One day, you may want to sell your home. At that point, you probably won’t want to spend a lot of money to do repairs. You will want to be able to sell your home as quickly and painlessly as possible. In order to do that, you will need to keep your home in good condition.

We have some maintenance tips to share with you that will help your home retain its value over the long term, cutting down on needed repairs and making it easier to sell your home when and if that time comes.

1. Inspect and Spray for Pests

You likely don’t want any kind of pests in your home, but once you start to think about how their presence can hurt your property values, you will want to do an even better job of getting rid of them.

Rats can chew through insulation and softer materials like wood. Termites eat wood as well and create structural stability issues. Roaches can spread diseases and contaminate your food and food preparation surfaces. Bed bugs cause sores and greatly lower property values.

You will want to inspect your home frequently for pests of all kinds on a regular basis. Then, have a professional check for pests a couple times a year. It’s a good idea to set bait traps for different pests and to spray down the yard and home interior periodically to keep pests away.

2. Repair Leaks Quickly

A water leak in the home can mean serious problems pretty quickly. Even If a leak doesn’t cause water pressure issues or flood a part of your home, it can still be dangerous. A small leak can lead to mould growth, which comes with a host of issues to be concerned about.

Over time, leaks of any size can weaken your home’s structure and lead to major repair costs.

The best thing you can do is have your home inspected by a professional plumber periodically and then check for leaks on your own as well. This will help you find problems in their early stages before they necessitate major repairs.

3. Check Electrical Connections

What happens if you have a frayed electrical wire or poor electrical connections? You could see sparks fly in your home, and there could be a fire on your hands.

You want to take electrical problems seriously. If you don’t know what to look for, have an electrician check your home at least once a year for electrical issues. They can locate shorts, check the security of your wiring, and find any other issues that you might not notice.

4. Repaint Every Few Years

How often do you need to paint your home? The outside of the home may need to be painted once every 10 years, and interior spaces may last even longer than that.

The experts say to repaint every 5-10 years. That sounds like a big difference in years, and the reason for that is that while a good paint job should last around 10 years, some factors can damage the paint and require more frequent painting.

Weathering is a big problem outdoors, and then water leaks, mould, and temperature changes can contribute to short paint lifespans inside the house. You also have to consider that some kinds of paint just don’t last as long as others.

On top of that, a poor paint job can mean you will be repainting sooner. Just take your time when you do paint, hire a professional if you must, and use high quality paint.

Then, paint as needed, keeping an eye out for signs that your paint needs a refresh. Look for peeling paint, paint bubbles, and chipping.

5. Do a Deep Cleaning

Another way to keep your property values high is to do a thorough cleaning in your home a few times a year.

Some people call this spring cleaning or holiday cleaning, and they may do a couple of deep cleans annually. That’s good, but make sure that you deep clean as often as is needed and that you do a thorough job.

Don’t feel ashamed to hire professional cleaners such as Imagine Maids if you aren’t up to the task or you just don’t have the time to do a proper deep cleaning. Make sure that whoever cleans tidies up behind and under appliances and furniture and inside the vents as well.

6. Clean off the Roof and Gutters

Your roof will need to be tidied periodically as well. It should be swept free of debris, and you will want to look for cracks and holes while you are up there too.

Also, clean out the gutters as often as they require it. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this kind of work on the roof, you should hire a roof cleaning service for it. That can seem like an unnecessary expense, but the roof is a weak point for the home.

If the roof gets damaged, then the entire house is at risk. Keeping your roof in good shape and cleaning it periodically will drastically reduce how much you have to pay for roof repairs and how often you will need it repaired.

7. Trim Back Nearby Trees

The final tip we want to leave you with is to cut back the long branches on any trees that grow near your house. Obviously, this will only apply to homeowners who have nearby trees in their yards, but we cannot downplay the importance of this maintenance tip.

Overhanging branches may provide some lovely shade and may look nice in pictures, but they are major safety hazards.

A bad storm can drop a branch on your roof. It’s safer to just trim the branches back so nothing is overhanging the house. Also consider cleaning away any trees that are right next to your home, since they are at risk of falling onto your house at some point.

Home maintenance tips - Conclusion

With these tips, you won’t have as much to worry about when it comes to maintaining your property value. By targeting specific areas of work throughout the years, your property will remain in top shape and value should you ever decide to sell it.

Jenny Kakoudakis likes to blog about interiors. She launched award-winning Seasons in Colour in 2014 and the luxury interior design blog All The Pretty Homes in 2024. When she is not chasing criminals out of the financial system (her day job), she gets creative by redecorating her own home.