The importance of maintenance is something many first time homeowners learn the hard way. Proper maintenance can help prevent many home catastrophes that end up costing you money and time to repair. Monitoring the major systems in your home and how well they work is one of the best ways to make sure you know exactly what is working properly within your home, and which systems will soon need repair or replacement. Here are some of the basic, simple ways you can maintain and protect your home.

Keep Your Heating and Cooling System Clean

Change any filters in your heating or cooling system regularly to ensure the air quality stays high inside your house. Depending on the age of your home, presence of pets or smokers and other factors, you may have to have the inside of your air vents cleaned to allow the system to work properly. This will not only leave your family more comfortable, it will keep your energy bills lower and reduce the presence of allergens and germs.

Take Steps to Prevent Pest Invasions

With warm weather and a host of tropical creatures living outside our doors, it stands to reason that Central Florida residents have to do regular pest control to keep their homes safe. There are a variety of invasive pests that may attempt to get into your home in Central Florida, including:

• Snakes
• Termites
• Possums
• Vermin

The best way to prevent having to undergo a costly and inconvenient extermination effort Is to stop pests from coming inside the home in the first place. A professional pest control service can identify any vulnerable spots in the home where pests can gain entry and seal them for you, as well as perform a regular pest control service to keep critters out.

Evaluate Your Electrical System

If you’ve purchased a historic property, the electrical system may not be ready to support your modern power needs. Some of the telltale signs that your system is overtaxed include:

• Flickering lights
• A circuit breaker that continually flips when used
• Outlets that do not have a built in reset switch

If not properly equipped to handle the amount of power your system uses, an outdated electrical system can cause an electrical fire. A qualified electrician can assess your system for you and give you a solid answer on whether or not it requires an upgrade.

Assess Any Leaks That Exist

Any spots in your home that let in water can be potential starters for mold, and reduce the structural integrity of your home over time. While some pipes will naturally sweat or give off a little moisture, you shouldn’t be seeing water pooling in any spots in your home. If there are pipes that drip or spots in the roof that let drips come through, take note of how much water enters and continue to monitor to ensure it doesn’t get worse.

Maintaining a home doesn’t have to be difficult or costly, particularly if you make these tasks a part of your regular plan. If you’re ready to find your first home, let the Core Group help. Contact us today to see our available properties in the Central Florida area.

Having house guests visit you for the first time is an exciting but nerve wracking event. You want to be sure to make them comfortable without making yourself crazy during the time they are staying. If you’re wondering how you can make a good impression on your house guests when you haven’t been in your first home for very long, here are some tips from the professionals at the Core Group.

Put Yourself In Their Shoes

It’s practically a guarantee that your guests will forget things, and unless you want to spend time driving them back and forth to a store, you should prepare by stocking up on these things. A great way to start making a list of the items your guests may need is to think of the items you have forgotten when you traveled on vacation before. Some of the most likely items that people forget when traveling include:

• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Contact lens solution and case
• Soap and shampoo
• Pain Relievers like Tylenol or Advil

Stock Up On The Staples

While in your home, there are some household staples that visitors will use and consume, and these are typically items you don’t want to run out of. For example, you don’t want to run out of toilet paper in the middle of the night. Some of the household items you can expect to go through at a rapider pace than normal include:

• Toilet paper
• Bottled water
• Paper towels
• Coffee
• Dishwashing detergent
• Garbage bags

Put Snacks on Your Shopping List

It’s hard to predict exactly what guests will want to eat, but it’s a safe bet that they will want snacks at some point. Simple things like sliced fruits and vegetables, pretzels, mixed nuts and granola bars are all good options for visitors to grab and graze on during the day between meals or if they wake up looking for a midnight snack. Display these items on trays on in large bowls in the kitchen to make them easy to find.

Test Your Guest Room

In many homes, the guest room furniture is not used very often and especially not by the homeowner. The issue with this is that you may never know if the bed is uncomfortable or the pillows are saggy. Guests certainly aren’t likely to tell you. Before your guests arrive, try out the space and make sure they will be comfortable. Test the pillows, mattress and lighting to make sure it is all ready for your visitors.

Don’t Sweat The Small Details

Visitors are coming to see you, not to analyze the way your home is decorated. While everyone has finishing touches they want to put on every room of the home, trying to complete these things while preparing for guests to come can be unnecessarily stressful. Prioritize the tasks you want to complete around your home, and take time over the week before your guests arrive to get as many as you can done.

If you’re looking for a property to call home with enough room to accommodate guests, the Core Group can help. Contact us to get started looking for a home in the Central Florida area.