Posts in category 'Homeownership'

The warm weather has finally decided to make its debut these past few days, and suddenly I've found myself checking the forecast to see how it will align with the short amount of time I have to complete some outdoor cleanup projects at my house. This has felt very out of character for me; I am not one to garden or dillydally in the yard ever or at all. In fact, I don't think there is a lot I enjoy doing less than working outside in the heat with the bugs. However, it occurred to me the other day—as I lugged rocks that have needed to be moved from one side of the yard to the other for the better part of two years—that yardwork is simply part of homeownership. I can kick and scream about it all I want, but it still has to be done, one way or another.

As...

Click Here to Read More...

May is when New Hampshire finally exhales — mud season is behind you, the ground is firming up, and summer is close enough to plan around. The agents at Badger Peabody & Smith Realty know that this narrow window before the busy season is exactly when homeowners should be taking stock of what winter left behind.

What NH Homeowners Should Tackle Before Summer

Start Outside: Read What Winter Left Behind

Click Here to Read More...

Allow me to set the scene: I am home alone, on my day off, doing some cleaning. It's the end of the day, with the sun hanging on for maybe another thirty minutes or so, and I decide to start a load of laundry. It's a bit windy outside, but nothing too wild or crazy. No rain, no thunder.

I head downstairs into the basement to start my laundry, and as I'm filling the washing machine, the lightbulb in the lamp above my head starts to flicker. I think to myself, I really hope that bulb doesn't go out; I don't think I have any extras. But, I am not too worried about it, as the light that illuminates the rest of the basement is just fine—or so I think.

As I'm loading the last part of my laundry into the washing machine, everything suddenly goes dark. I...

Click Here to Read More...

It's springtime in northern New Hampshire, which means finding water in my basement as the ground thaws and the rain moves through. The sump pump is the real MVP this time of year and always seems to do its job and clear out the water as it makes its way in. I recently came across a TikTok someone posted about their first experience owning a home in early spring in New England, and it involved a wet basement. They were panicking in the video, and although finding water in the basement of my house isn't my favorite experience, it's one I've come to terms with as long as it's not excessive and the sump pump is taking care of it.

I opened the comments to see what people were saying, and one in particular caught my eye. This person said...

Click Here to Read More...

Earlier this week, I ran into an old friend of mine whom I hadn't seen since high school. We met when we were teenagers through the local weekend ski program, so I only ever really saw her on the weekends when she and her family would come up north to go skiing and stay at her family's house in town. We've somewhat stayed in touch through social media since then, but this past week was the first time I had seen her in years.

I used to do a lot of house and dog sitting in my early twenties, and a few years back, I actually house-sat at her family's house for a weekend—except it didn't belong to her family anymore. I told her about this when I saw her, and she was intrigued. She had so many fond memories associated with that house from her childho...

Click Here to Read More...