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It’s long been a part of the American Dream to own your own home. And though the housing market may be slightly volatile as of 2022, this hasn’t stopped people from buying and settling into their own private slices of paradise.
No matter what age you are when you first buy a home, part of the responsibility of homeownership is keeping up with your property and performing regular maintenance. But if you’ve never owned your own home before, you may not know where to start.
For example, if you’ve lived in an apartment or an urban dwelling most of your life, chances are you haven’t had to do much yard work. But thankfully, it’s relatively easy to learn the ropes.
Perhaps the biggest part of being a homeowner is keeping up with your lawn and creating curb appeal. After all, if you want to add value to your home and sell it one day, curb appeal is essentially what will attract potential buyers to your door.
Here, we’ll outline a few lawn maintenance tips for new homeowners.
Choosing the Right Tools
If you want to make your life easier when you begin your lawn chores, having the right tools makes all the difference in the world. And this is true from the type of lawnmower you have to the length of water hose hooked up to your faucet.
For example, if you want to spend all day sweating under the hot sun, then an old-fashioned manual push mower might be the perfect tool for you. However, if you want to cut the time that you’ll spend out in your yard in half, then a riding lawnmower is going to be your best friend.
When considering tools, it’s good to understand that gas-powered tools tend to perform better than electric options. And this is simply because of the range of use and the power of gas motors. However, if you want to keep it environmentally friendly, electric options may suit you better.
The key takeaway here is to research the tools that you need before buying if you want to make your life easier when doing lawn maintenance.
Pest Control
One of the first things that you’ll have to learn is, that even though you own a home, other little critters around your property are going to be living right next to you. And some of these critters can be quite a nuisance.
For example, depending on where you’re located in the country, a variety of lawn pests could be thriving in your yard. And a few of these are as follows:
- Mice
- Rats
- Mosquitos
- Ticks
- Fleas
- Spiders
- Wasps
- Biting flies
- Red ants
- Termites
- Cockroaches
Even though you may not have all of the aforementioned pests present in your yard, you do want to be vigilant of the types of critters you’re living around. Because some of these species can carry diseases.
If you want to rid yourself of these pests, you can try using natural remedies. But if you have a serious problem with pests, having a professional pest control expert come out and spray your yard is usually the best solution.
Beware of Erosion
If you’re lucky enough to live on a pristine area of land with little to no slope, then you may not have to worry about erosion as much. But over time, all properties suffer some kind of erosion. And this can wreak havoc on your foundation (and your entire property) if left unchecked.
For example, if you have a hillslope present in your yard, anytime it rains you’ll have water carrying sediment from your yard and depositing it at a lower point. This is a natural process. But if this process is occurring near your foundation, driveway, or around your fence, it could spell trouble later on.
Without adequate support, a foundation will crack and this can cause your home’s structural integrity to be compromised. And once this happens, you’ll be looking at thousands of dollars in repairs.
After rainfall, be on the lookout for standing water and areas where the grass is thin or missing. Notice which direction the water is running, and any sediment deposits that seem to be piling higher after rainfall. After you’ve isolated these areas, call a professional landscaper to assist you with preventing erosion.
Becoming a new homeowner may be a dream come true for many people. But as mentioned, homeownership comes along with many responsibilities. But as long as you’re diligent in keeping up with your property, you’ll be able to enjoy it for years to come.