Joseph Burris and John Nash 's Blog Posts

 June 24, 2019 John NashAir filtration is an important part of your home’s ventilation system. Without an air filter in place, dust and other airborne particles would be distributed

 August 1, 2019 John NashIf you have plants popping up in your yard that you didn’t plant, your first instinct may be that it’s a weed. You very well might be right; after all,

 July 29, 2019 John NashCracks in the foundation of your house can be signs of a problem. This doesn’t mean that you should automatically worry if you see a few small cracks,.

 July 25, 2019 John NashSeptic tanks are common in rural areas, though depending on where you live, you might have a septic system, even close to town. So long as things are going,

 July 22, 2019 John NashA burst water pipe is no laughing matter. Depending on the size of the damaged area, a large pipe can lose a gallon or more per second. Even smaller pipes can cause

 July 18, 2019 John NashAn in-ground pool can be a great way to relax around the house, enjoying the water on a hot summer day. There are a few potential issues with in-ground pools that

 July 15, 2019 John NashSeveral of the biggest fire hazards in your home all live in your kitchen. The oven, the stovetop, your toaster… when you think of all of the heat sources

 July 11, 2019 John NashThere are few things that homeowners dread more than mold in the house. You’ve likely heard horror stories about people living with mold infestations that

 July 8, 2019 John NashIf you own a rental property, you know how important it is to have the right tenant. Good renters will take care of the property as though it were their own, leaving

 July 1, 2019 John NashHome automation is increasingly common these days as the number of consumer-focused smart devices continues to increase. Though automation covers everything from

 June 27, 2019 John NashKeeping your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter can be expensive. Add in the cost of regular maintenance to your heating and air systems and it’s

 June 20, 2019 John NashWhether you’re hanging a picture or mounting a television, anything that goes on your wall needs something to anchor it in place. If there’s a stud in

 June 17, 2019 John NashRobotics and automation have changed the way that a number of things work in the home. You may not realize that you can automate tasks outside of the home as well.

 June 13, 2019 John NashSometimes it’s easy to make a mountain out of a molehill. Other times, like when your driveway is starting to show some wear, you might instead try to make a

Being a homeowner means more than just cleaning, decorating and maintaining your house. It’s also your responsibility to take care of whatever land is yours. For a lot of people, this means

Summer’s almost upon us. That means more ice cream, fewer snowball fights and, of course, the battle to keep your house cool as the heat bears down. As it turns out, you don’t have to

Humans have been enclosing things in fences since there were fences and things to enclose. It’s natural that you’d want to build one eventually. After all, with a good fence you could

Is your landscaping full of weeds? Are you finding yourself driving by neighbors’ homes, envying their perfect, weed-free plantings? If so, you may be in need of some easy-care landscaping.

Every morning when you look out of the window of your breakfast nook into your front yard, you’re met with the same green carpet, devoid of anything remotely interesting or different. It&rsquo

Concrete has been used by humans for thousands of years, with some of the oldest examples of wells and houses made with the stuff dating back to 6500 BC. Although the ingredients have been refined

Owning a house can be a mixed blessing. On one hand, you have a place to sleep and eat and collect weird knick-knacks you bought off of eBay. On the other, you sometimes have to take on projects

Do you know how much your home is worth? No, really, do you?Homeowners and buyers across the country often answer this question by turning to a figure known as a Zestimate, produced by Zillow

Your new house has an awesome outdoor kitchen, or maybe you just had one installed, either way you’re all set to grill outside all summer (and maybe into the fall and winter, too). Have you

One of the greatest myths in the world of real estate is that buying a home that’s in a pre-foreclosure state, or one that has already been foreclosed upon, will get you the very best deal

Everybody likes the idea of a little DIY. Whether that means unclogging your own sink drain or putting in a few shelves in your pantry, there’s a lot of satisfaction that goes along with doing

If the idea of getting up early on Saturday morning to commune with your landscape is an idea that you cherish, but don’t dare pursue because of the high level of maintenance required, you may

More people are choosing to stay in their existing home, expanding into unused space rather than going through the trouble of selling and buying again. If you’re in the same position, it might

When the next bowl of chili explodes all over the inside of the microwave or you finally give in to the inch thick layer of pizza burn off inside your oven, this page of advice for cleaning

Going green is great for the environment, but that’s not the only benefit. When you make green upgrades in your home, it can also lead to some major savings.Solar panels: The upfront cost

Is there a home maintenance project that’s been lingering on your to-do list for too long because you’re dreading the trip to the hardware or craft store? There are some projects you can

CREATE AN EVACUATION PLAN FOR YOUR PETSAn evacuation plan is a necessity for every home, especially if you live in an area where fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, and other disasters are a

5 CRITERIA FOR PRICING A HOMEWhen you put your home up for sale, one of the best ways to determine the asking price is to look at comparable sales. There’s rarely a perfect apples-to-apples

We’re well into the fall season and winter is right around the corner. This is the time of year when it’s especially important to make sure your home is properly sealed. Air leaks can

Hardwood floors are highly desirable for most homeowners, but they come with their share of challenges when it comes to cleaning, maintenance, and repairs. After a few months or years of heavy use

Moving into a new home is an exciting time, and you’re probably daydreaming about decor and paint schemes and new furniture. But before you get into the fun stuff, there are some basics you

You’ve most likely heard the rule: Save for a 20-percent down payment before you buy a home. The logic behind saving 20 percent is solid, as it shows that you have the financial discipline and

Negotiation is a subtle art in real estate, but skilled negotiators can usually find some common ground that satisfies all parties. On the other hand, using the wrong negotiation tactics can sink a

An accent wall can totally transform a room, taking it from boring and drab to bold and exciting. Accent walls create a new focal point for your space, add liveliness and contrast, and are typically

ou’ve got more options than ever when mattress shopping these days with no shortage of brick-and-mortar and online-only retailers to choose from. Here are the factors you should consider when

When you own your home, things are going to break and, unless you want to spend your money on visits from a neighborhood handyman, you’re going to need to fix them yourself. Luckily, you don

An evacuation plan is a necessity for every home, especially if you live in an area where fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, and other disasters are a possibility. Many homeowners create

Unfortunately, our homes don’t always grow with us. What may have initially worked fine for a single person, a young couple’s starter home, or a family with a newborn can quickly become

Shopping for a house can be stressful, but choosing a loan has the potential to be just as bad. There’s a lot to know, a small window in which to figure it all out and a 30 year commitment to

 May 20, 2019 John NashEverything’s getting smarter these days. Everything. Not only are smart appliances, smart outlets, smart light bulbs and smart TVs gaining traction, smart

 May 23, 2019 John NashAwww, springtime. It’s a great time to go through the closets and find anything you’re not using. But what do you do with all that junk that’s no

 May 9, 2019 John NashPopcorn is great for lots of stuff. You can enjoy a big bucket with family and friends while at the movies, string it on a thread to give Christmas that old-fashioned

 May 6, 2019 John NashWhat’s two stories tall, covered in long green fur and smells like old, wet dogs? For a lot of people, that would be their mental image of an investment house.

 May 3, 2019 John NashThe aqua jeweled waters of the Caribbean pared with lush, jungle-like vegetation that seems to stretch along the beach forever greet you every single summer. It&rsquo

It’s easy to tell yourself that your house is just a building made of walls and ceilings and light fixtures and flooring, but when it comes time to sell, you may start to feel the sting of

It’s officially spring again, everybody and their great aunt Erma are abuzz with cleaning and organizing advice. We’re not sheep at HomeKeepr, but we figured it was important to throw

One of the best parts of owning your own home is that you can do pretty much whatever you want when it comes to hanging things on the wall. No landlord will charge you $5 per hole you poke through

Spring is a time of beginnings. You get a chance to start over, to try something new and to get your air conditioner ready for the hot summer to come. It might not be as romantic as the budding of

With the sunny days of summer just around the corner, it’s hard to not let your thoughts turn to the cool, refreshing blue waters of a backyard pool. Maybe you’ve been considering

“Siri, how much water did I drink today?”“Alexa, what’s on TV tonight?”“Google, turn off the lights!”You know the drill. We’re all starting to talk to

There’s something you should know about your water: it’s not as clean as you might think.In fact, depending on where it comes from, you could be having that skinny half-caf latte with

“What goes up must come down,” so goes the saying. And, to that end, what goes forward must also go in reverse. Turns out the same also applies to mortgages, sort of. Except, instead of

The aqua jeweled waters of the Caribbean pared with lush, jungle-like vegetation that seems to stretch along the beach forever greet you every single summer. It’s amazing, really, and you hope

Whether you’re thinking about buying your first home or you’ve been contemplating an upgrade, you probably already know that there are several different kinds of home mortgages, some

You’ve been a homeowner for a while now and overall, everything’s gone pretty well. Your home is a comforting, safe place that has given more than it has taken — you’re

When the sun is high in the sky and the wind feels like a blow dryer on your face, there’s nothing like the blessed cool blue of your private pool. If you’ve only just recently

Whether you’ve recently purchased a home or are considering renewing the home warranty that came with your home, chances are good that you’ve got questions. Big ones. You’ve

You’re just swinging in your hammock on a sunny summer day when an ad pops up on YouTube for home equity loans. It sounds like a pretty good deal and you have been wanting to put a pool in for

Sure, owning a house is pretty cool, but sometimes you feel like you could do better. Take your hall closet, for example. It’s small, there’s no place to put linens and barely enough

Every summer, you find yourself saying the same thing month after month: “Boy, it’d be nice to have a big deck…” So far, one hasn’t spontaneously manifested in your

When you moved into your new house, the neighbors were so friendly. You almost felt bad about putting up a fence, but you promised your dog he’d have plenty of room to frolick when you finally

You got an amazing deal on your home, in part because the master bathroom was kind of really outdated. The wallpaper says it all — and that pink toilet, oh boy. You are so ready to do

Your new home has an amazingly huge closet, but a startling lack of places to hang stuff. Sure, you could pile all your extra clothing, shoes and accessories in the corner, or move your antique

You found the perfect home. It’s gorgeous, energy efficient, in a great neighborhood and well within your budget. You wonder to yourself, “why is this perfect home still on the market?

Home values are determined through a complicated series of calculations roughly based on the cost of actual construction plus value-adds like proximity to shopping and other conveniences. The prices

Way back in 2012, the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 was being phased in. One of the most useful — and controversial — results was that old fashioned light bulbs

As summer slowly gives way to fall, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to clean up all the mess that’s accumulated around your house. You know the kind: algae

So there you are, minding your own business while having a shave over the bathroom sink, when you see it. The water. It’s not draining. And your sink is threatening to overflow. You turn off

When you bought the house with the pool, it looked like it was going to be all fun in the sun and splishin’ and-a splashin’, but now that the first signs of fall are appearing (the

You’ve finally done it! You have a house under contract and you’re doing the paperwork to get your mortgage lined up. When your Realtor calls to ask you who you want to use for your home

As a homeowner, or soon to be homeowner, you can get some pretty sweet tax deductions from things related to your home. Some tend to change from year to year, like those for energy-efficient,

Spring is here and that means it’s time to… well, it’s time to appeal your property taxes. Not everyone needs to do this, obviously, but there are plenty of people who should. Do

There comes a time in every homeowner’s life when they just can’t take that color on the wall anymore and they absolutely have to do something about it. If you’ve reached your

Anything in your home that’s attached to the water supply runs the risk of springing a leak. That also includes anything that drains water away. With so much riding on your pipes and

For everyone out there looking at homes right now, there are three little letters that could make or break your purchase decision. They are “H,” “O” and “A.”

It all started with a shelf.You just bought your home and, though it needed a little surface work, you were pretty proud of it. It was yours, to do with as you wanted. So the first thing you did was

You’re all alone at home when you hear it. Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-shhhhhhhh… and it seems to be coming from outside. You look around, very puzzled and a little afraid, then it comes again sh

After a major storm or a freak accident that ends in massive amounts of property damage, you’re probably going to feel two things essentially at once: you’re going to be overwhelmed with

Any time there’s a natural disaster, emergency preparedness is all anyone can think about. But soon after the news coverage fades away, it’s back to the same old grind, with little brain

Whether you’re in the process of buying your first home or you’ve been a homeowner for years, there are few phrases that hit right to the bone like “mortgage insurance.” Why,

There you sit, watching “The Vanilla Ice Project” on the DIY Network when a thought bubble forms over your head. If Vanilla Ice can remodel houses on television, you could probably save

You’ve finally done it! You bought the house of your dreams and closing is just around the corner. Then it occurs to you. Your aged and creaking futon, cement block and raw lumber bookshelves

You didn’t do anything different, but all of a sudden the garbage disposal is smoking and water is backing up in the sink. Is your plumbing possessed? Should you just set the whole house on

For the third time this week, you’ve found yourself cursing the unusability of your kitchen. The drawers come out in all the wrong directions, the cabinets are so shallow that you can barely

In the Internet Age, it seems like almost anything is possible. There are cars that can drive themselves, microwaves that you can talk to and, of course, smart thermostats. For the average,

Just imagine it! Waking up to the sound of sea and surf pounding the sand right outside your very own home. You don’t have to call ahead for reservations, you don’t need to ask anyone

While you’re dreaming about your Starter Home, don’t forget that you’re going to need a Starter Mortgage to pay for it. The mortgage programs offered through the Department of

Land can be a good investment, whether you intend to build a house or business on a particular lot or simply want a place where you can stretch your legs and breathe a bit more deeply. After all,

Joseph BurrisYour garage is a big deal. Even if you totally ignore that your garage doors themselves can take up a significant portion of your home’s street facing surface, there’s all

Joseph BurrisIt’s finally spring! Time to break out the grill and the patio set and spend your evenings cooking out under the stars. Except, you don’t have a patio, you have a backyard

Joseph BurrisThings seem to be getting smarter and smarter these days. From smartphones to smart pressure cookers, anything that can be built with a brain or an internet connection seems to be being

It’s the most important meal of the day, so why are you spending your mornings eating over the sink on your rush to get ready for work? For many homeowners there’s a perfectly cozy and

It’s been a busy year. It almost feels like we completely skipped over spring, summer and fall and found ourselves barreling head first into winter like a kid on an out of control snow sled.

November 15, 2018 Joseph BurrisThere are a whole boatload of articles on the Internet about the home renovations that offer the best return on your hard-earned cash, but not so many about the

There are a whole boatload of articles on the Internet about the home renovations that offer the best return on your hard-earned cash, but not so many about the ones that are literally just black

  Once upon a time having a security system or even just some video cameras meant that you either lived in a dodgy neighborhood or you had something really awesome to steal. Today, home

Interestingly enough, if you’re looking for images of table saws in any of the places where you get that sort of thing, you’ll see a lot of things that scream “hold my beer!”

Along with the provocative spending and lavish feasts that are hallmarks of the holiday season also comes the cold, the ice and the snow. Like those extra three helpings of stuffing at Aunt Linda

If you find yourself sitting in a strange hallway, waiting for a stranger in a suit to size you up and decide if you’re worthy as your palms sweat and your breath gets just a little bit harder

December 6, 2018 Joseph BurrisYou just found out that you’re being relocated by your job, or maybe you were offered a job that was too good to be true in another state. Either way, you

For a lot of homebuyers, buying their dream home means choosing an older structure that has passed the test of time. These grand places have an undeniable charm about them, with classic styling that

If you’ve been following along, you know that last time around we covered a lot of the important things you should be thinking about when buying an older home. They’re great, but they

Your basic household drain pipe is a fairly simple device. It has one job: to take liquids away to the sewer, where water treatment experts somehow magically turn those contaminated fluids into

The first few years of owning your home mean discovering lots of things about it. Every house is different and some almost seem like they have a personality of their own — which isn’t

December 27, 2018 Joseph BurrisIf you’ve been paying any attention at all to the world of smart homes and home automation, then the fact that smart switches and smart lights exist could

December 31, 2018 Joseph BurrisAs the march into winter gets underway, a lot of people are already starting to plan their spring and summer vacations. Oh, they’ll go somewhere sunny, or

January 3, 2019 Joseph BurrisAll homes have quirks that require special care and consideration, but when it comes to homes with basements, it’s a whole different ball game. Instead of

January 7, 2019 Joseph BurrisIf you currently have a mortgage or are looking at taking one out, you’ve probably come across a concept so notorious, so vile, that it can cause blood

If you’re shopping for a house, or even just considering buying one, there’s one person that you absolutely need on your side: a Realtor. Potential buyers often think they can go it,

January 14, 2019 Joseph BurrisIt’s amazing how much a pet can give you just by simply existing. According to the Centers for Disease Control, owning a pet can help increase your

January 17, 2019 Joseph BurrisWhether you just bought your home or you’ve owned it a while, it can be easy to overlook the windows that open it up to the world, as if they didn’t

 There’s little more frightening than losing your electricity in the middle of a big winter storm or even a spring tornado. Whatever natural disaster is common in your area, you have

January 24, 2019 Joseph BurrisOne of the best parts about living in the future is that we’ve got some of the coolest technology available to help with almost any household task. Forget if

You knew the moment you walked through the perfectly preserved arch-topped doors that this was one very special house. As your real estate agent guided you from room to room, all you could think was

For many people in North America, the weather outside is still pretty frightful, but a fire is so delightful. That is, as long as their flues are in good shape. Homeowners, especially in their first

Joseph BurrisYou’ve been renting for a while now and it feels like the timing is right to make the leap to homeownership. After all, your friends are all buying houses and your job feels

February 7, 2019 Joseph BurrisThe day is not that far away when you’ll hear a tippity tap at the front door and open it to find your friendly neighborhood pizza drone just

February 11, 2019 Joseph BurrisThe word “attic” conjures up images of dark, dusty relic storerooms that just happen to be hidden in plain sight. For plenty of homeowners, their

February 14, 2019 Joseph BurrisOf all the things that civilization has brought us, including sliced bread, hot water may be the very best. It’s certainly up there, without a doubt. So, it

February 11, 2019 Joseph BurrisThe word “attic” conjures up images of dark, dusty relic storerooms that just happen to be hidden in plain sight. For plenty of homeowners, their

o/~ “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose…. even though your windows are closed….” o/~If that sounds disturbingly like your home in the

February 14, 2019 Joseph BurrisOf all the things that civilization has brought us, including sliced bread, hot water may be the very best. It’s certainly up there, without a doubt. So, it

 February 21, 2019 Joseph BurrisIn the first part of this two part blog on weatherstripping, we walked through ways to detect leaks and how to determine if you even need to weatherstrip

It seems that everything is getting smarter these days. You’ve got your basic smartphone, your smart security system, your smart speakers and even smart refrigerators. It should come as no

Joseph BurrisOwning a home means having a place that’s safe and secure to come back to after a long day at work, every day, forever, until you decide it’s time to buy a different home.

https://home.homekeepr.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/do-before-listing-home-spring.jpgMarch 12, 2019 Joseph BurrisAs the snow starts to melt, revealing the brightly colored flowers of crocus,