As a homeowner, it’s important to not only stay on top of monthly and yearly maintenance, but to also track repairs, warranty information, and keep copies of receipts. In the old days, many homeowner’s keep a homeowner binder filled with this information. While this might sound old fashioned, it’s smart to have a homeowner binder when it comes time to sell your home as it shows prospective buyers you’ve cared for the home and allows you to easily provide proof of repairs. Nowadays there are online services which will organize and track this information for you for free or a small fee. Depending on your exact needs there are a handful of services we recommend looking into:
MyCentriq.com
Instead of keeping a drawer full of appliance manuals, use the free MyCentriq app to keep track of them. All you do is take pictures of your appliances, electronics and tools, and the app adds their user manuals and warranties, as well as related how-to-videos. It even helps you find and order replacement parts, making it perfect for DIYers!
HappyHouse.com
Househappy offers a single place where you can store all of your information about your home’s products, appliances and systems. You can even store paint colors and home warranty information and sign up for email reminders to take care of tasks such as changing or cleaning your furnace filter and changing the batteries in your smoke detector. The app includes a concierge service you can contact by text, email, chat or phone call with questions or to request services from vetted contractors if you need help maintaining or repairing something in your home. The free app is available for Apple and Android devices.
HomeZada.com
HomeZada takes home management an extra step by adding financial tools to the app. In addition to keeping track of home maintenance tasks and storing the details about your appliances and systems in one place, HomeZada provides a digital inventory system for your personal items for homeowners insurance. The app helps you track your home equity when you enter your personal financial information, estimates your home’s current value and provides a three-year forecast of that value. The free app is available for Apple and Android devices.