6 Ways You Can Be a Better Homeowner

Similar to most homeowners, your home is most likely your largest financial investment, so it makes good sense to do everything you can to protect its value. With the right care, maintenance, and proactive planning, you can switch from being a good homeowner to a great one! This blog will go over 6 ways you can be a better homeowner so that you can enhance the value of your home and better protect your livelihood.

Being a good homeowner requires a little more than just making your mortgage payments on time. It’s about planning ahead and being prepared for the unexpected surprises that are usually part of owning a home. Planning and preparing for unforeseen events allows you to protect not only your home, but also your family. Simple things like setting some money aside from your paycheck for emergencies can make the difference between keeping and losing your home when times get tough.

2. Set a Budget

Once one becomes a homeowner, things change. You can’t go overspending like you used to. Saving money is part of being a good homeowner. So it’s a smart idea to set a budget that’ll help guide you on how much you should spend—and how much you should save! The last thing you want is not having enough money to make a mortgage payment.

3. Be Water-Wise

Not only is using more water than you need wasteful, but it’ll hurt your pocket too. Part of being a good homeowner is ensuring that you’re not wasting money on unnecessary things such as unused water. Whether it’s brushing your teeth with the water running or taking hour-long showers, look for ways to reduce your level of water usage. You can also invest in water-saving appliances such as low-water showerheads and rainwater collection tanks.

4. Keep Up with Your Home Maintenance To-Do List

The value of your home relies heavily on its physical condition. If you start to slip up on your home’s maintenance to-do list, you will eventually pay the consequences. Once you let the number of problems in your home accumulate, it drastically decreases its value. It can also even lead to safety hazards, which are never acceptable. The best way to keep up with your maintenance list is to work on it little by little. Don’t leave everything till the end and try to tackle all the tasks at once. Common examples of home maintenance tasks that all good homeowners take care of include:

• HVAC maintenance
• Cleaning the gutters
• Inspecting for termites
• Lubricating creaky doors
• Conducting repairs on damaged parts of the home

While ensuring that your home is in good condition is important, it’s also important to ensure that your home’s curb appeal is in check. Whether you plan on selling or not, the exterior look of your home plays a big role in its value. Good homeowners know that having a well-kept home will not only make them happy but the neighbors as well. Simple upgrades that could immediately boost the curb appeal of the home include:

• Applying a fresh coat of paint
• Landscaping and trimming overgrown trees
• Adding lights
• Upgrading your house numbers
• Power washing your home, walkway, and driveway
• Adding seasonal decor

Owning a home is not an easy job. Even with constant planning and individual home inspections, one can’t always handle every little task the home requires alone. Balancing your life from your work, family, and house tasks can get pretty stressful. However, what if we told you that you could have professional guidance in regards to being a better homeowner? Yes! It’s possible with Community Mortgage’s Art of Homeownership Program. This program offers many services that will help you protect and grow the value of your home. Services offered by this program include:

• Home Concierge Service – You’ll get a concierge that will proactively keep your home in great shape and help you increase its value over time.
• Monthly Real Estate Digests – You’ll be given monthly real estate digests that will give you an idea of the current value of your home
• Annual Financial Review – You’ll get financial reviews that will help you ensure that you are making the best decisions for your family by planning for the future and getting continual advice and guidance on how to navigate your real estate and finances.
• Perfect Mortgage Promise – You’ll get help managing your mortgage so that you don’t miss any payments.
• And more!

With the help of The Art of Homeownership program, being a good homeowner cannot get any easier! We hope this blog helped you see how you can become a better homeowner. There are many resources at your disposal; it’s up to you whether you want to make use of it or not. To learn more about how to become a better homeowner with the help of The Art of Homeownership program, give Community Mortgage a call at (619) 692-3630 or click here.