Is Your House Ready for Winter, or Is It Hiding a Few Skeletons in the Closet?

Cats and kittens, moms and dads, boys and girls, Halloween is practically knocking at the door, so let me ask you something a little spooky: what is lurking around your house just waiting to haunt you this winter?

And no, I do not mean the ghost in the attic. That one pays no rent, but at least it is quiet. I am talking about the real villains: gutters stuffed like a Thanksgiving turkey, a furnace that has not seen a technician since the early 2000's, and that draft you keep blaming on "the old house charm." Honey, that is not charm. That is your heating bill waving goodbye.

After many years in real estate and construction, I can promise you this: houses do not fall apart overnight. They whisper first. So before Nebraska winter barges in uninvited, let us have a little chat with your house.

1. Exorcise Those Gutters

Leaves are gorgeous on the trees. Crammed in your gutters? They are a soggy, frozen disaster waiting to send water straight toward your foundation and invite ice dams to the party.

Clean them out and make sure your downspouts send water far, far away from the house. And if climbing a ladder sounds about as appealing as a root canal, do not even try it. Call me. I know people, and I gotta guy.

2. Wake Up the Beast in the Basement

Your furnace is about to work harder than a REALTOR® in spring market. Show it some respect. Schedule a professional tune-up if it is due, and change that filter. You know which filter I mean. The gray, fuzzy one you have been avoiding eye contact with.

While you are at it, move the couch, the rug, and the tote of Christmas decorations off your vents. Warm air cannot do its job if you have it trapped behind the sectional.

Need an HVAC pro you can actually trust? I gotta guy.

3. Bust the Phantom Drafts

Run your hand around your windows and exterior doors. Feel that? That is money escaping. A little caulk and some fresh weatherstripping will keep the warm air inside where it belongs, snuggled up with you.

4. Lay Your Outdoor Water Lines to Rest

Disconnect and drain those garden hoses before the first hard freeze. If you have a sprinkler system, get it properly winterized. A burst pipe is the kind of horror movie nobody wants a ticket to, and trust me, the sequel is called "The Insurance Claim."

5. Test the Guardians of the Night

Test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, swap out the batteries, and check the replacement dates, because those little guys do not live forever. Got a fireplace? Have the chimney inspected and cleaned before you get cozy. Santa prefers a clean entrance.

6. Take a Twilight Stroll Around the Yard

Walk the outside of your home and look for loose railings, wobbly steps, and cracks where water or cold air can sneak in. Fix the small stuff now, before it turns into big, expensive stuff later.

And if your yard needs a fall cleanup before the snow buries the evidence? You already know. I gotta guy for that, too.

Your Home Girl Has a Little Black Book

Gutters, yards, furnaces, handymen, roofers, you name it. I have spent decades collecting reliable, honest professionals, and I am happy to share them. You do not need to be buying or selling to reach out. Consider it a perk of knowing The Home Girl.

And if you are thinking about selling, let me walk through your home with you. I will tell you which projects are worth your money before listing, and which ones you can let rest in peace.

No haunted-house surprises required. 

Angela Peters
The Home Girl, keeping it…real estate
REALTOR® | MRP | Realty ONE Group Sterling
www.thehomegirlne.com

P.S. Since we are on the subject of skeletons, a few of you have asked me whether a Nebraska seller must disclose that a house is haunted, or, gulp, that someone met an untimely end inside it.

Here is the not-so-spooky truth: Nebraska has no law specifically requiring sellers to disclose ghosts, ghouls, or a dramatic past. Our state disclosure form is concerned with the bones of the house, not the bones in it. Roofs, foundations, furnaces, and water in the basement? Disclose, disclose, disclose. Grandma Edna rattling the china cabinet at midnight? Not on the form.

But listen closely, cats and kittens. If you ask a direct question, nobody gets to lie to you. Not the seller, and certainly not your Home Girl. So if a home’s history matters to you, ask. Out loud. In writing, even better.

And if you discover the house really is haunted? Well, I know people. I gotta guy for that, too.