can kick off your shoes and relax after a long day’s work, the place you make dinner for the family, and sometimes it can feel like just about the only thing you can actually control in your life. As an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, hiking, camping, and fishing, there are some parallels I draw between all these activities, and being a homeowner.
Being a good steward to your home is important because it not only protects the value of your home (your investment) but it can increase both your property value and your neighbors. It helps to lower the cost of maintenance on the home and keeps everything running smoothly. One of my favorite Leave No Trace tenants is “Plan ahead and prepare”.
I associate this principle with homeownership in a number of ways. Putting away 1% of the value of your home into savings each year means that you will be prepared to take care of any emergencies. Scheduling a chimney sweep for each September means that you’re planning ahead and doing the due diligence to keep your home both safe and efficient. Following this practice, year after year will ensure your home not only keeps its value but will grow in value with the community while staying a wonderful place to live.
If you’re a second homeowner in the area or you simply want to outsource things to make sure you can be a good steward to your home even when you don’t have time, there are options.
Hire a complete package.
Hire a full-service contractor who can come by your home once a quarter and handle it all. From snow removal to shutter repair and so much more, there are companies out there who make a living from taking care of your home. This is a great “set it and forget it” type of solution. Simply mark your calendar and get on the schedule and these guys can take care of everything. Plus, with the pros tackling the hard work, they are likely to catch things that you may not see.
Check-In Services.
You can also hire companies to do “drive-bys” once a month or once every two months. These companies will swing by your house to make sure all is well. After doing an initial look over they’ll call you with problem areas to address. Are shingles falling down? They’ll take care of it. Is paint peeling from your doors? They’ll let you know and make a plan to move forward.
The next option is DIY.
One of the greatest gifts you can give to yourself, your home, and your neighbors, is to get handy. If you’re not “handy” right now there are plenty of resources out there to help you get started. You’ll be surprised the wealth of information available on platforms like YouTube and Reddit. Why should you “get handy” and how does this help with being a good steward to your home?
Imagine you’ve got a leak around your shower or bathtub. Wouldn’t it be easier to handle this yourself than to find time to schedule someone to come look at it for you? Learning how to take care of things around the home will not only save you time and money but it will prevent bigger headaches down the road
Aside from these three options here are some simple things you can do.
- Make a quarterly trip to the dump to remove oversized trash items
- Stay up to date on your exterior paint or stain. Not only does this keep your home aesthetically pleasing but it prevents damage from the elements.
- Bear proof trash can. Keep bears away from your, and your neighbors property, by employing a bear proof trash can.
- Pull up those weeds! Pulling up weeds around walk ways and land scraped areas helps prevent root systems from growing and damaging your infrastructure.
Your home is more than just a place to hang your hat. it’s a nest egg, a retirement fund, and an investment that needs someone to take care of it. Follow these simple steps to keep your property value high. If you wind up hiring a service to look after your home tell your neighbors about it. It’s great to give them a heads-up that folks may be visiting your home but they might be looking for the same type of service. A neighborhood full of well-taken care of homes is going to keep interest in the real estate market far better than a neighborhood of derelict houses.
