House Hunt: Open Houses This Weekend

Time to start thinking about the upcoming change in seasons. Here are some fall maintenance tips to keep you warm and dry this winter. Within the next 60 days we will most likely see snow on the ground at least once. Here are a few ideas to hopefully prepare you for the coming winter season.

First thing to consider is your heating system. It's terrible to turn on the heat that first cold morning and have nothing happen. Whether you have natural gas, oil or heat pump, these systems need to be checked out by a professional heating and cooling specialist once a year. Not only will it keep you from having a potential furnace failure, but will most likely save you money on your heating bill. Most heating and cooling contractors will run a summer/fall special for a furnace tune-up. This service will cost around $100; oil furnaces will run a little more.

Another area to look at is the weather proofing of your home. Heating oil and gas are expensive and every little thing you can do to reduce usage will not only save you money, but will reduce drafts making you and your family more comfortable. Take a walk around your house. Do you see any cracks in the foundation? These can be easily sealed with caulk or expandable foam. Immediately you will reduce the cold air flow into your basement or crawlspace.

Take a look at your windows, from the outside. Do you have storm windows? Are they all down and sealed? Make sure the edge of the storm window frame is up tight against the frame of the window. If not, again a little caulk can fix the leak. It has been said that if you add up all the little air leaks in the typical home, the area equals that of a large window being open.

Listed below are the statistics for houses sold in the Hillcrest area since the first of the year.