The Ultimate Guide to Proper Home Maintenance

Want to keep your home in top condition and avoid costly repairs down the road?

Learn the essential home maintenance tasks every homeowner should know, from seasonal upkeep to routine inspections. Discover the secrets to keeping your HVAC system, plumbing, roofing, and more in optimal shape, and save money on repairs and energy bills in the long run. Don't let your biggest investment fall apart - start your home maintenance journey today!

More of a reader? Catch the video transcript below!

The Ultimate Guide to Home Maintenance

Alright, so you’ve bought a home, you’ve popped the champagne, and you’ve toasted your significant other (or your cat if you’re like me and don’t have a significant other).

You’re in your new home and everything is great. A few months go by and the honeymoon period is slowly wearing off. You start to realize that you need to be putting in some work to maintain your new investment.

So, what do you do? Well, it’s time to think about creating a home maintenance schedule.

Today, I’m going to walk you through a few things to keep in mind as you’re working on maintaining your biggest asset.

Step One: Do a walkthrough of your home.

You can do this on your own, with an experienced home maintenance person, or even with a professional home inspector. You’re wanting to gather all the information about the home and see what kind of condition all the components are in.

Then, create a list of things that you need to maintain both now and in the future.

Step Two: Organize your list items from most important to least important.

Time to take stock of your list and organize it in order of importance. For example, if you’ve got a leaky roof or a toilet that doesn’t flush properly, it’s going to be a little more urgent than some scuff marks on your baseboards.

Think about safety first.

If you have anything on your list that could be a safety hazard, you’ll obviously want to address those first. There’s no point in living in a home if it’s going to harm you, right?

This includes any potential electrical hazards, plumbing issues, foundation issues, gas leaks, a leaky roof, a termite problem, black mold growth, or anything of that nature.

Prioritize cost-effective fixes.

Once you have listed out all your potential safety hazards, you’ll want to think about cost-effective fixes. What are the smaller, maybe more cosmetic items you’d like to fix around your home to make it more pleasant to live in?

consider energy efficiency.

If your home is perfectly safe and sound, and all of the cost-effective things are taken care of, you may want to start to think about energy efficiency and ways to save money around your home.

Do you have drafty, leaky windows? Do you want to add insulation so you don’t have to run the heating as much? Maybe you want to upgrade your HVAC system or even add solar panels.

There are a whole bunch of upgrades you can make to make your home more energy efficient and save you money in the long run. You can even look into government programs that offer you tax benefits or incentives to help you do some of these environmentally-conscious updates. (Note with this: there are several predatory programs out there that claim to be government-sanctioned or aligned with local government to help you, so just make sure you read the fine print and understand what you’re getting into.)

Add cosmetic changes at the bottom of the list.

The last category on your list is going to be your cosmetic fixes. Maybe your cabinets work just fine, but you’d love to give them an extra coat of paint, or maybe there’s some landscaping that needs to be done. Once you’ve taken care of all the urgent and money-saving items, you can work on making your home a bit more comfortable and customized to your wants!

Step Three: Create a schedule.

After you’ve reorganized your list in order of priority, you’ll want to create a maintenance schedule.

How often do you need to repaint your baseboards? Switch out your air filters? Shampoo your carpets? There are plenty of great resources online that you can follow to tell you what things to do and how often they should be done to ensure you’re keeping your home in tip-top shape.

Create a customized schedule that works for you and your home. Document what needs to be done, how often, and who is responsible for doing that task. You can divvy up the tasks between all members of your household, like roommates or older kids.

Side note: doing chores and household tasks with your kids is a great way to spend time with them while teaching them the value of hard work! I can’t tell you how much fun I have with my daughters when they’re helping me do things around the house, from laundry to painting a fence.

Step Four: Keep good records.

If you have a regular maintenance schedule, you’ll want to make notes and keep detailed records of the type of maintenance you do. This includes details on the paint that you used for a particular project, when you switched out a light fixture, when you replaced your HVAC system, etc.

Keeping a list like this goes a long way in helping you stay organized and keeping your maintenance on schedule.

Pro tip: It also increases the value of your home! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a buyer walk into a property that they were purchasing and the seller hands them a list of their home maintenance schedule and what they’ve been doing to keep the home in great shape. The buyers are blown away, and it gives them peace of mind that their new home was cared for by the previous owners. It makes them feel more confident about their purchase and even be inclined to offer more for the property.

Step Five: Stay on top of your home maintenance.

Once you’ve created your schedule, you need to stay on top of it! Things in your home are deteriorating every single day. Staying on top of your home maintenance schedule creates a sense of pride in the home. When you’re proud of where you live, and you see a scuff on the baseboards or chipping paint, you’re not going to allow it to fester and you’ll address it quickly!

I hope this information was helpful for you homeowners out there! See you in the next one!

Brent Edwards (aka Brent the Broker) is a residential real estate agent and Realtor in San Diego, CA who helps clients buy and sell homes in San Diego, California and all surrounding areas. Brent is a highly-recommended Realtor in San Diego by family, friends and past clients. Call Brent today at 619-550-8070 if you have any questions about real estate in San Diego or you'd like to buy or sell a home.

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