Real Estate Column: Winter is coming — protect your castle
Premiere Property Group, LLC writes a monthly real estate advice column for Sherwood
By Jeff Wiren, Principal Broker, Premiere Property Group, LLC for the Sherwood Sun
SHERWOOD, Ore. — I doubt that any of us will ever meet a White Walker or have our house burned down by a dragon. However, many of us will suffer from a roof leak, siding damage, or a furnace failure due to deferred home maintenance. With winter right around the corner, now is a good time to catch up on some of those deferred maintenance items and protect your most valuable asset.
Here are the top five deferred maintenance items that I see on most home inspection reports, starting from the top of the home and working our way down:
- Roof maintenance – Overgrown moss, damaged shingles, clogged gutters, and branches are the most common maintenance issues. One of the home remedies that I have heard over the years is to use laundry detergent to treat for moss. DON’T DO THAT! Laundry detergent isn't designed or labeled as a roof moss treatment and can potentially damage roofing materials and surrounding vegetation. If you don’t want to hire a licensed roofing contractor to properly remove moss, utilize an actual moss treatment rather than sprinkling laundry detergent on your roof. While you’re at it, cut back any branches that are in contact with your roof and clean your gutters. If you notice any damaged shingles, have them repaired right away.
- Failed caulking – Particularly around windows and doors, but also at siding seams and over fasteners. It is difficult for the average home owner to do a full siding evaluation, but failed caulking leads to leaks, which leads to dry rot – which is expensive to fix. It is worth the money to have a contractor come out and check your siding and repair any damaged or missing caulking. If you want to do it yourself, use caution and be thorough. The worst problem will likely crop up in the area that you least expect.
- Exterior outlets – Check exterior outlets for damaged covers or seals and test your GFCI outlets to make sure they trip and reset properly. And while you're testing circuits, make sure you know whether your garage refrigerator or freezer shares a GFCI-protected circuit. Trust me, discovering a tripped circuit several days after your freezer stopped running is not an experience you want.
- Furnace filters – Have you ever noticed that dingy coloration around your heat register that discolors the carpet or ceiling? That’s dust from your furnace getting blown throughout your house. You should be changing your furnace filter regularly to help maintain indoor air quality and keep your HVAC system operating efficiently. If you don’t remember the last time you changed your furnace filter, go do that right now. Then, immediately call an HVAC contractor and schedule an appointment for them to come clean and service your system.
- Crawlspace critters – Some of the creatures that could be living in your crawlspace have been around since the time when dragons roamed the earth. I honestly think that most of us are afraid of what we might find if we actually looked in our crawlspace, which is why nobody does. Now is the time. Put on some ratty clothes, and go check to make sure that there aren’t any ratty rats down there.
If you do these five things, you'll head into winter with greater peace of mind. You'll also protect the value of your home, save yourself money in the long run, and make your life considerably easier when the day eventually comes to sell. And – if you’re curious what a White Walker is or why I referenced dragons in my opening line, ask your kids. They’ve GOT the answer.
The Sherwood Sun
