HomeKeepr Blog

If you’re like a lot of long-time homeowners, you’ve probably got a great deal of home equity on your hands right now. If you’ve been considering putting it to work, it’s still a decent time to take out a second mortgage or a HELOC, even as rates are starting to rise. Having so much home equity can enable you to make some very seriously needed changes to your home, either to allow you to age-in-place or to accommodate other lifestyle needs. It’s an opportunity to make major changes or upgrades, but there are certainly some ways that are better than others to use your home’s equity. We’ve got some ideas to get you started.

Maybe you’ve just moved into your new home and you’ve got a patio of your very own for the first time, or maybe you’ve had one for a while and just didn’t know what to do with it. Patios are magnificently flexible spaces, if not a little boring by themselves. Think of your patio as a three-dimensional canvas that you can literally create anything on that you’d like. From tiki hot tub paradise to casual outdoor dining space, patios are only limited by your imagination. Here are some things to think about when you’re trying to dress yours up!

Maintaining your lawn is one of the summer’s big tasks. Depending on the size of your property, this could require just a few quick loops with a push mower, or it could take a good part of the day on a riding mower. Even homeowners who just use a small lawnmower are starting to feel the sting of rising gas prices, though, and those who want to leave the Earth a little greener may balk at how much added gas they use during the summer just keeping up with their lawn.

Buying a home can be one of the most heart-wrenching and nauseating adventures of your life. But once closing is scheduled, that’s it, right? The stomach-in-your-throat feeling should go away and all is smooth sailing.

As spring turns to summer, one thing that unfortunately comes along with that change is summer storms. For some people this means frequent downpours or heavy rains. For others it means lightning or the possibility of severe weather. Even for those who don’t live in areas that commonly experience tornadoes or other severe weather, there is still a possibility of damage from things like flooding and high winds. Whether storms are a common occurrence where you live or only infrequent, keeping your home safe during bad weather should still be a concern.

The weather is heating up, and so is your house. In many areas, this summer may be yet another record-breaker, and the thought of adding an air conditioner to your climate control system has probably crossed your mind more than once. But how do you get started with such an undertaking? What should you keep in mind as you shop for a system?

Swimming pools can be a lot of fun. They give you a way to cool off during the summer, have fun with friends and family, and even get some low-impact exercise that feels more like play than work. Unfortunately, they can also be a hazard if you aren’t careful around them. As a result, your homeowner’s insurance company is going to want to know about that pool, since it creates a new point of liability.

As temperatures rise, it’s important to have ways to keep your home cool. There are a lot of different options to accomplish this, including both single-room solutions and solutions that help to cool down the entire house. While different people choose different methods to heat and cool their homes throughout the year, the majority of cooling solutions will include some sort of air conditioning.

The idea of the “she-shed” has come and gone, and left behind a whole new understanding of how sheds can be used to add extra space to a property that could stand more room to move. With the rise of work-at-home jobs, a home that’s already stuffed full of life can be made even more useful for work or play with the addition of a studio shed.