HomeKeepr Blog

o/~ “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose…. even though your windows are closed….” o/~

The day is not that far away when you’ll hear a tippity tap at the front door and open it to find your friendly neighborhood pizza drone just waiting for you to collect your order (pineapple optional…). After all, it’s already happening in Australia.

You knew the moment you walked through the perfectly preserved arch-topped doors that this was one very special house. As your real estate agent guided you from room to room, all you could think was that there had to be a catch to this house. Something had to be really wrong for such a gem to even be available in your price range. The history, the craftsmanship, the neighborhood! It was all too much.

Whether you just bought your home or you’ve owned it a while, it can be easy to overlook the windows that open it up to the world, as if they didn’t even exist. Even if you don’t, you probably know that a lot of glass and natural light is awesome, but it comes at a cost. As windows age and homes settle, windows can distort ever slow slightly. It’s not enough that you’d notice, at least until the first cold blasts of Arctic air are blowing into your home.

If you currently have a mortgage or are looking at taking one out, you’ve probably come across a concept so notorious, so vile, that it can cause blood-curdling screams and fainting in the boldest of people.

If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the world of smart homes and home automation, then the fact that smart switches and smart lights exist could not have escaped your notice. But if you’re like a lot of homeowners, you may still be scratching your head trying to figure out how these devices fit into your voice assistant-powered world.

If you’ve been following along, you know that last time around we covered a lot of the important things you should be thinking about when buying an older home. They’re great, but they can also be expensive and needy -- definitely not for everybody.

If you find yourself sitting in a strange hallway, waiting for a stranger in a suit to size you up and decide if you’re worthy as your palms sweat and your breath gets just a little bit harder to push out, you might be waiting for your appointment for your mortgage pre-approval. You’re one step closer to owning your own home, but this one is a doozy.

Once upon a time having a security system or even just some video cameras meant that you either lived in a dodgy neighborhood or you had something really awesome to steal. Today, home security devices are common, inexpensive and can be used for all sorts of things, from watching your dog run around like a maniac while you’re at work to checking in to make sure the kids made it safely home from school.