Tag Archives: repairs

7 Ways Downsizing Saves Money – Complete Guide

23 Monday Mar 2026

Posted by in Jacksonville, 55+ Communities, Downsizing, Empty Nesters

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Downsizing is hardly a dirty word these days, especially as Baby Boomers begin to question the size of their home, and more Millennials are finally making their way into the world. Home ownership is a good investment at any size, and if you’ve ever wanted to free up some cash for the rest of life’s joys such as travel, new hobbies, or investing, downsizing can be a great way to rightsize your budget. In Jacksonville’s market, where many families are moving from larger homes to more manageable ones near the beaches, rivers, or downtown, downsizing often unlocks thousands in annual savings. Here are seven ways downsizing can foster a little more financial freedom:

1. Utility costs If your gas and electric bills have been climbing year over year, consider the pleasant surprise of heating and cooling 1,200 sq. ft. instead of 3,500. Controlling the climate in empty spare bedrooms is pointless when you don’t need the room. For example, in Florida’s hot and humid climate, many homeowners see utility bills drop by 20 to 30 percent or more, potentially saving $600 to $900 annually on average electric costs alone. What’s more, you can count on fewer houseguests with less space, and this, in turn, can decrease utility costs further by reducing water and energy use. According to E&E News by Politico.

2. Maintenance costs How big is that lawn? How many rooms need to be refreshed with a coat of paint? How many windows do you need to wash, and what about the size of that driveway that must be repaired and sealed? Downsizing slashes these tasks dramatically. A common rule of thumb is to budget about $1 per square foot annually for maintenance, so dropping from 3,500 sq. ft. to 1,200 sq. ft. could cut your yearly upkeep from around $3,500 to $1,200, freeing up significant funds while keeping your smaller Jacksonville home in top shape with less effort, per Investopedia.

3. Insurance Your insurance bill is based in large part on your appraisal, and if your new home is smaller, your insurance bill should shrink as well. This can vary based on location and levels of coverage, of course, but you would be hard pressed to insure less for more. In Florida, where homeowners insurance premiums remain elevated due to storm risks, downsizing often means lower replacement costs and reduced exposure, potentially saving hundreds per year while still maintaining strong protection, per SpectrumNews.

4. Property taxes Speaking of value-based costs, property taxes scale directly with your home’s assessed value so downsizing to a smaller home typically lowers your annual bill substantially. In Jacksonville, moving from a 3,500 sq ft property (often valued higher) to 1,200 sq ft could reduce taxes by $2,000 to $5,000 or more yearly, thanks to Florida’s homestead exemption (around $50,000 or slightly more with recent adjustments) and portability feature. This lets you transfer much of your “Save Our Homes” savings cap to the new place, preventing a big tax jump and keeping more money in your pocket for the lifestyle you want, per Jacksonville.gov.

5. Repairs How many toilets do you need to have fixed? Appliances? Light fixtures to keep lit? The smaller home has fewer leaking faucets and a smaller roof to replace. Your overall spend on maintenance goes down when you have less home to maintain. Fewer systems and fixtures mean fewer breakdowns, especially in Florida’s challenging climate, where things like air conditioning repairs, plumbing issues from humidity, or roof replacements after storms can add up quickly in larger homes.

6. Furniture Downsizing is a perfect opportunity to sell excess furniture and keep only those pieces well-loved or essential for your new smaller space. Many people generate thousands in cash by selling items through online marketplaces, consignment shops, or local Jacksonville groups, turning clutter into funds for travel, hobbies, home upgrades, or even boosting retirement savings.

7. Hosting and entertaining When you’ve got that sprawling home, your place is ground zero for out-of-town guests, relatives, and holiday parties. As your space shrinks, so does your annual hosting and entertaining budget. Besides, if you really want to throw a shin-dig, you can take some of that downsizing cash and pick a perfect venue, like a local park, beachfront spot, or rented hall that fits everyone comfortably without the stress of cleaning up afterward.

Looking to downsize and redirect that extra cash? Get in touch: Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS The Hanley Home Team of Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside 904-515-2479 www.HanleyHomeTeam.comSouthside 904-515-2479 www.HanleyHomeTeam.com

Some of the Scariest—and Most Expensive—Things a Home Inspection Might Uncover

19 Monday May 2025

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Getting an offer accepted can be an exciting experience. But, in most cases, your home purchase isn’t a done deal just yet; before you close, you’ll need to get through the inspection process.

Ideally, the home inspector won’t find anything too concerning during the inspection. But there are certain home issues that may be uncovered during an inspection that could make you think twice about buying the home—thanks to the added time, stress, and costs those issues could throw into the mix.

So as a potential homebuyer, what, exactly, are those issues?

A recent article from realtor.com outlined some of the scariest (and most expensive!) things a home inspector might discover when inspecting a home, including:

  • An old deck. A deck can be a major selling point of a home. But decks also have a relatively short lifespan (12 to 15 years) before they start to corrode—which can lead to a collapse. If your inspector finds that the deck of the home needs to be rebuilt, you can expect to spend anywhere between $10,000 and $15,000 on the renovation.
  • A detached chimney. Repairing chimneys is an expensive undertaking; if the home inspector discovers that the chimney is detached from the house or has sustained significant damage, it will need to be replaced—which can cost upwards of $20,000.
  • Bad electrical panels. The electrical panels (also known as fuse boxes or breaker boxes) in older homes sometimes don’t work properly—and if your inspector finds that the electrical panels in your home need to be replaced, it will cost you between $5000 and $6000.

Don’t worry! Buying a home is NOT scary and we will make it easy! Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS The Hanley Home Team of Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside 904-515-2479 HanleyHomeTeam.com

Hey Sellers: How Much Will Repairs Really Cost You?

30 Monday Sep 2024

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Part of our job as real estate agents is educating and protecting our clients. Many of our clients get nervous about home inspections. They often ask: “Should I have a home inspection before I put my home on the market?” Here’s our take on the pre-listing inspection:

Knowing what you’re in for when it comes to selling a house is always better than getting a nasty surprise down the line. In the event you find repairs that need to be made, they can be done in a reasonable time frame. 

The pre-listing inspection is also useful in situations down the line when you suspect the buyer’s home inspection reflects wildly inflated estimates for repairs. 

Also keep in mind that if you fail to disclose a problem found in the inspection, you could be in big trouble down the line.

You also need to know the difference between maintenance repairs and home upgrades. Buyers have a reasonable expectation that the home has been properly maintained. Making necessary maintenance repairs doesn’t mean the you can up the price on the listing. You can’t cover the cost of your new roof by pumping up the sale price. You might be able to use it as an effective marketing point over other listings in the area, but it’s not a fabulous kitchen renovation!

If you don’t want to make the repairs, understand that not making repairs can have a disproportionately negative impact on your sale price. For example, if you want to dump a $1,000 plumbing repair on prospective buyers, the buyers are not going to equate that to $1,000 off the asking price. Instead, they’re going to think about the time, inconvenience, and the cost of the repair. A $1,000 repair might translate to a $3,000 hit to the asking price. Buyers will want to be well-paid to handle a seller’s headache.

There’s a definite benefit to the pre-listing inspection, but it’s important to consider the pros and cons with your agent. 

We’d be glad to have a conversation with you about the specific concerns you may have about your home if you’re preparing to list it. Please contact us today: The Hanley Home Team – Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORs 904-515-2479 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com 

Don’t Ignore Little Problems Around Your House, Because It Could Impact Your Insurance Coverage (Pay special attention, FL!)

21 Thursday Sep 2023

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Do you have some loose or missing shingles on your roof? Are your gutters pulling away from the house causing rain to pool at your foundation? Got any annoying leaks in your kitchen or bathroom? Or is there a bit of mold on your bathroom ceiling because of the steam of long hot showers? 

If you have any of these, or other things that need to be fixed around your home, you’re not alone. Homeowners often learn to live with certain problems around their house, promising themselves they’ll get around to it eventually, for any number of reasons, such as:

  • They just don’t have the time to fix things.
  • They don’t have the ability to fix things on their own.
  • They can’t spare the money it’ll take for materials or to pay someone to fix it.
  • It can be difficult to find a contractor who is responsive or willing to deal with smaller jobs.
  • It’s not all that appealing to spend money on things that don’t have a “wow” factor, or give you pleasure, like new kitchen or bathroom renovation.

Unfortunately, ignoring smaller issues around your home can snowball into a bigger problem than you might think. 

Insurance Covers Unexpected Events… Not Ones You Let Happen

According to Simply Insurance, recent statistics show that over 95% of U.S. homeowners have homeowner’s insurance. This is in part due to the fact that it just makes good sense to protect yourself from large catastrophic losses, but it’s also in large part due to the fact that anyone who has a mortgage is likely required to have homeowner’s insurance by their lender. (In fact, if you don’t maintain payments on your own policy, they’ll buy a policy of their choice and make you pay for it… and it’s usually more expensive than one you would have gotten on your own.)

So, while you might be aware that the longer you ignore problems with your house the more damage can be done, you might be comfortable taking that risk, since you most likely have insurance. Some people might even think that putting it off until it gets even worse and causes major damage could work to their advantage, thinking they can just file an insurance claim and get the work paid for that way! 

While it might be appealing to get your money’s worth from your homeowner’s policy, it could easily backfire and cost you more than just taking care of issues before they get worse. Kiplinger recently published an article about how delaying repairs can actually put your homeowner’s insurance policy at risk. Within the article, Beth Riczko, president of Nationwide’s P&C Personal Lines was interviewed and said:

“As a homeowner, it’s important to protect your property from further damage when there is a known issue. When a claim is filed, there are many factors reviewed during the investigation that may impact whether the claim is covered, including if the insured followed policy conditions. For example, when shingles are damaged on a roof and aren’t repaired causing interior damage, there could be coverage impacts.”

In other words, not only will your insurance not cover the loose roof shingles the homeowner ignored for some time, they won’t cover the damage done to the inside of the house because of it! So the homeowner now has to pay for the roof and all of the interior damage. On top of that, now that the insurance company is aware of the issue, they may demand that you fix the problems immediately, or threaten to cancel your coverage.

So if you notice that work needs to be done around your house, and it’s something your insurance company or their adjuster could reasonably expect that you would have noticed and ignored, you ought to take care of the issue before it becomes a bigger problem. Here are a few tips on how to fix any issues you come across:

  • If you’re handy, roll up your sleeves and get it done. No matter how busy you are, carve out some time as soon as you become aware of an issue.
  • Not handy? Perhaps it’s easier than you think to become handy! Check out some how-to videos on YouTube; you’ll be amazed at how easily some things can be fixed with a little know-how you can find for free online.
  • Find a contractor or “handyman” you can rely on in your area. Ask friends for recommendations, or look at local forums on social media to find posts about who people recommended and hired in the area. It’s not only a good way to find out who you can trust to do good work, but also to hear from other people about how their pricing is.
  • Reach out to your favorite real estate agent. He or she can be an incredible source of information on who to hire, and might even have some insights into how to add some pizzazz or value to your home when getting the work done.

The Takeaway:

If you have some minor issues around your house that you’ve been ignoring, make sure to address them as soon as possible. Otherwise, your homeowner’s insurance may not cover any bigger damage that is caused due to you not fixing the smaller issues over time.

Get in touch for more important details: Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORs, The Hanley Home Team of Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside HanleyHomeTeam.com 904-515-2479

Some of the Scariest—and Most Expensive—Things a Home Inspection Might Uncover

27 Friday May 2022

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Getting an offer accepted can be an exciting experience. But, in most cases, your home purchase isn’t a done deal just yet; before you close, you’ll need to get through the inspection process.

Ideally, the home inspector won’t find anything too concerning during the inspection. But there are certain home issues that may be uncovered during an inspection that could make you think twice about buying the home—thanks to the added time, stress, and costs those issues could throw into the mix.

So as a potential homebuyer, what, exactly, are those issues?

A recent article from realtor.com outlined some of the scariest (and most expensive!) things a home inspector might discover when inspecting a home, including:

  • An old deck. A deck can be a major selling point of a home. But decks also have a relatively short lifespan (12 to 15 years) before they start to corrode—which can lead to a collapse. If your inspector finds that the deck of the home needs to be rebuilt, you can expect to spend anywhere between $10,000 and $15,000 on the renovation.
  • A detached chimney. Repairing chimneys is an expensive undertaking; if the home inspector discovers that the chimney is detached from the house or has sustained significant damage, it will need to be replaced—which can cost upwards of $20,000.
  • Bad electrical panels. The electrical panels (also known as fuse boxes or breaker boxes) in older homes sometimes don’t work properly—and if your inspector finds that the electrical panels in your home need to be replaced, it will cost you between $5000 and $6000.

Don’t worry! Buying a home is NOT scary and we will make it easy! Kevin and Jennifer Hanley, REALTORS The Hanley Home Team of Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Partners Southside 904-515-2479 HanleyHomeTeam.com

Sellers: How much will repairs REALLY cost you?

09 Tuesday Oct 2012

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Part of our job as real estate agents is educating and protecting our clients. Many of our clients get nervous about home inspections. They often ask: “Should I have a home inspection before I put my home on the market?” Here’s our take on the pre-listing inspection:

Knowing what you’re in for when it comes to selling a house is always better than getting a nasty surprise down the line. In the event you find repairs that need to be made, they can be done in a reasonable time frame.

The pre-listing inspection is also useful in situations down the line when you suspect the buyer’s home inspection reflects wildly inflated estimates for repairs.

Also keep in mind that if you fail to disclose a problem found in the inspection, you could be in big trouble down the line.

You also need to know the difference between maintenance repairs and home upgrades. Buyers have a reasonable expectation that the home has been properly maintained. Making necessary maintenance repairs doesn’t mean the you can up the price on the listing. You can’t cover the cost of your new roof by pumping up the sale price. You might be able to use it as an effective marketing point over other listings in the area, but it’s not a fabulous kitchen renovation!

If you don’t want to make the repairs, understand that not making repairs can have a disproportionately negative impact on your sale price. For example, if you want to dump a $1,000 plumbing repair on prospective buyers, the buyers are not going to equate that to $1,000 off the asking price. Instead, they’re going to think about the time, inconvenience, and the cost of the repair. A $1,000 repair might translate to a $3,000 hit to the asking price. Buyers will want to be well-paid to handle a seller’s headache.

There’s a definite benefit to the pre-listing inspection, but it’s important to consider the pros and cons with your agent.

We’d be glad to have a conversation with you about the specific concerns you may have about your home if you’re preparing to list it. Please contact us today: The Hanley Home Team – Kevin and Jennifer Hanley 904-422-7626 http://www.HanleyHomeTeam.com or http://www.HanleyShortSale.com