HOME EQUITY
BY JOSH GARSKOF
do your
home work
Take care of routine household maintenance before that
small drop becomes a big expense
No matter what they did, Katie and Cullen Bowden couldn’t get comfortable in their home.
While they loved their neighborhood and the floor plan of their ranch-style house, it was steamy in the
summer and chilly in the winter. The Bowdens had lived with the inconvenience for years, not giving it
too much thought. But when their baby girl, Cordelia, came along last winter, Katie lost patience.
“Suddenly I was home all day and it really started to bother me that I couldn’t get warm,” Katie says. So
she had several contractors check out their heating and cooling system. Ultimately, the Bowdens learned a
hard lesson that involved a new furnace, new air conditioner parts and a $6,400 bill. They’d never had their
furnace serviced, and the equipment was in a state of disrepair. With routine maintenance, they might have
avoided replacing the furnace, been more comfortable and saved a bundle on energy bills.
Many Americans share the Bowdens’ attitude toward home maintenance. After all, it’s easy to neglect
routine chores like replacing the batteries in your smoke detector or painting over scuff marks when
you’d rather be watching Saturday’s football game. “Many people who are diligent about getting their car
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serviced every 3,000 miles skip maintenance on their biggest investment—their house,” says Jim Godbout,
a mechanical contractor in Biddeford, Maine, and president of the Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors
09
of Maine. Fortunately, simple maintenance measures can save you big money for the long term. Follow
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these essential steps to protect your home and build its equity value for the future.
TODAY’S FOCUS
HOME EQUITY
“
Annual Checklist Many people who are
Have the heating system serviced each summer. The soot
that collects on an oil burner in one year reduces the machine’s diligent about getting their
efficiency by 5%, and gas-burning systems create mineral deposits
that cause a similar loss in efficiency. Even worse, those deposits
car serviced every 3,000
can destroy a boiler in a just a few years, as was the case with miles skip maintenance on
the Bowdens’ gas-heating system. Your oil or gas supplier will their biggest investment—
”
perform the service (which is needed on your water heater as
well), typically for $100 to $180 per burner, which is a small their house.
percentage of the savings an efficient burner will generate.
— Jim Godbout, president of the Plumbing
Plus, the tune-up usually includes an annual service contract Heating Cooling Contractors of Maine
covering future repair calls, and the technician might spot
other problems.
Check the central air conditioner each spring. Annual yourself. After scooping out the debris, use a garden hose to
maintenance on cooling systems is an easy way to avoid big bills wash the inside of the gutters, making sure the water drains
down the road. Replace the fi lters, which otherwise make the quickly through the downspouts to the ground.
blower work harder to draw air through their clogged passages, Prepare outdoor spigots for winter if you live in a
potentially doubling the system’s electrical use. You can do this cold climate. A hose left attached to a spigot always retains
yourself or hire an air conditioning contractor to replace them. some water. And if that water freezes, it will expand and can
A contractor will check the refrigerant level; when it’s too low, break the outdoor spigot, causing a potentially severe leak into
electrical costs can ramp up by 30% to 40%. He will also wash the basement. Hiring a plumber to replace the broken valve
the coils, preventing the kind of decay that the Bowdens’ system will cost $100 to $300, but the flood cleanup and damage
experienced. At a cost of $100 to $150, the benefits far outweigh repair may be far more expensive. You can avoid this problem
the price of the service. by removing the hose before the fi rst freeze. Then fi nd the
Clean gutters each fall. If you live in an area with a lot of indoor shutoff valve leading to the spigot and close it down,
trees, you need to do more than just rake leaves off your lawn; and open the spigot itself to ensure that there’s no water trapped
you need to clear them from your gutters too. Otherwise, the inside the exposed pipe.
gutters will clog and water may seep into the house, causing Check the house thoroughly for any signs of wear
stained ceilings, flooded basements and rot. If you’re comfort- and tear. Take time at least once a year to walk around the
able working at the height of your gutters, you can clean them house—inside and out—looking for disrepair. Binoculars can
How to Finance Your Fixes
09WINTER
Pay off hefty home-repair bills with Key Preferred Credit Lines or Home Equity Options
Have you ever been stuck with an equipment breakdown might leave credit for quick access to funds.
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unexpected bill to fix the furnace you short on cash. Alternatively, Key Equity Options
TODAY’S FOCUS
or replace the roof? Regular home At Key, we can help you manage combine the flexibility of a Home
maintenance can help you avoid these unwelcome expenses and Equity Line of Credit with the secu-
costly repairs, but you can’t always gain peace of mind. Our Preferred rity of a Fixed-Rate Loan. Call Key
anticipate when bad weather or an Credit Line is an unsecured line of at 1-888-KEY-1234 to learn more.
cause the material to crumble. Keep sun and
water damage at bay by sealing the driveway.
The sealer also keeps out oil and gasoline
drips, which literally melt asphalt, says Neil
Guiles, an asphalt manufacturer in Vestal,
New York. This messy job involves the
application of a black, waterproof syrup and
will cost you about $200 if you hire a pro or
about $50 if you do it yourself.
Vacuum the dryer vent every two
years. If your dryer takes longer to handle
a load of clothes than it used to, then lint is
probably clogging the vent hose and costing
you money by increasing your energy costs.
Luckily, there’s an easy do-it-yourself fi x:
Move the dryer away from the wall, unplug
its electrical cord and then use a screwdriver
to loosen the locking ring holding the flexible
hose on the back of the machine. Remove it
help you check the roof and chimney. Don’t ignore that new and insert your vacuum as far as possible into the hose to clean
ceiling stain, musty smell in the basement, leaky sink drain, out the lint. If the problem doesn’t improve or you don’t feel
missing roof shingle, peeling paint or loose brickwork on the much air coming out of the vent opening outside, call a repair-
chimney. It’s better to have a handyman or contractor inves- man. He can use a high-powered vacuum system to suck even
tigate and repair the problem right away than to fi nd rot or more lint through the line for $50 to $100, assuming the work
termite infestation down the road. is combined with other jobs around your house to cover the
typical $150 to $250 minimum charge.
Like all of these jobs, vacuuming the dryer vent is the kind
Periodic Maintenance of chore that you can easily put off. But that’s a mistake Katie
Seal wood decks every three years. The clear finish or stain Bowden will never make again now that she knows she’s
on a deck isn’t there just to look good. It provides important protecting herself from future headaches. “It feels good to
protection against damage from ultraviolet light, rain and other take care of routine upkeep,” she says. “I’m even happy writ-
harsh weather that can wreak havoc on the wood fibers if they’re ing the checks because I know I’m prolonging the life of the
left exposed. For approximately $300 to $350, a handyman can equipment, saving money and even doing a little bit to help
power wash a standard-size deck to remove mold and dirt, and the environment.”
then apply a coat of sealer to the deck. “It’s a good investment
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when you realize that replacing the decking will cost $1,500 to
$2,000 or more,” explains David Sipp, owner of a Mr. Handy-
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man franchise in Granger, Indiana. Key Home Equity Loans and
Lines of Credit 13
Seal the driveway every two or three years. The asphalt
Need to take care of some serious home repairs? Key’s
TODAY’S FOCUS
strip leading to your garage may seem to be an impenetrable,
Home Equity Loans and Lines of Credit can help. Learn
*
rock-hard surface, but it will break down over time without
more by visiting key.com or calling 1-888-KEY-1234.
maintenance. Sun exposure can weaken the surface and cause
*Subject to credit approval
cracks. When water gets into those cracks, it can freeze and
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