Maintaining your home

[Music]

As a homeowner, it is important to pay your mortgage regularly and on time, and maintain your property.

These are important steps toward protecting your asset.

Planning ahead is critical. Smart homeowners plan for expected home maintenance, such as repainting or replacing carpet, and budget accordingly, but they also have a fund for the unexpected.

a hailstorm hits your area and you need to pay the insurance deductible to fix your roof.   Talk with your home buying team about common costs to plan for and uncommon ones to be ready for.

Your home may require seasonal maintenance such as cleaning gutters, as well as general upkeep throughout the year.

Here are some basic ways to maintain your home.

Your appliances, such as a stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, or dishwasher, will need periodic maintenance or replacement.

Your home will need general upkeep to prevent it from getting run down.

Keep things in working order with repairs for plumbing, electrical, masonry, and carpentry issues.

Inspect your home's roof annually.

Look for clogged gutters, cracked caulking or rust spots on flashing, and curling, missing, or blistering shingles to fix.

Inspect your home's exterior siding annually.

Timely repairs may help you avoid expensive replacements later on.

Take care of your air conditioner and furnace by getting your home's heating and ventilation system serviced annually, and replace air filters every couple of months.

In your budget, you may also want to include funds for home improvements.

When you have your own home, you can modify it to suit your lifestyle.

You may decide you want to remodel, upgrade, or add on to your home.

Your home is an asset.

Take good care of it, manage it well, and you're more likely to reap its advantages.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. 
© 2014 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. NMLSR ID 399801. Equal Housing Lender.