No one is born an expert homeowner, and homeownership has only gotten more complicated with an aging home market, more first-time homeowners, and new smart home tech.
Keeping up with the Joneses has transformed to “keeping up with home maintenance,” which can be extremely difficult to new homeowners.
Without proper upkeep, homeowners can lose their homes to fires and floods (or lose substantial home value at the time of sale), and that’s what led Founders Alfred Bentley and Geoff Martin to create the vipHomeLink app.
“Alfred and I both have close friends who suffered multiple in-home floods,” says Geoff. “I can also remember a couple of house fires within my own neighborhood. About six or seven years ago, a house just down the street from us went up in flames due to a kitchen fire.”
Each year, more than 353,000 home fires occur in the U.S., many caused by cooking incidents, dirty dryer vents, electrical equipment, and heating systems. Almost all of these are preventable. Water damage, too, can be prevented or at least mitigated, yet it is the second most common insurance claim.
“We saw the potential to ultimately leverage technology, to help an incredible number of people,” says Alfred. “Geoff and I had the epiphany that some of the stuff that we were trying to automate, people didn’t even know they needed to do.”
The vipHomeLink home management app can help homeowners stay on top of home maintenance and prevent the preventable from happening to their home.
How does it work? First, download the vipHomeLink home management app from Google Play or the App Store (if you haven’t already).
Fill out your Property Profile
Here, you’ll be prompted to fill out some of your home’s information. With our new auto-population feature, a lot of your home’s stats will be pre-filled – such as number of bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, etc.
To help determine your personalized reminders and tailored recommendations, you’ll be asked quick questions, such as:
- Last electrical safety check? (Enter date.)
- Exterior walkway conditions?
- Proximity of trees to your home?
- Latest CO detector battery check?
- Last heating system inspection/service?
Insider Tip: Recently bought your home? Check your home inspection report. That could help you fill out 90 percent of your Property Profile.
Now that your home’s profile is completed, you’ll find your Home Fitness Index on the dashboard.
How “in shape” is your home?
The Home Fitness Index (HFI) can tell you! The HFI has a scale from 0 to 100, and as you fill out the home profile, you’ll see your HFI adjust in real-time.
“We wanted to create the HFI in a manner that would help people take better care of their home and to be proactive about maintaining their home,” says Alfred.
To maintain your HFI, you’ll need to periodically complete preventative home maintenance. This can include checking your carbon monoxide detectors, cleaning out your gutters, and fixing that crack in your walkway. As the customized reminders pop into your dashboard, you’ll be guided to complete these tasks.
We saw the potential to ultimately leverage technology, to help an incredible number of people.”
by Alfred Bentley
Home maintenance reminders and recommendations
vipHomeLink is your home maintenance schedule app. Through personalized reminders, the app helps you to know what to do and when to do it around the home, such as:
- Changing your HVAC filters every one to three months. This saves money on your heating and electrical bills.
- Checking your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors once a month.
- Cleaning your gutters twice a year – after the seeds and leaves fall (late spring and autumn).
- Vacuuming your dryer vent.
- Scheduling annual plumbing and electrical inspections.
Plus, the app will help you improve the safety and efficiency of your home – from adding braided metal hoses to your washing machine and dishwasher to installing smart home tech or a security system. These improvements can actually help to improve the value of your home, which you’ll see reflected in the Home Value Boost!
Before we get to that, we need to mention the app’s new weather alerts. These warn you about heavy snow and rain, high wind, and other extreme weather events as well as provide tips on how to prepare your home. This way, you can be ready for whatever Mother Nature throws at you.
Adding value to your home – the Home Value Boost
The more you care for your home, the more value it has. That’s how we approached the creation of the vipHomeLink Home Value Boost, a member-exclusive feature of our digital home organizer app.
“The Home Value Boost is designed to quantify all these activities and all the effort and maintenance around the home,” says Geoff. “At the same time, it’s also reminding you that your home may be your biggest investment, so let’s take care of it.”
If you serviced your hot water heater, installed an automatic water shut-off valve, cleaned your air filter – the Home Value Boost provides an amount (from $ to $$$) to highlight how much you’ve invested in maintaining the home, and therefore added to the value of your home, simply by taking better care of it.
The more you know – the vipTips
Not sure how to drain that hot water heater or where you need smoke detectors? Head to the app’s vipTips, which put expert-backed information right at your fingertips. This will save you hours on Google, where you’d have to search for answers and more importantly, find accurate ones. You’ll also save money with “buy it now” buttons and even deals with specific home companies.
You’ll also gain peace of mind by using one of the top apps on the market to manage home maintenance.
Push notifications
The vipHomeLink home management app also sends push notifications directly to your phone or tablet, so you’re reminded to check your smoke alarms, change your air filters, and test for radon (a radioactive gas), among other important tasks and home projects.
Your digital filing cabinet
vipHomeLink is the place to store all your home data – your warranty, homeowners insurance policy, home inspection report, and home service receipts. You’ll have all your home info at your fingertips, just in case of a home emergency.
- Need to contact your insurance company? How about your real estate agent? You have your contacts and details right there.
- Did any of your home appliances break and you need home warranty info? It’s right in the app.
- Need your manual for your refrigerator? Simply click and open.
Don’t forget about your home inventory! The vipHomeLink home management app is the ideal place for it. You can easily inventory your home by uploading pictures of big ticket items, along with product labels and model numbers, right into the app, so you don’t need a separate home inventory app!
Start creating your home inventory now with our step-by-step guide. You’ll be glad you did!
New! HomeLog and Rewards
Never forget a paint color, battery change, or filter replacement by uploading them to your HomeLog!
Celebrate your achievements by collecting Gold, Silver, and Bronze Keys! Learn more by downloading the vipHomeLink app now!
Subscribe to the vipHomeLink app today
“We’re motivated every single day to try to prevent as many home mishaps as we possibly can,” says Alfred. “Will we ever know how much we prevent? No, we can’t based on the nature of prevention, but we’re motivated to try to prevent as many home disasters as possible.”
Download the vipHomeLink home management app today from Google Play or the App Store.
