Follow Me On Pinterest
Are you a First Time Home Buyer who bought a house this past year?
There are some things you need to know in order to take care of your new home and save money at the same time.
In this economy, whenever you can save a little money so much the better. Here are a few homeowner tips:
- Change the furnace filters
A dirty filter will not only make your ceilings black but it also is hard on your furnace making the life of the furnace shorter and costs you more to in higher fuel costs.
- Never shut off the vents in a room that you don’t use or block the vent
There needs to be proper air flow in all the rooms and not put strain on your heater.
- Turn down the thermostat
By turning down the thermostat one degree this will save the homeowner 4% on heating bills.
- Install a programmable thermostat
This way when you are away or at night the temperature can be programmed and save money on your bill.
- Insulate water pipes when the weather report indicates we will have a freeze.
You don’t want to experience freezing of the pipes. Very costly and inconvenient.
- Check weather stripping and replace when frayed
If you feel cold air coming in through a door it’s time to replace the weather stripping and save on your energy bill.
- Set Water Heater Setting at low to medium (120 degrees is recommended)
Higher settings result in higher bills with little results in more hot water.
Many of the Heating and Air Conditioning companies have a program in place where you pay one fee for them to check and tune-up your heating in the Fall or Winter and check your A/C in the Spring or Summer. I highly recommend that you consider this, it will save you money in the long run.
Have your heater tuned-up and checked by a heating/Air company
Enjoy your new home and congratulations on being a responsible homeowner.
If you have a real estate question that you would like an answer to, be sure to check out 
and read what other home buyers and home sellers have asked and feel free to ask your Real Estate question by email. Perhaps, your question will be part of the next article featured on Sacramento REAL Estate Voice.
Click Sacramento MLS where you can pick any community or city around Sacramento and see homes for sale or simply click on the search icon and pick the area you are interested in finding a home or condo for sale in 
.
If you like what you read here on Sacramento Real Estate Voice simply click and subscribe 
to get the latest articles sent to your email.
Other Homeowner Tips:
Scoop on First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
Homeowners BEFORE Remodeling Read This
Regarding the first tip, remember that if you also have central air conditioning, you should monitor and change your filter year round for the same reasons.
Dwight,
Absolutely! Can’t tell you how many homes I go into that have dirty filters…
Thanks for coming and commenting.
absolutely!