Anchorage Daily News

Change is inevitable. When it comes to your home, your largest financial investment, you can either try to maintain its value or let it deteriorate.

Doing nothing is just not prudent when it comes to a major investment such as your home. After all, as construction codes change and better technology comes along, your home needs to keep pace with some of the amenities offered in new construction homes. To maintain value, doing selective improvements will help, as well as providing you more living enjoyment in your home.

With economic concerns today many homeowners are anxious about spending money, so a major remodel might be unlikely. However, out of the myriad things you can do to maintain your home, here are three that you may not have thought about and which won't cost a lot.

First, consider changing the garage light fixture.

If your garage has its original porcelain light fixtures with incandescent light bulbs, consider installing a 4-foot T8 fluorescent fixture. The 100-watt bulb in the porcelain light fixture only puts out 1,100 lumens (amount of light) at a cost of 100 watts of electricity. Yet a four-foot T8 fluorescent puts out 2,800 lumens but uses only 32 watts of electricity. In reality, a new fixture has two T8 bulbs, so it emits five times the lumens while only using 64 watts.

If you already have fluorescents, check to see if the fixture uses the half-dollar size T12 bulbs. The older T12 fixtures are slowly being phased out for more energy-efficient fixtures with electronic ballasts. While you could replace the entire fixture, it is possible to retrofit with less expensive conversion kits. Alaska Lighting & Supply carries retrofit kits for either porcelain light fixtures or the T12 fluorescents.

Next, consider painting your garage.

This is frequently something we tell prospective sellers to do to improve the marketing value of their home. Only this time get the whole family involved. Make it a family project and show the kids not only how to paint, but how to fill holes and repair walls. Take it to any level you want with the family; just remember to paint the ceiling a reflective white to maximize the benefit of the new lights you installed.

The walls have loads of possibilities, so don't just paint the walls a stark white. There is nothing wrong with a little color. Who knows, you might like it enough to add a little color inside your home as well. If you are adventurous or want to have fun, try experimenting with stenciling, stripes, stick figures, or a mural -- just think of the garage wall as a blank palette. Don't be afraid. After all, it is just the garage so it is OK if a little paint drips on the floor as part of the family's learning process. When it's done, the garage will not only be painted, but will probably be reorganized as well.

Finally, temperature and moisture problems never wait for a convenient time and often occur when you're away at work for the day or longer on vacation. In our cold climate, a home's interior temperature can fall quickly after a furnace failure, a faulty thermostat or a power outage. If a hot water tank leaks or fails, how long could it gush damaging water before someone notices? Or when was the last time you looked in your crawlspace to check on the presence of standing water?

Install a Freeze/Water alarm.

Give yourself some peace of mind from these potential catastrophes and protect your home investment by installing the alarm, which is available from Central Plumbing & Heating and elsewhere. There are a variety of models; consider one that:

• Calls up to three predetermined numbers when a problem is detected.

• Monitors if the temperature falls outside of a predetermined range.

• Monitors for moisture.

• Provides battery backup in case of a power failure and also calls if battery needs replacing.

• Lets you make changes and cancel the alarm remotely.

If you are fortunate to own a recreational cabin, consider installing a freeze alarm there as well. The remote access feature lets you raise the temperature with just a phone call, so by the time you arrive the cabin will be warm.

Remember, your home's value will not remain at status quo. It will either go up or down. It is your choice.

Clair and Barbara Ramsey are local associate brokers specializing in residential real estate. Their column appears every fourth Friday. Their e-mail address is info@ramseyteam.com.

ADVERTISEMENT