When I was a child growing up in South Georgia, my family lived in a three-bedroom ranch house. My dad was fairly handy, so I don’t recall having many service workers come in to fix things. Because he made it look so easy, I don’t think I fully grasped all that it takes to keep a home in good working order.
After years of apartment living and Army base housing, my husband and I were finally able to buy our first house. I quickly realized that while I had dreamed of owning a home, I hadn’t fully appreciated that renting has its advantages — namely, the ability to call maintenance when something goes wrong and the peace of mind that expensive replacement items such as HVAC equipment, a roof, plumbing, electrical systems and appliances are not your responsibility.
I recently discovered a company that can help homeowners like me. When something fails, such as an electrical or plumbing system, I know how to find someone to fix it. What I lacked was knowing what needs to be maintained to, ideally, prevent a system failure in the first place.
Homelio is a company that visits your home three times a year to check and service its systems. According to its website, Homelio is “not a repair service. Not a warranty. Not an app. A company built around the ongoing care of your home: consistent, structured, accountable.”
The company says it does not perform repairs or accept referral fees.
During the four hours Homelio representatives spent at my house on their first visit, they measured the cooling performance of my air conditioner and cleaned its coils, checked my sump pump and made sure all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors were working properly.
They determined that my air conditioner’s readings were off and recommended that I have it evaluated. Because Homelio does not perform the repairs it recommends, I was free to call the service provider of my choice. The company will make a recommendation if a homeowner needs help finding someone.
Homelio also provided me with a report detailing everything that was done. In my case, I was able to call an HVAC company and explain the problem in more technical terms.
The report included a list of my home’s important systems, a summary of the visit, before-and-after photos and notes explaining what I should plan for and what could wait or simply be monitored. The company adds to the home’s report after each visit, creating an ongoing maintenance history that could also be useful when selling a home.
On future visits, Homelio will perform services such as flushing my water heater — something I didn’t know was recommended as regular maintenance — checking my furnace’s efficiency, cleaning my gutters and dryer vent, and inspecting my electrical panel.
Jordan Smoke, co-owner of Homelio, said new homeowners are among those who frequently express interest in the service.
“We receive a lot of interest from new home buyers,” Smoke said. “They just bought a house that came with no manual, and nobody has ever shown them what’s needed to maintain it.”
For more information, visit www.homelio.com.
