Blog Post

One thing I’ve learned when it comes to homeowners, neighbors, families, friends, and people in general is that not only is everyone a critic, but everyone’s an expert. The minute you take ownership of your home you will be privy to all this expertise, whether you want it or not!

A neighbor will tell you the twelve reasons why your foundation is cracked. An aunt will clue you in to the best way to run your dishwasher (run hot water first!) and your Dad will assure you of the best way to mow your lawn—or tune up your lawnmower. A coworker will insist you have a 12-digit code for your garage doors.

These are what are known as “conversational facts.” In other words, people hear, say and share these “truisms” in conversation and so, after time, they sound like facts, but they aren’t facts. Your aunt may truly believe that running hot water before starting the dishwasher will make it more effective, and perhaps it was in 1959. But today’s dishwashers are carefully calibrated and finely tuned and running the water—hot or not—before starting a cycle won’t have the least effect on how clean your dishes will be when they’re dry.

My point here is that you’ve hired an expert to build your home, now listen to one as he explains how to move into your home with the least amount of hassle and the most effective solutions for a smooth transition.

I started in this business in customer service, taking complaints from all kinds of home owners about all types of home ownership issues. And now, owning my own business and walking proud new owners through their spiffy new homes, I know what to look for, what to warn them about and how to solve any minor—even major—issues that may arise.

In this chapter, I’ll scroll through just a few high-level maintenance tips that will show you the quickest, easiest and simplest ways to avoid 99.9% of home maintenance issues. “Do it yourself” ads will try to scare you into thinking you need a dozen add-in warranties or workmen in your house every day to stave off mold, ammonia, radon leaks, sagging roofs, cracking foundations, peeling paint and 1,001 other potential problems. Like anything else, preventive maintenance is the key to disaster relief.

Follow me on a virtual tour of your new home—of any new home—and you’ll see that, with a minimal amount of effort just a couple times a year, you and your home can get along just fine! Stand by. I will pass this information along to you in my next blog post! Have a great day!