4 Reasons You Should Get Your AC Vents Cleaned

If you ask the average homeowner to make a list of everything they clean or properly maintain, there is almost always one key item missing – your AC ventilation system. Since only the ducts or the return is visible, it’s easy to understand how such a key component of your home might be overlooked. But if you value good health it pays to make your AC vents part of a continuing cleaning program.

When you at home most of your time is spent indoors. With the influence of social media and easy access to electronics, we spend even more time inside than we did in years past. It’s very important that we are able to breathe clean, pure air in our home. Regular ac vent cleaning will greatly improve your indoor air quality and enhance your health.

Improve the Performance and Life of Your AC System

A buildup of dust, dirt, pet dander and debris in your air duct system will restrict the flow of air throughout the house. As a result the AC system will have to work harder to cool the house down, especially in those really hot summer months. Not only will this greatly increase your utility bills but it will put an extra burden on your system and reduce its life span because it had to work much harder to move the air to each room. Vent cleaning will help you save on utility bills and avoid an early replacement of your AC system.

Reduce Health Problems

Often people look for an air duct cleaning company because they are experiencing ongoing health issues. The allergens, dirt and dust in your vents can cause runny noses, sinus congestion, coughing and headaches. In more severe cases, you may have family members suffering from allergies, asthma or other respiratory illnesses. This is understandable since if your vents are not clean you are breathing dirty air for hours and hours every day. An air duct cleaning done by professionals can remove unwanted dust and debris and restore your vents to a clean and healthy condition.

Eliminate Odors Coming From the Vents

Imagine if you were traveling through a tunnel that was littered with dirt and trash that had not been cleaned in quite a while. This tunnel might also contain moisture from the cold air flowing through. The combination of dirt, trash and moisture would most certainly give off an odor that would not be pleasant at all. Your air duct system, like the tunnel, may be giving off musty odors because it is has not been regularly cleaned.

You Have Recently Remodeled Your Home

A home gets pretty messy when you are remodeling and your rooms look like a construction zone. Dust from sawing, pulling down walls and installing new closets will not only get on your floors, furniture and walls. It will also get swept up into your ventilation system and it needs to be cleaned out. These particles of dirt and dust can irritate the respiratory system and trigger health problems. Whenever you are done remodeling it’s wise to set up a professional cleaning of your AC vent system.

If you want to help assure that everyone who lives in your home is breathing clean air and has the best health, then schedule regular cleaning of your air duct system. Not only will this protect your health, it will also save you money on utility bills and prolong the performance and life of your expensive air conditioning system.

Tips to Avoid Buying a Money Pit

Buying your first house is a big milestone, not only do you have a place to call your own but there comes with it a sense of accomplishment.  For most people it is the single biggest purchase you will ever make.  It goes without saying that you want everything to work out.  However we have all heard stories of home buying gone wrong and homeowners being stuck with thousands of dollars in repair costs.  How can you avoid that happening to you?  Here are some tips to avoid buying a money pit.

Get Pre-Qualified

Finding out what you can afford before you start house hunting it will save you time and heartache.  Instead of checking out a bunch of properties beyond your reach you know exactly what you have to work with.  Take a look at your credit score and make any fixes that you might need to.

Buy New

Not all pre-owned homes come with a ton of repair issues but many will need some type of work done.  Buying a newly constructed home allows you to avoid all of that.  In case where there are new subdivisions being built you can even choose counters, floors and paint colors before the house is constructed.  New houses come with a warranty so if there are issues then the responsibility lies with the builder or warranty company to fix it.

Get a Home Inspection

This point cannot be stressed enough, NEVER buy a home without an inspection.  Homeowners want top dollar for their property and may gloss over the flaws in their house to get a quick sale, in some cases they may be completely unaware of issues.  Having an inspection isn’t foolproof but it does arm you with the information you need to put in an offer based on the value of the house and not wishful thinking.  Here are some more reasons why you need a home inspection.

Consider Your Career and Future Needs

Not only do you need to consider whether your job is secure but is there any possibility of being relocated in the future.  The last thing you need is to be stuck with a mortgage on your home and having to pay rent in another city for months on end.

House hunting is exciting this is an important step in your life but you also need to temper your expectations so you don’t end up with financial ruin later on.  Be ready to be flexible with your choices and understand what you absolutely must have in a house.  Be prepared to put in some sweat equity to make your house your own.  Most importantly be prepared to choose your home carefully and take all the steps necessary to make sure you don’t get a money pit.

Can You Sell Your Home Without a Realtor

Selling a house can be one of the most stressful things a person ever has to do. It can be made worse if you pick the wrong realtor to do the job for you. Whilst a realtor will take a lot of the day to day hassle away including advertising your property and showing it off they can charge quite a surprising amount of money for what is basically a very simple job. Having bought and sold a number of properties over the years I’ve begun to question if a realtor provides value for money?

The Value of Your Property

So where do I start if I want to sell my house without using a professional realtor? There are some obvious things that need to be done. I need to ensure the house is neat and tidy and presented in the best manner possible. Damp spots painted over, leaking drain pipe fixed and the dog hairs vacuumed up for starters. However the key first major step is to try and figure out how much my property is worth. This isn’t difficult; a simple online review of property prices and local newspapers gave me a very good idea as to what houses in my area and of my type were actually being sold for. In some areas, actual sale prices are a matter of public record and can be looked up.

Pricing Your House

Having got my house to a presentable state and having figured out what I think is a fair price, the next step is to advertise the house. Firstly a trip to a printer will give you a “for sale” sign. The next step is to get the house up online. There are numerous websites that will host your listing for a reasonable fee. There is no need for a professional photographer, a good mobile phone can take really top class photos. Before you upload your pictures however make sure you’ve looked at lots of other listings to see what kind of photos would appeal or repel a prospective buyer.

Put Together an Open House

As part of my advert I recommend you also organise an open house and print off a very simple brochure with details and measurements of the house and some background on the area itself as well. The main benefit of the open day is that you can organise all of your viewings on the one day and not be running around trying to fit them in around your life. Once that open day is done you may need to be flexible for any follow up viewings from serious potential purchasers.

After that, it’s a matter of letting the bidding begin. Don’t be too greedy; prospective buyers will go elsewhere if the price is too high. Remember as well that a cash buyer can close quicker and with more certainty then one in a chain. Selling without a realtor will stress you out a bit but there is no doubt the money you save can be put to a far better purpose.