As we turn the corner, we discover that fall is once again upon us. This means shorter days, a chill in the air, and time to do some preventative maintenance on your home. Conducting a thorough inspection of your home once a season can help save you time and money in the future. Here are some great maintenance tips to help keep your home beautiful, healthy, and happy.

General Home Tips

• Change the batteries in all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Clean dryer vents, exhaust fans and vents in the bathrooms and kitchens.
• Change all of the household filters, including water filters and the filter in your AC/heating units.
• Trim all bushes and trees away from your home. Trees should be at least 6 feet away and bushes at least 6 inches away.
• Turn off AC Unit.
• Seal exterior concrete (driveway).

Chimney and Fireplace

• If you use your wood fireplace on a regular basis, it should be inspected and cleaned each year. If you have a gas fireplace with ceramic logs, it should be serviced if you see soot on the logs or the glass.

Gutters and Downspouts

• Clean gutters and downspouts frequently throughout the fall to prevent buildup of leaves and other debris.
• Neglected gutters can lead to wood rot problems, pest infestations, wet basements, foundation damage and many other expensive complications.
• Be sure water is not coming down behind gutters and that all support brackets are securely in place.
• Check to ensure water drains completely, and away from the foundation, driveways and walkways. Downspout extensions may also be required so damage does not occur.
• The installation of heat tape can be helpful in preventing ice dams. Make sure the heat tape is plugged in and working properly.

Heating Systems

• Most people don’t remember when the last time was that they had their heating system serviced. To ensure optimal performance, have a heating professional check your system to make sure it is operating correctly and most efficiently. This can prevent you and your family costly repair bills in the future.
• Replace the filter in your furnace.
• Check for leaks around the duct joints. Most home inspectors frequently find disconnected ducts that are blowing warm air into crawlspaces or attics.

Plumbing

• If you have any faucets that produce icy cold water in the winter, these pipes may be in danger of freezing. Consider having these pipes insulated to protect them.
• Disconnect all garden hoses. Even frost proof spigots will freeze if the garden hose holds water in the pipe.

Windows and Doors

• Check around the window frames inside and out for potential leaks. Caulk any visible gaps.
• Inspect and repair any loose or damaged window locks, latches or doorframes.
• Check around all exterior doors for gaps. If it’s sunny, look for daylight around the door. Install weather-stripping to prevent drafts and lower heating bills.
• If you have older windows, check around those for gaps and weather-strip as needed.

Click for more home maintenance information & instructional videos

The Olympus

The Olympus is October’s featured home plan. It’s a 3509 (total) sq. ft. two-story home with a great floor plan.  

Click here for complete floor plan and square footage information

Image Gallery

(Click on Image Gallery then click the Virtual Tour under Olympus Home Plan for images.)

Make sure to check out our website for more great Home Plans!

Owning vs. Renting Your Home

The Benefits of owning a home versus renting one:

• Property and mortgage interest tax deductions that can save you thousands of dollars.
• Build equity instead of giving your money away to rental companies.
• With an annual increase in rental payments at an average of 5%, your rent payment could end up costing you more monthly than a mortgage payment.  
• The longer you are in your home, the more equity your property builds.
• A better sense of security, community, and stability in a home.
• Most of all, it’s all up to you what you do with your home, inside and out. Finally.

You choose.

In the end, there really is no place like home. Despite the positive financial aspects of homeownership, a home cannot be valued in monetary terms alone because it is so much more than just an investment. It can be a steppingstone to greater financial security and provides a permanent place to call home with great personal satisfaction. Homeownership is a cornerstone of the American way of life and we hope we can be a part of that.

Link to full article

More Information

Beginning in October 2011, Nilson Homes will be issuing a monthly email newsletter. It will contain articles about the ins and outs of building a home, home plans, videos, links, and a seasonal section.

If this is something you would be interested in receiving monthly, please email quinn@nilsonhomes.com. If there is anyone else you believe would also be interested please include their email addresses as well.

For added info, don’t forget to check out Nilson Homes on Facebook. Like us and you’ll receive even more updates on what’s happening in the home building world.

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Please don’t ever hesitate to contact us!

Between June 24th and July 10th, Nilson Homes has two homes in the NWHBA’s Parade of Homes and will be conducting our own “Tour of Homes” at our other Decorated Model Homes.  When you visit each of these homes, you have the opportunity to enter to win an Ipad2!  Here is how the contest works:

When you visit any of our Model Homes or Parade Homes, ask for an entry form from our Sales Representative to enter to win the Ipad2.  For each home that you visit, you will receive one entry.  While you are there, you can “check-in” on Facebook at that home from your mobile device and you will receive an additional entry!  For instructions on how to “check-in” at our homes on Facebook, click here or ask our Sales Representative at that home.  Our Sales Representative will stamp and initial your “Tour of Homes” booklet because if you visit each home in the booklet (Evanston, WY home is optional) and bring your stamped booklet to our Corporate Office at 5617 South 1475 East, Ogden, UT 84403, you will receive a $25 gas card and we will DOUBLE your entries!  That means that you can have as many as 32 chances to win an Ipad2!

All booklets need to be turned in by July 16th to qualify and the drawing will be held through www.random.org on July 18th.

Since 1998, The Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors and The Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association have partnered to provide a home at a substantial discount to military families and special-needs families in the area.  This year, the Have a Heart program is looking for someone with mobility and accessibility issues to buy the almost completed home at 469 E. 1625 North in North Ogden.

Nilson Homes has built a Have a Heart Home in each of the past 4 years and has been a supporter of the program over the past decade.  This year’s home not only helps a potential owner with the issue of affordability, but is intended to give quality of life to a homeowner in need of wheelchair accessibility.  Extra-wide hallways, railings beside the toilets, and showers a wheelchair can roll in to are a few of the special touches awaiting the deserving family that ends up with a new home built for the Have a Heart Home program.

To keep costs down in all of the homes built for the program, many of our subs and suppliers have donated time and materials, knocking about 25 percent off of the total price.  Additional donations include cash for appliances, blinds, landscaping and closing costs.  Organizers raise additional money through fundraisers held throughout the year.

The program also helps work with the buyers to obtain a loan, sometimes going as far as helping to fix credit problems.  Continuing to take accessibility into account, the program chose our Cold Springs Village community for this home because yard maintenance and snow removal are included in the homeowner’s association.

People interested in the home can email Linda Hampson at linda@nwaor.com for an application.  The home will be featured in the NWHBA Parade of Homes and will ready to be occupied in July, 2011.  Nilson Homes is appreciative of the opportunity to participate in the program and we look forward to being a proud participant for many years to come.

Sales Manager for Nilson Homes

Nilson Homes is pleased to announce that Jerry Pullman has joined our team and will be our Sales Manager.  He will work together with our Sales and Marketing Director, Jed Nilson, to help our Sales Representatives provide the best customer service a homebuilder can provide to our potential buyers and current homeowners.

Jerry started his career in Real Estate in 1996 when he became a Sales Representative for Nilson Homes.  In 1998 however, he went to work for Ivory Homes, where he worked for the past 12 years.  During 10 of those past 12 years, he was a top Sales Consultant for Ivory Homes.  We are extremely excited to have Jerry back at Nilson Homes.  He has a great reputation for being full of integrity, being very knowledgeable about the building process and providing exceptional customer service to those that work with him.  Over his years in the business, he has created long lasting relationships with people that have built with him and Realtors that have worked with him.  Because of this, most of his business has been a result of referrals from happy customers.

We look forward to many fun and successful years with Jerry.  We are confident that he will be another great addition to the Nilson Homes team.  If you would like to contact Jerry, you can reach him at jerry@nilsonhomes.com or 801-721-3988.

At Nilson Homes, we strive to build a quality home and provide a great warranty to our homeowner.  We also want to provide our homeowners with tips on what they can do themselves to maintain their home.  Even the best of new homes still requires the homeowner to do regular maintenance, especially in preparation for winter.

At each closing, we provide to the new homeowner a brochure called “Home Maintenance Tips for Winter”.  We recently filmed some short videos to expand on what that brochure teaches.  This is a compilation of those videos.  Since these tips apply to any home, not just a new home, feel free to share this video with friends and family that also enjoy the privilege of owning a home.

Nilson Homes would like to congratulate their Sales and Marketing Director on his election to the Board of Directors of the Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors.  Jed Nilson was nominated to run and was then elected by his fellow Realtors to serve a three year term.  As a Director, he will strive to improve the already great NWAOR.

He has been a long time supporter of the Have a Heart Home project and the Community Housing Committee.  He was the Co-Chair of the Community Housing Committee for 2010.  Nilson Homes has built a Have a Heart Home in each of the past three years.  He has played a key role in bringing the Homebuilder’s Association together with the Board of Realtors to continue the legacy of the Have a Heart Home project.  That accomplishment, among others, helped his company earn the prestigious Homebuilder of the Year Award in 2008.

Jed began his career as a Realtor in 1999 as a New Home Sales Representative for Nilson Homes.  Since 2002, he has worked for the company as the Sales and Marketing Director and has helped the company become a prominent builder along the Wasatch Front.  He was designated as a New Home Sales Professional (CSP) in 2004 and is currently a Certified Instructor for the CSP Designation.

In recent months, he has helped launch the Young Professionals Network for the Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors as the Vice Chair for that organization.  He has a longstanding record of volunteering time and effort to the Board of Realtors and to strengthening relationships between the Board and the Homebuilder’s Association.  Jed welcomes the opportunity to represent his fellow Realtors.

Jed’s election to the Board of Directors is attributed to Nilson Homes’ dedication to work with Realtors in the homebuilding process.  Nilson Homes has always been a supporter of the Realtor Community and appreciates all of the Realtors that have trusted us to build homes for their clients over the years.