Home ownership: it’s what you’ve been working towards for all this time, and now that you can tick it off, there’s a lot to take in – it’s exciting and daunting in equal measure! Now that you’ve navigated the likes of mortgages, solicitors, and making sure you’ve got the furniture and homewares you need to actually live, there’s the world of maintenance to get to grips with.
Property maintenance and care is a huge part of keeping your home in good condition, reducing the likelihood of unexpected and expensive problems. We’ve come up with some essential tips and advice for maintaining and futureproofing your property, so that you can enjoy your new home for years to come.
Routine inspections and maintenance
Prevention is better than cure, and this is certainly true with property maintenance – keeping an eye on things is key to spotting a problem early, and getting on top of them before they become urgent. Taking the time to visually inspect (from the ground) the roof, the gutters, the foundations, and the general condition of the exterior, for example, can alert you to any new areas where damp is getting in.
You can break some of your maintenance tasks down by seasons, too. For example:
For autumn and winter – Do tasks such as reseal windows, clear your gutters, protect exterior pipes from freezing, and clear leaves from around drains.
For spring and summer – Do tasks such as p
rune your shrubs, pressure wash patios and paving and inspect decking for rot.
Interior maintenance
Your property is no longer a landlord’s responsibility; it’s yours. Inside your property, you need to keep an eye on the following essential elements:
- Plumbing: Check for leaks, keep your drains clear (and be careful what you wash away or flush), clean taps and shower heads, and monitor your water pressure.
- Electrical: Replace lightbulbs, test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and call a professional if you notice anything unusual at all with your electrics.
- Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems: These systems need regular, professional inspections, so it’s critical to keep up with these as part of responsible home ownership.
Energy efficiency upgrades
Believe it or not, there are ways to make your home more energy efficient, so researching this as part of your maintenance responsibilities will help you keep your bills down in the future – and it should help protect the planet too.
Insulation and sealing: Heat will find any gap through which to escape, which makes proper insulation and sealing gaps vital to the energy efficiency of your home. Review your current insulation, and tackle DIY fixes on gaps, such as caulking around door frames.
Lighting and appliances: Energy-efficient lighting is an easy swap to make – in many cases, all it takes is changing a light bulb! You should also now find the energy efficiency of an appliance easy to find, so you could look into swapping your current ones out for more efficient models as and when you can if necessary.
Heat pumps: They’re a big investment, but they can really keep your energy bills down by replacing fossil-fuel powered systems. Both air and ground source heat pumps can be a great addition to a home’s HVAC system, reducing heating and cooling costs and future-proofing your home; consult a heat pump guide to make sure you’re in the know about choosing and funding a heat pump.
Budgeting for maintenance
There’s no escaping from it; home maintenance isn’t cheap. To soften the blow of a contractor invoice, you can go about budgeting for maintenance in the following ways:
Setting aside funds: This is particularly important if you know you’re looking to get something big done, like external decorating, hiring a roofing contractor for a roof replacement, garden landscaping, or a new kitchen or bathroom. Saving up over a period of weeks or months will help prevent denting savings you may need for other things, or tasking out a loan. It’s worth researching things like the average lifespan of a boiler to help you plan ahead for when you might need to repair replace big ticket essential items.
It’s not just the big stuff though; putting money aside for regular gutter clearance, window cleaning, large gardening jobs, and your heating inspections will help too.
Creating an emergency fund: Unfortunately, the boiler is unlikely to break down at a good time, which is why you should, if you can, create an emergency fund for those truly unexpected repairs.
Professional help vs. DIY fixes
It’s hard to know when something needs the eye of a trained professional, and when you can tackle it yourself. In general, if it’s potentially dangerous because you’d need height equipment, it concerns plumbing, electrics, heating, or cooling, or you simply feel it’s beyond your reach, you should hire a professional.
For the likes of decorating, gardening, and visual inspections, for example, you may feel able to have a go on your own. Remember, books, websites, and video tutorials are your friends!
If you do opt to find a professional, ensure they come with glowing reviews – try to use someone that a trusted person in your circle has used before, or at the very least, check their Google reviews.