Tips to Help You Properly Prepare Your Home for Winter
No matter during what season you plan to put your house on the market, keeping it properly maintained and in good shape will always impress potential buyers. Keeping up with seasonal maintenance will ensure your home suffers less damages and is in better shape all year long. For this reason, we have some tips to help you prepare your home for winter this year.
Prepare Your Fireplace and Chimney
If you have a fireplace in your home, you know that this amenity is great during the winter. A wood burning fireplace not only helps keep your home warmer during cold days, it also makes a room feel more cozy. When showing your home to potential buyers on cold days, lighting a fire in your fireplace is a great way to catch their attention. Before you start burning anything, however, be sure your fireplace and chimney have been properly cleaned. If you haven’t used your fireplace and chimney in a while, they may have some highly flammable materials built up from your previous fires. Substances such as soot and creosote tend to buildup on the walls and can actually cause a controlled fire to lose control. Call in a professional cleaning service or chimney sweep in order to ensure you’re ready to start a fire. Remember to only burn items meant for a fireplace and always use a screen. Not only will a screen help for safety reasons, it can also stop ash and embers from flying out and damaging items around the fireplace.
Properly Seal Windows and Doors
Since the winter tends to be the coldest season of the year, you want to do your best to keep your home warm, especially during home visits. To do this without causing your energy bill to skyrocket, ensure your home’s exterior windows and doors seal properly. Re-caulk around windows and replace any broken or shattered glass. Weatherstrip exterior doors and consider using an under-door draft stopper. All of these actions will stop warm air from seeping out of your home while also preventing cold air from entering your home. If you have storm windows, now is the perfect time to install them. Lastly, use your curtains to keep your home warm. Open the curtain during the day to let in warm sunlight and close them at night to prevent cold air entering your home.
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Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
If you’re using heating devices to keep your home warm over the winter, whether electric or gas powered, it is very important that you have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors installed in your home. These should be installed on every level of your home and near all sleeping areas. If you already have these installed, test them to ensure they are working properly. If the batteries haven’t been replaced in a while, be sure to replace them soon. Don’t forget to also test you fire extinguisher and have it ready for use.
Inspect Your Roof
Redoing your roof requires a large investment, so keeping up with maintenance to keep it in top shape will always impress buyers. Before winter arrives, be sure to give it a through inspection. Replace any loose, missing, or damaged shingles before winter storms arrive. If you are expecting snow during the winter, consider placing extra insulation in the attic to prevent ice dams. Don’t forget to also check the flashing in order to be sure water won’t enter your home during a storm.
Take Care of the Landscaping
Your home’s exterior is what will make the first impression when potential buyers show up for a showing. Keeping the outdoors looking pristine and inviting during the winter may sound like a challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. Star by trimming your trees, especially if they have branches that hang near your home or power lines. Since the weather may be a bit more dreary in the winter, be sure you have properly functioning outdoor light fixtures that provide flattering lighting. Remember to seal your driveway before winter arrives and keep walkways clear and safe at all times. You can place potted plants outside when you’re expecting buyers, but these may be better off indoors the rest of the time.
Invest in Title Insurance in Northborough
If you could use some extra help navigating the real estate world, Home Key Title is here to help. Ask them about the importance of purchasing title insurance in Northborough in order to secure your home investment. To find out more about their services, contact Home Key Title at (508) 475- 5502.