After a fairly mild winter in Oklahoma, spring is just around the corner. Before long, most of us will be shutting down our heating systems and starting our air conditioners. Since your AC unit likely hasn’t run since early last fall, it’s a good idea to perform some preparation and maintenance before you need it. Here are a few tasks to complete just before spring.

• Change air filters

Each time you change from using your heater to using your air conditioner, it’s also a good time to change your air filters. This is simply because it’s an easy way to remember to change them at least twice per year. Doing so will result in a noticeable difference in the quality of the air in your home. In many cases, especially if you have pets, it’s necessary to change your air filters more often. It’s recommended that you check your air filters every 30 days and replace them when they look dirty and clogged.

• Preventative maintenance

The worst case scenario when the weather gets warm is that your air conditioner breaks down and requires costly repairs. Your AC unit will age over time and eventually wear out, but you can extend its lifespan by performing regular maintenance and inspections. Have a professional check out your air conditioner before starting it up this spring so they can tell you about parts that are worn or damaged and may eventually cause a complete failure. This maintenance along with some regular cleaning can keep your air conditioner running for many seasons to come.

• Ductwork inspection

While you have an HVAC professional out to inspect your air conditioner, also ask them to inspect your ductwork. They’ll be looking for leaks in your ducts that make it more difficult to cool your home. This makes your home less comfortable, puts more strain on your AC, and costs you more in energy bills. It’s definitely worth it to have your ducts inspected once per year to make sure they’re as efficient as possible.

• Programmable thermostat

This is an easy upgrade you can make yourself that can have a noticeable impact on your energy bills. A programmable thermostat will allow you to set the temperature in your home based on your schedule. So, when you leave for work, you can let your home get a little warmer, then start to cool it down before you get home. You can also start cooling it more when the sun goes down if you like it cold when you sleep. This will allow you to use less energy when you don’t need your air conditioner to run, and still keep your house comfortable.

Before you need your air conditioner this year, make sure it’s up to the task to ensure it is efficient, and capable of cooling your home all summer.

If you’re ready for a brand new home by the summer, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. Browse through our list of available floor plans to find one perfect for your new home, or find your next home in our selection of already constructed, move-in ready homes. 

 

The winter months can be hard on your roof, even in Oklahoma where the winters are more mild than some northern states. While we’ve enjoyed a temperate winter this year for the most part, there’s still a chance we see one or two more wintry storms before we get to spring. With that in mind, here are three issues to watch for that cause serious damage to your roof.

• Condensation

This is a product of improper insulation and ventilation in your attic. Condensation forms when the warm air from your home comes in contact with the cold air from outside. This results in moisture building up and can cause mold and mildew to form. To combat this, it’s important that your roof and attic are both properly sealed and insulated to prevent cold air from getting in. Additionally, properly ventilating your attic will prevent condensation from settling if it does form. Instead, the ventilation will help condensation evaporate before mold and mildew is able to grow.

• Ice dams

In the fall, we all check our gutters for obstructions like leaves and dirt. Few of us think about obstructions occurring during the winter months, but snow and ice storms can result in ice dams. These often happen when water sits in your gutters and then freezes. The resulting ice then keeps melting snow and ice from the top of your roof from getting through. What you’re left with is lots of water with no where to go and, usually, it ends up seeping into cracks in your home’s exterior where it can again cause mold and mildew. Your first step to preventing ice dams from forming is ensuring your gutters are free of any foreign objects before the first snow storm. It might also be worth it to check your gutters after a freeze to clear out any lingering ice. Attic ventilation can be helpful here too. If any water should get in, the ventilation will help it evaporate.

• Icicles

While many of us think icicles are a beautiful sign of winter, they’re also harmful both to your home and potentially to you and your family. They form under similar conditions as ice dams when water from your roof is unable to flow freely through your gutters. In many cases, there’s no good way to completely prevent the formation of icicles, but keeping your gutters clear will certainly help. From there, it’s important to simply knock them down periodically. Allowing them to accumulate creates the possibility that one may fall on a person. And, during longer cold snaps, icicles can actually create enough wait to damage gutters and your roof.

Whether or not we’re in store for another winter storm this season, these tips are helpful for keeping your home safe for winters to come.

If you’re ready to have a new home to care for by next winter, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We have a variety of move-in ready homes in Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow, or can help you create your own home using our floor plans.

There are a number of steps you should take in order to decide whether or not you’re ready to buy a new home. Those include investigating the housing market in your area, calculating mortgage rates and a likely monthly payment for a new home, and looking at your own budget and finances. Once all of that is complete, if you decide it’s time for you and your family to buy, there are some additional steps you should take to prepare for house hunting. Having these tasks finished before you go out looking for a home will allow you to make an offer as soon as you find one you like.

• Check your own credit

Your credit score will have a significant impact on your mortgage rate, and whether or not you can qualify for a loan. Before you spend time looking at houses, make sure your credit is in order. There are a number of free tools that allow you to check your credit score, and you can request one free credit report each year. Even if you’re not currently in the market for a new home, it’s a good idea to stay updated on your credit so you can resolve any issues. You may even find that mistakes were made by creditors, which have left a blemish on your record. Getting those fixed and taken off your credit report is much easier when you catch them immediately.

• Gather documentation

Whichever lender you choose will require you to fill out a stack of paperwork, and submit another stack of documents that give evidence about your financial stability. Putting an offer on a house can be stressful when you’re having to scramble to assemble these documents. So, before you begin your search, gather the necessary documents to make your life easier. You’ll likely need pay stubs, bank statements, W-2s and tax returns going back at least two years. If you’ve been renting a home or apartment, you’ll want to have the names and addresses of your recent landlords too. And, if you have current loans or lines of credit open, you’ll need statements for those also.

• Get preapproved

Being preapproved for a mortgage gives you some leverage when you find a home you’d like to make an offer on. It also gives you some stability knowing about how much you’re able to spend. Your first step in becoming preapproved is to find a lender. Typically, you’d want to start at the institution where you do your normal banking, and maybe a couple local credit unions. It’s a good idea to apply at multiple vendors all at once. This will allow you to find the best rate possible, but will prevent your credit from being dinged over and over when the lenders check it.

• Find alternatives

In the current market, those without perfect credit may have difficulty finding a lender willing to approve them. In that case, there are alternatives you can investigate. For example, the Federal Housing Association has a program designed to help first-time home buyers qualify for a mortgage. An FHA loan basically means that the FHA is insuring your mortgage, which gives lenders more confidence in lending to you. It also only requires a 3.5-percent down payment. If you’re not a first-time home buyer, there are other government programs you might qualify for that will help you to afford a new home.

Once you’ve completed the necessary preliminary steps of buying a house, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We can help you design and build a new home that’s perfect for your needs, or show you our already constructed, move-in ready homes in Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Bixby. 

When you’re starting your family, and as it grows, you typically think about moving to gain additional space, or perhaps to find a newer home with higher quality materials and amenities. But, there are also circumstances that call for downsizing from a larger home, to one with less space. Here are some of the typical reasons why downsizing is an attractive option.

• Empty nest

The most common reason for downsizing that we notice from our customers is that kids have moved out of the house, and the extra bedrooms that were once necessities are now unused. In these situations, downsizing to a smaller home with fewer bedrooms makes it easier to maintain and more efficient to heat and cool your home. Many couples also prefer to move from a two-story home to a one-story home to eliminate the need to walk up and down stairs since the additional space isn’t necessary. Since a smaller home often also costs less, it opens the opportunity to include additional amenities in the master bath, kitchen or patio.

• Mobility issues

Another common reason for moving to a smaller home involves concerns over mobility for aging individuals. Particularly for those in two-story homes where trips up and down stairs become more dangerous, moving to a smaller home can help to avoid falls and injuries. Having a smaller area to keep clean is typically also beneficial for the elderly.

• Saving money

As mentioned, the price of buying a smaller home with two or three bedrooms is usually significantly less than a home with four or five bedrooms. But there are other savings too. Most notably, energy savings. Heating and cooling less space requires less energy, and the savings really add up. This is especially true when you have only one floor compared to two floors. When the new, smaller home you’re moving into is newer, there are likely additional energy efficient materials and products used that increase monthly energy savings even more. You’ll also likely save on property tax.

• Simplifying and De-cluttering 

While there aren’t many individuals who can commit to this last reason to downsize their home, those that do tend to see a marked difference. You may have noticed that the amount of stuff you own usually conforms to fit the space of your home. When you live in a larger house, you’ll acquire enough things to fill each room over time. When you decide to move to a smaller house, it forces you to really take stock of each item and get rid of many of your less necessary possessions. This means you get rid of items you have more than one of, or things you rarely use. For many of us, this is a incredibly satisfying exercise. There’s also the additional benefit of being able to donate your extra stuff to charity, or sell it for some extra money.

Whatever your reasoning, if you decide it’s time to downsize, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We have a variety of available houses and floor plans, which means we can find the right fit for just about anyone. Whether you’re ready to downsize, or need a home with more space for your growing family, look through our currently available homes, or contact us to start construction on your own custom home.

Ask a real estate agent the most important element of their business and they’ll likely respond with the cliche, “location, location, location”. For many home buyers, where a home is located is even more important than what’s inside. At Perry Hood Properties, we build high quality homes throughout Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Bixby, in some high demand neighborhoods. We certainly understand the importance of finding the right location for you and your family. Here are a few notes on how to find the right place, and why that’s important.

• The importance of location

While you and your family may live in your home, everyday, you’ll travel around the surrounding community to get to jobs, school, run errands and find recreation. For many of us, our time spent outside the home outnumbers our time spent inside, which highlights the importance of living in an area you enjoy. Typically, the keys to consider are aesthetics, whether or not you find the area beautiful, opportunities, whether or not there are things to do nearby, jobs available and good schools, and a welcoming environment, whether or not the people seem friendly, and it’s safe to walk and travel. When all of these considerations are met, home owners tend to feel more content, and the area typically sees higher economic growth.

• Start with a wish list

Even if you have it narrowed down to a single city, there are still dozens of areas or neighborhoods to consider for the location of your next home. But, instead of simply creating a list of these potential neighborhoods, create a wish list for what your ideal neighborhood would feature. This could include it being close to work, in a certain school district, have nearby shopping, be kid-friendly, or whatever is important to you. Once you’ve developed this list, start looking around at areas to see which one offers something closest to your wish list.

• Spend time in your location

Once you’ve found the location you think is best for you and your family, take some time to experience it. If you’re moving from out of town, this is especially important because it’s harder to know the characteristics of an area until you spend some time there. Even if you’re just moving across town and think you know all about a neighborhood, taking time to walk around, eat at a nearby restaurant and talk to residents can educate you on the positives and negatives that aren’t obvious. For example, you may discover an animal problem, or that a new shopping center will soon be constructed nearby. Sometimes, you may simply find out that you don’t feel as comfortable in this area as you thought you would.

• Avoid these mistakes

The previous two tips contained suggestions for the right way to find the location for your next home. Here are two common mistakes that often lead to choosing a home you aren’t happy with. First, don’t let a vacation or single experience bias you. Maybe you made a trip to a city and visited a neighborhood that seemed charming, but living there everyday would be too stressful or not a good environment for children. Or, maybe you attended an event in an area of your hometown and now you associate that area with the crowd that attended the event. In reality, that area may be drastically different day to day. So, get to know the real characteristics of the area instead of relying on unique experiences. Second, no place is good or bad. Avoid putting areas into these categories. Instead, focus on compatibility for your situation. While multiple areas may offer positive marks on characteristics that are important to you, by judging them by compatibility, you’ll differentiate between what’s nice, and what’s best for you.

When you’re ready to buy your next home, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We have a variety of move-in ready homes in Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Bixby, or will work with you to build a custom home to your specifications.

Before buying a new home, you probably need to make some improvements around your existing home to make it more attractive to potential buyers. That doesn’t mean you have to have a big budget or make any serious remodels, however. Here are some examples of simple and inexpensive ways to improve the value of your home, and the visual appeal to buyers.

• New doors

If you’ve never changed the front door of your home, that’s a great place to start. Your front door is one of the first parts of your home that potential buyers will see, and it can make a great first impression. While the look of the door is most important, you’ll also want to install one that is energy efficient. That will impressive buyers once the look of your home has drawn them in. Once your entry way is up to snuff, consider installing new doors on bedrooms and bathrooms around your home also. Some fancier doors, or even some new knobs, can make a significant visual improvement.

• Add light

Without making any other improvements to your home, improving the lighting immediately makes it seem more inviting and comfortable. This can be done with natural light, like making existing windows larger, adding a skylight, or just investing in some better drapes or curtains that let light in better. Or, you can add more lamps, and put nicer light bulbs in fixtures to brighten up certain areas.

• New floors

Your flooring has a significant impact on the value of your home, and it’s been known to scare away buyers. If you have old, stained carpet, or just an odd color of flooring, you’re making it much more difficult to sell your home. Most buyers would prefer to see nice wood floors, which they can then add their own personal touch to. Remember, you’re not decorating your home for you, so choose a fairly neutral color for any type of flooring that could appeal to anyone.

• Fresh paint

Similarly, bright colors or odd patterns on walls may be great for you, but they can limit the appeal of your home. Consider instead repainting with a neutral color. Even if your home is already fairly neutral, it’s a good idea to add a fresh coat of paint in high traffic areas. You’ll be surprised how much brighter and cleaner your walls will look, and potential buyers will take notice too.

• Go green

Most home buyers are interested in energy saving features that allow them to spend less of bills each month in their new home. You could install new windows, or new, Energy Star appliances, but you don’t even have to go to that expense. Small touches like re-caulking windows and door frames will help greatly in saving on energy costs. New insulation in the attic is also a good choice.

When you’re ready for your next new home, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We build houses throughout Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow, and can help you find one of our move-in ready homes, or help you build a custom home perfect for your family.

New Year’s resolutions are a great way to make improvements for yourself by losing weight, spending less or cutting out unhealthy habits. You can also make improvements around your home with your resolutions. Here are a few great ideas for making your home more comfortable, more efficient and more stylish in 2016.

• Reduce energy use

You may be hoping to eat less in the new year, but for your home, it’s important to eat up less energy. By making a few improvements, you can see your energy bills drastically reduced and enjoy better climate control. That means your home will be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer without having to pay as much each month. Typically, you’ll want to start with your ducts. Sealing up any gaps or holes and adding insulation prevents both hot and cold air from leaking out while it’s being delivered to vents around your home. Doing so could save you more than $200 each year on energy costs, and make your heating and cooling systems more efficient, which will make your air conditioner and furnace last longer. You may even qualify for a rebate for making your home more energy efficient.

• Clean the air

Whether you have allergies or not, purifying the air in your home will make a noticeable difference. And, there are a few easy ways to keep contaminants out of the air you and your family breathe. Start by regularly changing the air filters. During peak use of your heating and cooling system, you may need to change your filters once each month. At minimum, you should probably change your filters four times each year. Also, make use of the ventilation methods already present in your home. Your kitchen’s vent hood and bathroom’s vent should exhaust outside of your home. If they don’t, look into having that fixed. When they do, they’re effective in removing smoke, fumes and excess humidity. Finally, you can use portable air filters around your home to further clean the air. These, like humidifiers, are a great way to reduce contaminants during allergen season or any time you notice the air in your home is harder to breathe.

• Remove the clutter

You’ve no doubt heard of spring cleaning, but the spring isn’t the only time you can remove clutter and clean up your living space. For the new year, resolve to get rid of items you don’t often use and, at the same time, add additional storage features. The end of the year makes a great time to get rid of seldom used items because it’s easy to tell what’s been used this year and what hasn’t. If you come back next year, and items you decided to keep haven’t been used or moved, you can probably get rid of most of them too. Even if you get rid of a lot, improving storage will make the stuff you keep more organized and easier to access. Add shelves to closets, bathrooms or your kitchen, or look into organizers for your kitchen cabinets or closets.

There are plenty of other ways to improve your home so take some time to think about what would make the most difference to you and then get started.

If you decide that what you really need is a brand new home, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We build new homes in Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow and can offer you a move-in ready home or start the process of building a home just for you.

Many families cherish the tradition of picking out a live Christmas tree and bringing it home. A real tree certainly adds a classic look, and smell, to your home that immediately evokes memories of the holidays. However, real trees also bring the threat of disastrous fire to your home. To keep your home and family safe this Christmas season, follow these tips.

• Fresh, never dry

Christmas tree safety begins with choosing your tree. The longer trees have been cut and sitting on a lot, the more they dry out. So, while some of the older trees might be cheaper, they’re also a greater fire hazard. Look for a fresh tree that won’t dry out until after Christmas. Once you get your tree home, you can help keep it fresh by submerging the trunk in plenty of water. Fresh trees typically require about a gallon of water each day, so be sure to refill water in the stand often.

• Safe lighting

Strings of lights strung around your tree complete the look, but they can also be dangerous. A general rule of thumb is to never attach more than three light strings to the same outlet or extension cord. It’s also wise to turn lights and any other electric elements of your tree off when you leave the house, or over night. It’s important that, since lights can spark or short, or just over-heat, you be able to monitor the tree while it’s lit. While it won’t prevent fires, running cords along walls and not under rugs and carpets is important to prevent trip and fall injuries and keep your tree from falling.

• Keep away from heat

In most homes, the holidays bring an abundance of candles, fires in the fireplace, space heaters and other ways to stay warm or be festive. Just like any flammable material in your home, however, your Christmas tree should be kept far away from heat sources and open flames. Portable heaters and even electronics can heat up enough to cause your tree to catch fire. Embers jumping from your fireplace or candles blowing in the wind have also been culprits of tree fires. Be aware of the risks and always keep an eye out for potential hazards close to your tree.

In addition to these three tips, it’s always a good idea to have a fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergency. You should always have one in the kitchen, but keep a second one in the same room as your Christmas tree for quick access.

If you’re ready to decorate a new home for Christmas next year, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We build high quality homes in Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow. Get started building your own home, or browse through our move-in ready homes that are already constructed. 

We’ve already posted about preventing freezing pipes and home improvement chores to take before the weather gets cold. There’s plenty more to do around your home to help prepare you for winter, however. Here, we’ll share some quick tips for keeping your home tidy, organized and comfortable throughout the holiday season. These are all easy and fast tasks that anyone can do, but that also make a big difference.

• Holiday lights

Let’s start with a staple of the holiday season. Most of us will be hanging lights and other decorations this year, which starts with getting them out of storage. If you find your lights are in a tangled mess, your first task will be to untangle them, but then you can take some extra time to learn how to properly store them so that next year, they’ll be untangled and ready to hang. After you hang your decorations, it’s also a good idea to walk around with a critical eye. You aren’t looking for anything hanging crooked, however. You’ll be looking for anything that might pose a fire hazard. Be sure to move fabrics away from candles, and don’t let hanging lights that will get hot rest against anything flammable.

• Fire extinguishers

It’s a good idea to periodically check your home’s fire extinguishers. The holiday season is a perfect time to check them since you’ll likely have a number of fire risks around your home. First, ensure you have an extinguisher in the kitchen, and another near your fireplace. Next, be sure they are both charged and ready should you need them. Finally, be sure that every member of your family knows where the fire extinguishers are and how to use them. This way, if a fire does break out, anyone can quickly put it out.

• Ceiling fans

Most of us only think about using ceiling fans during the hot summer months, but they can be useful in the winter too. Your ceiling fans should have a switch that reverses the way they turn. Instead of circulating cool air throughout the room, they’ll be sucking warm air away from the ceiling and evenly distributing it. Try it and you’ll find what a difference it makes. Additionally, you can add extra rugs and floor coverings in the winter to keep rooms warmer.

• Clean air

There are actually a couple of tasks you should get to when ensuring your family has clean air throughout your home. First, replace your air filters. Most air filters need to be replaced at least three or four times per year, and it may be more if you have pets. If you haven’t replaced the filters you used with your air conditioner all summer, you’re well overdue. Replace theses and not only will air quality be better, but your heating system will be more efficient. And, if you’re running your heater often, the air in your home is likely to be more dry. To combat this, you can use humidifiers, but be sure to clean them periodically. A humidifier is a great way to keep your home more comfortable, but you don’t want it putting new contaminants and toxins into the air.

• Carpet cleaning

The holidays may see a number of house guests for family get togethers and parties. That usually means your carpets will be in need of a good cleaning once the holidays are over. Take the time now to schedule a professional carpet cleaning for January, or look into investing in your own equipment. Those spills and stains left from your holiday parties will need attention in 2016.

If you’re in the market for a new home for the new year, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We build high quality homes in Tulsa, Broken Arrow and Bixby and even have a number of already completed homes that are move-in ready.

With winter and colder temperatures here, it’s time to start worrying about frozen pipes. Your first task should be to unhook any hoses that you have connected to outdoor spigots. Leaving these connected can quickly result in pipes freezing and bursting, which can lead to water leaking into your walls inside.

About one in 55 home owners will submit a property claim due to water leaking or freezing this year. And water in your pipes typically begins to freeze when temperatures outside reach 20-degrees. That’s not far off in Oklahoma. So, here are some precautions to take to keep your pipes safe and warm this winter.

• Wrap and insulate

If you were cold in your home, you’d probably wear extra layers and maybe cover yourself with a blanket. It’s the same idea for your pipes to keep them from freezing. Foam pipe covers are available at virtually any hardware store and are inexpensive. Or, you could make a bigger investment for a more permanent solution and wrapping pipes with fiberglass insulation. Regardless of which option you choose, it’s much cheaper than the average $5-thousand cost of repairing a burst pipe.

• Exposed pipe

It’s important to also assess the environment of pipes in different areas of your home. Those on the exterior of your house, like an exterior faucet or spigot, are typically in the most danger of freezing. There are also pipes that lead from the exterior to the interior, and pipes located in colder areas, like the garage, or the basement in older homes. You can insulate these pipes as well, but if you’re going to be away from your home for an extended period of time, it might be a good idea to turn off the water completely and let the taps run dry to eliminate the risks.

• Keep the heat on

Speaking of going away for the holidays, many of us may consider turning off our thermostat or turning it very low. The idea is that you don’t need to spend money to heat a home that no one will be staying in. Even with no one home, however, your home needs to stay warm to keep pipes warm. Turning the heat off completely during the winter could leave your home below freezing, which could cause even interior pipes to freeze. Other items in your home, like electronics, could also be damaged by prolonged exposure to the cold. And, when you return home, heating up your home from these low temperatures puts a great deal of stress on your heating system and can actually cost more in energy costs than leaving it on.

• Running taps

This is probably the most common advice for preventing frozen pipes. Before a cold snap, leave faucets running. First, you want to leave a steady stream of water running from the tap, not just a drip. Second, this doesn’t actually keep water in your pipes from freezing. It does, however, minimize the damage. With water running, air pressure in the pipe is released, which can prevent tearing of the pipe even if freezing does occur. If you have both hot and cold taps, you’ll need to leave both running to accomplish this.

There’s no sure-fire way to tell your pipes are frozen until you turn on a faucet and no water comes out. If that happens this winter, turn off your water supply immediately. You could try to heat the frozen area by insulating it and heating it with a hair dryer, but be advised that dripping water is a potential electrocution hazard. Your best option is to call a professional plumber to fix the problem.

When you’re ready for a new home for your family, contact us at Perry Hood Properties. We build brand new homes in Tulsa, Bixby and Broken Arrow. You can start from scratch, or choose from our currently built and available homes.