Keeping your home trouble free as Winter approaches…

We’re talking about your heating system here..

Performing basic preventative maintenance around the house can prevent costly mechanical breakdown in the future. Home  repair and service professionals recommend these Fall/Winter time tips to homeowners:

• Change the filters monthly during the heating season because a      clean filter allows for maximum efficiency and a less expensive heating bill
• Check periodically to see if the flame is yellow or blue. A predominantly yellow flame is a signal that the furnace is not getting adequate oxygen to burn efficiently. A blue flame with an orange tip signals that the furnace is operating properly.
• Have the furnace inspected and lubricated annually.

Although it takes a little time and money to periodically to check and maintain, it’s well worth it in the long run and it beats calling the service guy in mid January !

A response from last week:  A couple of folks took exception to my comments on home ownership. There are cases where some have been hurt when the values dropped considerably and they find themselves upside-down, now owing more than their home is worth and while others are able to refinance, they are not. Assuming that you can still afford to make the mortgage payment, it is still a place of your own, to gather friends and family, a place to weather the storm, so to speak. Real estate is a long term investment that has proven itself, more often than not, to provide emotional and financial security.

My point, which I apparently didn’t make clear, was that homeownership for a large majority of folks is still a worthy goal, still the American dream

and now, at these current rates, affordable to those who are gathering rent receipts instead of the possibility of slow and steady growth over the next several years in a home of their own. It’s not a perfect world, it’s not a perfect country,  just the one we live in. 

We wish the best for each of you

Walt and Ali

Walt Fitzgerald and Alison Ludwig are a Professional Real Estate partnership working here in downtown Chelmsford next to the bike path and Old Town Hall.

If you have a real estate related question that we can help you with, please feel free to call us at 978-869-9321, Email : Info@WaltAndAli.com or just drop by to see us at 61 Central Square