Locating Housing Checklist: Fill & Download for Free

I bought my first house when I was 29 years old. I’d been renting apartments and moving every year or two throughout my 20s. I lived in my parents’ house when I was a kid, of course.I had no idea how many different things need to be maintained on a regular basis to keep a house running smoothly, because I never had to do it before.This isn’t a complaint, though. I love owning my own house. I just wish that I didn’t have to learn about the need to maintain so many things via those things breaking from not being maintained. I’ve spent thousands of dollars over the years fixing things that only broke because I didn’t do preventative maintenance.Things like:Oiling the pump on the boiler.Vacuuming out the boiler before turning it on the first time in the season.Shutting off the feed to the outside spigots in the winter.Cleaning the downspout on the gutter.Rodding from the stack to the street. (Or, at least, knowing how to do that if needed.)Checking the chimney liner.Cutting down roots in the yard BEFORE hitting them with the lawn mower.Bleeding the radiators.Covering the AC unit in the winter.I just realized that a lot of these things are specific cold-weather issues that we didn’t have when I grew up in a warm-weather place. That’s why my dad never showed me how to do them. Still, no one tells you these things when you buy a house in a cold climate. You don’t turn off and drain the outside spigot in the fall, and then the pipe bursts and begins leaking in your basement, and people act like you’re an idiot for letting that happen.There should be a book for new homeowners with a monthly checklist of things they should do to maintain their new house. Better yet… an app with notifications every weekend.“It’s Saturday, November 2nd… locate the pump on the side of your boiler, and oil its gears. This will take five minutes, and will save you a $700 repair down the road.”

Helmet - I went with an Ops-Core Fast Bump b/c it had lots of attachment points, fits with several types of comm headsets, and is extremely adjustable. Downside: expensive.Helmet (seriously!) - Get something! Even a cheap snowboarding helmet can change what would have been a life threatening head injury into a minor headache.Ear protection - I went with a Bose TTH Tactical Headset that I could integrate into my Ops-core helmet. It has a “Talk Through” feature that lets you hear people through the significant passive and active noise cancellation.You can see the integrated solution below. The bluetooth receiver is velcroed to the top back.Emergency first aid kitRepair kit (spark plug, wrench, zip ties, tape, etc) - I recommend two of these, one with bare essentials that you carry with you, and one with all the stuff you ‘might’ need that you keep in the car. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made it all the way to my flying field, gased up, laid out my wing, and then found something simple has broken. Throttle mount, velcro strap, etc.Waterproof case for your phoneEmergency locatorChecklists - Even if you never forget anything, they are good practice.Leaving the house checklist (Gas can, phone, spare key, emergency kit, repair kit, notified the wife, etc)Prior to starting (Gas tank lid shut, prop bungees removed, etc)Prior to takeoff (Car locked, called/texted the wife, rechecked the wind, engine makes full power, etc)etcClearly some of these things depend on where/how you fly. I often see recommendations for a reserve chute, but since I usually am flying 10–100ft off the ground, a reserve becomes more of a liability. Accidental reserve deployment can be a huge downer.

The first thing I look for is will it produced my desired rate of return (15%) and cash flow requirements ($500 per unit per month). If not then it’s not worth spending any more time in evaluating the location, crime rate, current tenant situation or anything else.If it does meet my initial ROI and cash flow criteria, then I take it through my rental analysis checklist .