Growing up, I always thought very poorly about my parents’ home. It was old and decrepit, with doors that did not close properly, peeling paint on every wall, and the most hideously stained carpets.
When I was in college, my parents suddenly came upon some capital and finally had money to spend on the house. They pulled up the carpets, revealing beautiful wooden floors. They repainted walls and fixed the old doors. They redid the ceilings. Having done nothing more than the simple maintenance they should have done years before, the house was suddenly beautiful.
I understand why my parents took so long to do this work. They were struggling to make ends meet and anything not strictly necessary got put off until later. However, they were eventually living in a house that was uncomfortable and ugly and implementing the necessary repairs had become far too expensive.
This is easy to say in hindsight, but now that I’ve seen this play out, I know that this scenario doesn’t have to come about. There are some basic tips you can follow to maintain your new home right from the start.
Learn basic DIY skills
My parents grew up in relatively wealthy homes, where they did not have to do even the most basic manual labor. Which is why simple stuff like curtains coming off the railings could remain unfixed for years. However, if they had some basic skills they could not only have fixed the simple stuff but even managed to do the more difficult repairs themselves.
It is well worth it to learn some basic DIY skills when you move into a new house. While you may be able to pay for a handyman now, that might not be the case when you need it. Plastering and painting walls, fixing doors, polishing and varnishing wooden floors and surfaces, are all things you can do yourself without too much intensive labor.
Yes, no one dreams of doing their own repairs to their home. But the reality is that most things are not particularly difficult and the eventual pay-off is huge.
Get a home warranty
If you are purchasing an older home, or you really do not think you will be able to take care of the basic repairs yourself, consider paying for a home warranty. A home warranty covers basic maintenance issues that come up over time. The best warranties are not too expensive and will save you a lot of trouble. They will ensure that your home does not become rundown simply because you are strapped for cash when you need to do repairs.
See these Choice Home Warranty reviews to get a better idea of what you can expect. A home warranty is not for everyone, but it may save you a lot of money and pain down the line.
Care for sensitive materials
Do you have wooden floors? How about marble countertops? These are the sorts of materials used in building and decorating a home that can easily become eyesores if not taken care of properly.
At Maid Sailors Home Cleaning Services Austin, we always advice our new homeowner clients to be wary of the materials some surfaces are made of. Some surfaces and floors need to be cleaned and polished on a regular basis. Heaters or air-conditioner systems can ruin some sensitive materials. Find out what you need to do before it is too late.
Your house should not become rundown before you do basic maintenance. Repairs do not need to cost you your life savings. Take these precautions from the start and you will be grateful down the line.
