Finding Your Affordable Dream Home in Bryans Road, MD

Welcome to your new home at 6118 Lands End Ct in Bryans Road, Maryland! This charming townhouse in the South Hampton Townhouses community is just waiting for your personal touch and a little bit of TLC. With a listing price of $310,000, this 3-bedroom, 2-full-bathroom, and 1-half-bathroom home spans three inviting levels and offers the perfect blend of comfort and convenience. One of the standout features of this property is the newer HVAC unit, which ensures that you'll stay cool during those hot summer months and cozy during the winter. Additionally, the washer, dryer, and dishwasher are also included, making your daily household tasks a breeze. This move-in ready home is just waiting for you to add your own personal flair and make it your own. But it's not just the house itself that makes this listing so enticing. Living in South Hampton Townhouses means you'll have access to a variety of amenities, including schools, shopping centers, and more. Plus, with its proximity to the renowned National Harbor and Washington, D.C., you'll be just minutes away from world-class entertainment, dining, and cultural experiences. If you work at one of the military bases in Indian Head, MD, or Washington, D.C., you'll appreciate the convenience of living close by. If you're worried about financing, this property may be eligible for a zero down payment USDA/Rural Housing loan, provided you meet the credit, income, and other requirements. This makes it an excellent choice for first-time homebuyers or those looking for an affordable yet well-maintained starter home. Don't miss out on the opportunity to call 6118 Lands End Ct your own. Book your showing today and discover the potential and value that this gem has to offer. Make South Hampton Townhouses in Bryans Road, MD, your new home and start experiencing all that this vibrant community has in store for you. Your dream home awaits! https://www.shawandasoldit.com/listing-detail/1128567001/6118_LANDS_END_CT-Bryans_Road-MD

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Why Is My Furnace in the Attic or Crawl Space?

Though it’s not as common as traditional furnace setups, some homes feature a furnace that’s installed in either the attic of the house or in a crawl space. It might seem at first that this would be inconvenient compared to standard furnace locations, and in some ways it can be. There are some advantages to having an attic-mounted furnace or a furnace in the crawl space, however. If you’re thinking of buying a home (or recently bought one) that makes use of one of these alternate furnace locations, it was probably done to take advantage of one or more of these factors. With that said, you may have some questions about your furnace and how to maintain it. First, the good news: A lot of your maintenance will be about the same as you would have with a more traditionally located furnace. There are a few specific things that you may be wondering about, though, so here are some things that you should know about using and maintaining these furnaces. Filtration and Air Flow Most of the time, when people get nervous about a furnace that’s mounted in the attic or crawl space it’s because they think they’ll have to venture up there every time a filter needs to be changed. For the most part, airflow with an attic-mounted furnace or one that’s in the crawl space will be pretty much the same as a more traditional furnace setup. The thermostat is still on the wall, there are still vents in every room, and the air return is still inside the main house. This means that maintenance tasks like changing out your air filter will be pretty much the same as it would be for any other furnace, as the filter is placed in the air return. Attic and Crawl Space Advantages As mentioned before, there are a few advantages to placing a furnace in the attic or a crawl space. Some of these, such as a possibly reduced installation cost, will only affect the homeowner who installed the furnace in the first place. Even if you bought a home that already had a furnace installed in the attic or crawl space, though, there are still advantages that you can enjoy. One of the biggest is that this installation type frees up space in the home that would otherwise be taken up by furnace equipment. If that doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, think about what you could do with an extra closet or a little bit of additional storage space that’s convenient to rooms like the kitchen. Depending on the layout of your house, an alternate location for your furnace could also simplify the ductwork layout and make checking for damage or other ductwork issues much easier. Accessing the Furnace There may be a few times when the location of your furnace becomes inconvenient, such as if your pilot light goes out and you actually have to venture into the attic or crawl space to relight it. In most cases the pilot light will be situated to make it convenient to access, but you still have to get to the furnace unit, which can be annoying at least. Bigger issues may arise if you run afoul of actual hardware issues, as the more enclosed space and slightly different layout of the furnace can make some forms of maintenance more difficult. In these cases, it’s best to call an HVAC pro for any maintenance beyond the basics. They’ll have a better understanding of how the furnace is laid out and just the tools that they need to fix it even in a tighter space. HomeKeepr can help you find the right pro for the job, too; our app matches you with pros in your area based on real recommendations from people you know. Creating a HomeKeepr account is free, so sign up today!

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HVAC Troubleshooting for Homeowners

Climate control is one of the greatest inventions of humankind since leavened bread, but when it’s suddenly not working properly, or it stops working all together, your HVAC system can become a massive source of stress and worry. Before you decide to panic, though, consider doing a little troubleshooting of your system. There are several very easy things you can check before you even have to call a repairman. Is Your HVAC Powered and Set Properly? Often, when HVAC systems go awry, it’s because your system is simply not powered. That might seem like an obvious problem, but since your HVAC system likely has at least two different breakers in your breaker box, it can be easy to miss that a switch has been flipped. Reset both your air conditioner and your furnace or air handler’s breakers, then try to kick the system on again. Another major source of headaches for homeowners is the thermostat itself. Not only do thermostats actually go bad from time to time (even smart thermostats), they can also throw curveballs. Check that your thermostat is set to a temperature that will turn your system on, and that the right mode is enabled, if your system doesn’t automatically change between heat and air. Learning thermostats can sometimes randomly change your programmed settings, if they think you’re regularly making a specific adjustment, and may have simply changed the program in an attempt to help. Are Your Filters Clean? It might sound like a small thing, but your filters determine how much air makes it from the interior of your home into your air handler and back out the vents at some temperature that is meant to help you achieve your desired comfort level. If your filters are dirty, they can drastically cut down on how much air is moving through your home. Change your filters monthly, even if they only look slightly dirty, since today’s high filtration filters can get clogged quickly. You can also swap those paper filters for custom built electrostatic filters, so you only need to vacuum and hose your filters down once a month, rather than go to the additional expense of buying new ones constantly. Are Your Ducts Leaky? If your HVAC is blowing air, hot or cold, but it just doesn’t seem like it’s as hot or as cold as it normally is, your problem might be in your ducts. Ductwork can work loose over time, or be pulled down by animals who might have snuck into your crawlspace or attic. When there’s an opening in that ductwork, you can lose both air pressure and some of the temperature treated air that you’re trying to keep inside your house. To check your ductwork, you’ll just need to go to where it’s hanging, and start at one end. Make sure the HVAC system is blowing so you can feel for leaks with your bare hands. When you find one, reconnect the ductwork. Some systems fit together with screws, while others use clamps. Once reconnected, you can double-secure your handiwork by winding aluminum tape around the seam where you made the repair. You may also need to add additional support to help hold the ductwork in place if there isn’t adequate strapping. If your ductwork is in good shape, but it still feels like you’re not getting enough treated air, check your windows and doors for leaks and seal them tight. You can do this by feeling around them for drafts, or waiting until after dark and going outside to look for light peeking through cracks in doors and around trim. Doing both will catch more leaks than either one alone. Do You Need an Expert? If you’ve done all you can on your own to figure out what’s keeping your heating or air conditioning from being its best, it might be time to call in an HVAC expert. Not only will they have all the right tools to properly diagnose your problem, their experience can also help them find the issue right away. Not sure where to find them? Just ask for a recommendation from your HomeKeepr community!

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