Fall Home Maintenance Checklist for DMV Homeowners

Each year, a particular morning announces the season. For us, it arrived recently, when a chill in the air caught us off guard, and we reached for sweaters we hadn’t expected to need. A moment like that is the clearest signal we know that it’s time to prepare your home for the colder months ahead.

As we move deeper into fall, we want to share the routine we follow in our own home. None of it is complicated, but each step protects your property from pests, moisture, and the slow-building damage winter tends to expose.

1. Walk the exterior for gaps. Start outside, as we always do. Circle the entire home and look closely for penetrations, missing caulking, or any gap where the structure isn’t fully sealed. As temperatures drop, mice and other small pests look for warmth, and this is exactly when they find their way indoors. Sealing those openings now keeps them out.

While you’re outside, look for places where recent rain has washed soil or sediment away from the house. Winter often brings saturated ground from snow and heavier rainfall, and you don’t want that moisture finding a path down the sides of your home to the foundation. Fill those areas back in with dirt and pack it firmly around the foundation.

2. Prepare the yard for spring. The yard needs attention now, too. Pruning, aeration, fertilizer, and lime lay the groundwork for spring, and if you don’t have a landscaper you trust, a little online research will tell you what your lawn needs.

This is one area we see sellers neglect more than any other. Many assume they can make their home's exterior presentable right before they list, but a lawn doesn’t work that way. Much like a fitness routine, the results you see in one season come from the effort you put in the season before.

That matters because the exterior photo is the first one buyers see, and it shapes what they expect to find inside. If you hope to sell at a premium, a well-kept, freshly mulched exterior sets that tone and makes you feel good about coming home. Around here, we see many homeowners underestimate how overgrown weeds affect a home’s appearance.

Share these tips with your neighbors, too. If you plan to sell and the home next door hasn’t been cared for, it can affect how buyers see yours.

3. Walk through every room inside. With the exterior in order, move inside. Go down to the basement and into every room, including the ones you rarely use. Flush the toilets, look under the sinks, check the corners, and walk around the HVAC system and water heater. Also pay attention to the fixtures you use every day. If a shower or faucet has a slow leak, or water appears where it shouldn’t, have it fixed. The longer you wait, the more expensive it gets.

One of our clients told us how a tenant in his rental property never mentioned a slow leak in the bathroom. We could have caught it months earlier. Instead, it kept going until it rotted through the subfloor, which then had to be replaced. Catching problems early is what home maintenance is really about.

4. Test smoke detectors and change batteries. The change of seasons is a natural reminder to check your smoke detectors. We think about them about twice a year, and the American Red Cross advises that if you have battery-powered alarms, you replace the batteries at least once a year. Test each one, and even if none are chirping, put in fresh batteries so you’re ready for the season.

5. Clear gutters and extend downspouts. We’ve had a lot of rain over the past couple of weeks. We needed it, but that water has to go somewhere, and it should be flowing away from your house. The number one source of moisture intrusion we see comes from gutters and downspouts. With leaves now falling, keeping them clear matters even more, and if you aren’t comfortable on a ladder, hire someone who is.

Make sure your downspouts also carry water well away from the foundation. We find that many buyers of new construction overlook this step. Those homes usually come with a small green splash guard at the base of each downspout, but it’s too short to do the job and leaves moisture sitting close to the foundation. A proper downspout extension directs water down and away, so foundation issues never become a concern.

6. Winterize hose bibs and sprinklers. Once overnight temperatures begin dipping below 50 or 40 degrees, it’s time to winterize your outdoor hose bibs. They will crack in freezing weather, and fixing them is one of the most common plumbing questions we hear. The process is simple, and a quick online search will walk you through it, but if you’d like help, we’re happy to send a plumber your way.

If you have an irrigation system, your sprinklers need the same care. Turn off the water supply and let the water remaining in the lines drain out.

7. Schedule your HVAC service. We have our HVAC system serviced twice a year, and a simple rule of thumb applies. Whenever you switch from air conditioning to heat, or back again, schedule a service. If you need a reputable HVAC company, we can refer you to one.

8. Seal drafts and refresh caulking. Check your windows and doors for drafts. Gas and electric prices aren’t coming down, so any breeze slipping past a frame works against your energy efficiency. Replace worn door seals and thresholds wherever you find them.

Give your caulking the same attention around windows, bathrooms, and the kitchen. It may seem minor, but caulk keeps water from getting behind surfaces, and once it does, it creates a separate set of problems that only get more expensive over time. Even in our own kitchen, we have caulking to do, and we haven’t been in this home very long.

9. Plan one major upgrade each year. Finally, save and plan for one significant project or upgrade every year. A home is an investment, and we see many homeowners lose value simply because they haven’t reinvested in theirs. With our own rental properties, we set money aside, often around tax time, specifically to reinvest in each property and protect its value.

That project might be a new deck or patio, a new roof, new windows or doors, or a renovated kitchen or bathroom. Too many people wait until right before they sell, then find they don’t see a dollar-for-dollar return. Ideally, these upgrades happen about five years before you sell, so you can enjoy them and buyers see a home that doesn’t need that work.

Let us connect you with the right people. Whatever your project, we have a list of AJ Team-approved vendors we personally use and have already vetted, and they’ll extend the AJ Team discount to you. They book up quickly, so let us know well in advance, and we’ll help get your project on their calendar. These are great small businesses you’ll enjoy working with, and we only ask that you make yourself easy to work with, too.

Call us at (703) 991-7900, email info@ajteamrealty.com, or visit ajteamrealestate.com.

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