Fall Home Maintenance During Divorce
Fall Home Maintenance During Divorce
Maintaining a home is always a lot of work, and when you add in a divorce situation, some things may feel even more challenging. Before you get completely overwhelmed, make a list of your typical home maintenance items in the fall, and then decide what must get done, what the cost is, and then which checklist items perhaps don’t need to take place this year.
Typical fall home maintenance may include:
Raking Leaves – This activity can be done for free, if you do it yourself. Unless you’re in a very amicable situation, I would not expect an equitable sharing of this activity (you rake the front yard and they rake the back yard). This is something you may need/want to tackle solo, or with some help from friends/family.
Aerating the Lawn – If you have the equipment at home, this is something that can be done, but if you have to hire someone, it needs to get added to the list of “nice to have” activities if a budget is agreed upon.
Trimming Trees and Shrubs – I don’t recommend climbing any ladders for tree trimming, but some smaller shrubs may be manageable…and it’s a good reason to get outside of the house!
Cleaning Gutters – Depending on the surrounding area (do you have a lot of trees nearby?), this may be a necessary activity you hire someone to do.
Storing and Covering Outdoor Furniture – You don’t want to leave things out to blow around and be damaged or cause damage. Make sure you’ve put away your outdoor furniture.
Planting Fall Bulbs – This is definitely a “nice to have activity,” and is a great one if it’s something you love doing. If it’s not, skip it.
Prepping Snow Removal Equipment – Making sure you have shovels and a working snowblower is important. If you don’t know how to use the snowblower, or are concerned about it getting done, you may consider including in your budget to have a plow person come.
Winterizing Your Irrigation System – This is a must! You cannot let your existing system freeze and crack, as it will either cause problems for you or for your future buyer when they see the system doesn’t work.
Lawn Fertilization – This is a “nice to have,” but it costs money that may not make sense to budget for. If you or your significant other is definitely staying in the house, that person may want to invest the money. Otherwise, it’s best to skip it.
Once you’ve assessed what must be done, get some pricing and put together the cost. You can then present this to your legal counsel to see if an agreement can be reached as to how to handle the expenses for your home’s fall maintenance.
Don’t forget to download your free checklists from our homepage!
