Once you become a homeowner, you can no longer rely on a landlord to take care of maintenance issues that may arise where you live. Since the responsibility now rests with you, it would be wise to try to stay a step ahead of tasks associated with maintaining your home’s condition and value.
To organize and oversee the needs of your home, creating a homeowner’s journal will be your best ally to keep track of warranties and manuals for the systems and appliances in your home. Arrange to have a notebook, binder or file drawer as your home base for collected receipts and manuals.
There are several things to collect that will increase the efficiency of managing your home. Ownership information, such as the title to the property, appraisals, inspection reports, home warranty plans, homeowner’s insurance and mortgage documents, should all have a place in your journal. Include the dates and contact info for the maintenance and renovation professionals who have performed various tasks around your home. List renovation and purchase dates along with descriptions and samples of finalized work.
If you organize your journal by season or category, you can easily produce a schedule of maintenance tasks. Record projected end-of-useful-life dates for major appliances and components.
Home ownership will run smoothly with fewer maintenance surprises with a working journal. Having a journal also helps assure a future buyer that you have taken good care of your home. It will also be very useful if you consider refinancing your home.