10 Expensive Day-to-Day Mistakes You May Be Making as a Homeowner

05/30/18 • -1 min

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Here are the top 10 most expensive mistakes you might be making on your home:

1. Using traditional light bulbs. Did you know that if you change from traditional light bulbs to LED light bulbs, you can save as much as $150 over the life of each light bulb?

2. Ignoring a leaky faucet. If you know you have a leaky faucet and think it is no big deal, consider this: One wasted drop per second equates to 3,000 wasted gallons per year.

3. Using the wrong-sized air filter in your HVAC unit (or not replacing it regularly). You should change your air filter every 30 or 90 days, depending on which air filter you use.

4. Not using a customizable thermostat. There is no need to heat or cool your home if you’re not there. Nest or Honeywell thermostats have programmable functions that you can control with your smartphone to help you save energy.

5. Not adjusting the vents in your house. If you have a forced-air central heating system, as many homeowners do, you may be overheating or overcooling certain rooms if you are not adjusting the vents in them.

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There is no need to heat or cool your home if you are not there.

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6. Overwatering the lawn. Inspect your sprinkler system to make sure you don’t have a broken sprinkler head. This can lead to overwatering your lawn.

7. Setting your water heater temperature too high. Unless you have a tankless water heater, you’re heating your water 24 hours of the day. Again, you do not want to burn unnecessary energy or keep your water at too high of a temperature during the summertime, so adjust your water heater temperature accordingly.

8. Having leaky windows or doors. If you can see the sun in the gap between any one of your window frames or door frames, you need to cover that gap.

9. Paying a handyman. You do not have to pay someone $200 to change a few light bulbs. Just do it yourself and save even more money.

10. Ignoring your roof’s shingles. If they are curled or some of them are missing, this is one of the exceptions to mistake No. 9. Missing shingles can cause your roof to leak, which then means you have bigger problems to worry about.

As always, if you have any questions about this topic or you are thinking of buying or selling a home soon, please feel free to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you.

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Buying a home? Search all homes for sale

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There is no need to heat or cool your home if you are not there.

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Previous Episode

2018 vs. 2017: A Q1 Market Comparison

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Today let’s review the first quarter market of 2018 and see how it compares to the first quarter of 2017.

The average sold price for Virginia in the first quarter of 2018 is up 3.48%, which is great news for homeowners. Homes are selling on average at $511,066 this year versus just $498,880 last year. Sold units are down 2.85%; we are in a low-inventory market, so fewer homes have sold in the first quarter than last year. The average days on market is down 10.17% as well. 2017 saw an average of 59 days, whereas 2018 saw 53.

In the state of Maryland, the average sold price is up 1.93%, which is a smaller gain than Virginia, but a gain, nonetheless. The number of units sold is also down 5.37%, with 4,785 in 2017 and 4,528 in 2018. The average days on market is down as well; it dropped 3.57% from 56 days last year to 54 days this year.

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We see fewer homes to sell, which is why we see fewer homes closing this year compared to 2017.

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Washington, D.C., is not doing as well as Maryland or Virginia. The average sold price is down 3.67% from last year, going from $677,408 to $652,560. The number of units sold is also down 1.25%, or an average decrease of 24 units. The days on market did see an increase of 2.38%, however. In terms of average sold price, I wouldn’t panic about the drop; if you look at the median sold price, it’s still up 1.23%. It could be that fewer luxury homes have sold in D.C. and that the average sales price is skewed a little bit.

In addition to the specific market trends, I wanted to share a bigger picture of how we’re doing compared to 2008, when we were experiencing a recession. For the last 10 years, the number of active listings has been going down, though the closed sales were pretty stable. The inventory has shrunk over time, and yet demand has been the same. We see fewer homes to sell, which is why we see fewer homes closing this year compared to 2017.

If you have any questions about these reports, about your neighborhood, or about your property, please feel free to reach out to me. I can go deeper and explain exactly where we stand in today’s marketplace.

Next Episode

What You Need to Disclose in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C.

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Today I want to talk about property disclosure as the seller.

Many people have asked me what they need to disclose about their property when selling. To answer this, I should start by saying that what you have to disclose depends on where you live. Each state actually has different rules about disclosures.

Virginia, for example, is a “buyer-beware” state. If you read Virginia's one-page disclosure, it pretty much says that the seller doesn't know anything about the house and the buyer will need to do their own inspection. In other words, you don't have to disclose much of anything.

However, keep in mind that if you are concealing some kind of trouble, such as a leaky roof or a crack in the foundation, that actually becomes a disclosable item and you are violating the law. You may even get in trouble after the settlement for doing it. I recommend always disclosing a problem if you're aware of it. Just because you disclose it does not mean that you have to fix it.

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There is a federal law that requires homeowners of homes built prior to 1978 to disclose whether there is any lead-based paint in the house.

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In Maryland and D.C., meanwhile, the laws are different. There is a much longer disclosure form. However, sellers can also do a one-page disclosure where they can say that they don’t know anything about the house and that the buyer will need to do a home inspection to figure it out.

Regardless of which state you live in, there is a federal law that requires homeowners of homes built prior to 1978 to disclose whether there is any lead-based paint in the house. You must also disclose if there are any inspections. Everybody needs to fill out this form if your home was built before 1978.

If you are concealing something, you may get in trouble after the settlement. For this reason, I say that it is better to disclose and to be safe than sorry.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to reach out to me by phone or email. I look forward to speaking with you soon.