Home Maintenance Tips For New Homeowners

You’ve moved into your newly built home. It smells new, looks new, and feels new. So, how do you keep it in the same condition as when you first moved in? One of the major benefits of a new-construction home is that it doesn’t require a lot of upkeep, especially if you have a maintenance schedule, which will help avoid issues and save money in the long run. New home maintenance involves regularly checking on certain appliances, fixtures, and other items inside and outside of your home. Although your new house comes with a Meritage Homes Warranty, you can help extend the longevity of your home by completing some simple maintenance tasks.

We’ve compiled a first-time homebuyer maintenance guide with items you may want to include in your maintenance schedule, as well as a few general rules of thumb when it comes to maintenance timing. To help you keep on top of some common tasks, here are 8 home maintenance tips for the exterior and interior of your new home:

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Home Exterior Maintenance: Checklist & Schedule

Every few months, walk around the perimeter of your house to make sure everything is functioning properly and that the elements haven’t caused any damage. For example: soil erosion after a heavy rain event. 

Gutters: Many gutters have guards to keep out debris such as leaves and twigs. But sometimes, things may still fall through. Make sure to clear your gutters of any debris—especially during the fall and winter. In cold climates, inspect your gutters after snow or heavy rain to ensure they are clear of debris and that rainwater flows freely. Water that overflows from the gutters can fall along the foundation of the building, which can soften the soil under and around it and lead to serious issues.

Sprinkler system: When it comes to sprinklers, there are a few things to keep an eye on. For instance, check that they’re not spraying onto your house or a gate when turned on. This can cause water damage over time. And, when it gets cold, check to see if the irrigation line or any sprinkler heads have any cold weather damage. Just like your garden hose in the wintertime, you need to drain the system to ensure it does not crack—which could cause a leak, waste water and drive up your water bill.

Hose faucet: Turn the faucets, also known as bibs or spigots, on and off to make sure they’re not leaking. If you live in a cold weather state, disconnect, drain and put away your garden hose before temperatures start to drop. Also, before the winter season, turn off the bib’s indoor valve. Turn the handles to open the hose bibs and let the water in the pipes drain so no water freezes inside them. It’s best to keep the outdoor faucets in the “on” position during winter so that if the inside valve leaks, the water won’t freeze in the spigot.

 

Home Interior Maintenance: Checklist & Schedule

Filters: Check your HVAC system and furnace filters monthly and change them as needed. This recurring maintenance will help extend furnace life, reduce energy bills, and help your HVAC system run more efficiently. It also improves indoor air quality. Additionally, you should clean or change the kitchen vent hood filter to help avoid grease buildup. It may make it easier to remember if you change all the filters around the same time. Of course, how often you change or clean the filters depends on usage.

Clothes dryer exhaust duct: You may remove lint regularly from your dryer’s lint trap, but don’t neglect the area in and around the hole at the back of the dryer, leading to its exhaust duct. You should use the hose attachment of a vacuum cleaner or shop vac to clean and maintain that area at least once a year. You can also use a vacuum to remove lint from inside of the duct. 

Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors: Try to test your detectors about every three months. When you change the battery in one, change it in all of them—and add that to your regular calendar so you can keep a maintenance schedule.

Appliances: Keep your appliances clean. This includes microwaves and ovens, where buildup can affect how well they work and how long they last. You can keep your appliances in pristine condition by ensuring they are cleaned and maintained regularly. Whether that’s weekly, daily or after every use, is up to you.

 
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This list covers general tips for your first-year home maintenance schedule. Homeowners should also check their homeowner manuals, as well as their appliance manuals, for manufacturer recommended maintenance for each appliance. A regular schedule of preventative home maintenance can help avoid bigger problems in the future. With a home-care routine, you'll keep your house feeling and looking new for as long as possible.

1Reference is solely to loan payment, and does not include impounds for taxes, insurance, and other payments that may vary and may be payable with the loan payment pursuant to the terms and conditions of your loan.

2https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/08/gaps-in-wealth-americans-by-household-type.html

3This calculator is provided solely for general information purposes. Although this calculator may be a useful tool in evaluating certain financial information and assumptions provided by the user, it is not intended in any way as financial, securities, insurance, tax, or legal advice or services. Further, this calculator may not include all financial information relevant to any particular user, and there often are other important considerations to any home buying decision that are difficult to quantify in financial terms. Accordingly, this calculator is provided on an "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF SUITABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Meritage Homes does not assume any duty by making this calculator available, all of which duties are expressly disclaimed, and Meritage Homes shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions in this calculator or the consequences of any decisions or actions taken in reliance upon this calculator.

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