When it Comes to Home Maintenance in Florida, Don’t Make These 5 Common Mistakes When it Comes to 

I see the same 5 home maintenance issues come up in almost every single inspection so I wanted to make a video to share with you homeowners on things to look for now to avoid rang further damage to your home. I’m Kim Menkhorst, a luxury realtor in Naples Florida and these are my tips.

1. Moisture damage from the home’s exterior. The first thing I see are baseboard coming away from the wall and when I see that I say uh oh moisture! Mold! If you see your baseboard in attaching from the wall you have or had a moisture problem. Get a moisture reader to see if it’s active but even if it’s not, you will want to repair it so mold doesn’t grow. Here are the top 2 reasons why. Your sprinklers are facing the house and splashing onto any small cracks which collect usually Around the baseboards ( I’ve seen this happen around windows too) the second is that the mulch too high, landscapers don’t always properly clear and clean out the existing mulch before laying fresh mulch. If you look at your house and mulch it needs to be even not angled up if you see it angled higher against the house that’s the problem.

2. Seeing Pests? If you find that your having a pest problem like ants or even palm rats, your landscaping is also probably to blame. trees or shrubs too close to the house make it easy for pests to run up the leaves – or beautiful bougainvillea’s that run around your home. They can also be a problem. I’m not saying don’t have them just if you to make sure you have a service to keep them trimmed or keep an eye on it yourself.

3. Leaks in and around the shower.  This goes back to moisture damage which of course then leads to mold. Just from normal wear and tear small openings or holes can happen in the grout, or the wrong caulking was used. An easy fix when you see this is to patch it up. Not only will the water seep behind into the walls and drywall but typically it’s one small portion of your shower but now you can’t find matching tile or the right amount to tear out that area and repairs it costing you WAY more money then you were expecting.

4. Mold in the AC vents. This is a super simple and very easy fix but when out-of-state buyers hear the world mold they freak out. Non-toxic mold can build up in and around your Ac vents having your AC regularly serviced and making sure your company checks for any type of growth is key. It can affect your family’s health, is SUPER common and a very easy fix, usually, all it takes is them wiping it down with bleach.

5. Tree roots. Now that I’m talking through this I’m realizing landscaping is one of the biggest things that affect your house that we don’t realize. But tree roots that grow will get too close to driveways, house foundations, and. tangled underground in your water pipes potentially causing them to burst. The issue is the county requires certain amounts of hardwood trees on your property so check your HOA docs or county PUD to so just make sure you understand what’s required in your area. Hopefully, you found these tips helpful.

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Kim Menkhorst, Premiere Plus Realty 239.776.0093

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