Straight answers to the questions your home raises.
Practical guides for owners and buyers, and how Joysts turns your documents into answers grounded in your own home.
Inspections & buying
Understanding your home inspection report
A good inspection report is dense: dozens of pages, hundreds of observations, and no obvious priority order. Here is how to make sense of it, and how to keep it useful long after closing.
Read more →New homeowner: your first 90 days
The first few months in a new home set up everything that follows. Beyond the boxes, a little organization now saves real money and stress later. Here is where to start.
Read more →Systems & maintenance
When to replace your water heater
A failing water heater is rarely a surprise, unless you have lost track of how old it is. Here is how to know when replacement is on the horizon, and how to plan for it instead of reacting to a flooded floor.
Read more →How long a roof lasts (and how to budget for it)
A roof replacement is one of the largest single expenses a home will hand you, and one of the most predictable, if you know the roof’s age. Here is how long roofs typically last and how to plan for the bill before it is urgent.
Read more →Seasonal home maintenance, made simple
Most home problems are cheaper to prevent than to fix, and prevention is mostly a matter of doing small things on a schedule. Here is a simple seasonal rhythm, and how to keep it tied to your home’s real systems.
Read more →Risk & older homes
Do you need flood insurance?
Standard homeowners insurance does not cover flooding, a surprise many owners only discover after water is in the basement. Here is how to think about whether flood insurance is worth it for your home.
Read more →What to check in an older home
The year a home was built tells you a lot about what might be hiding in it. Certain materials and methods were standard in their era and are now known concerns. Here is what to have on your radar.
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