Wouldn't it be nice to get a friendly reminder in your e-mail when it is time to perform those not-so-fun home maintenance chores? Unless you've got nothing better to do, it's hard to put tasks like changing smoke alarm batteries, cleaning dryer vents, or flushing water heaters on your calendar without a little prompting.

American Home Shield has just launched an online program that provides homeowners with important maintenance information that will help homeowners remember those little things that keep a home and its fixtures and appliances running in good working order.

The program is called "RealMinder," and it will send you twice-monthly e-mail notifications to prompt you to complete necessary maintenance on your home. So if you've never exercised your electrical panel, the e-mail will not only remind you to do it but tell you how.

An automatic link is included in the e-mail, which connects the e-mail recipient to his or her personalized RealMinder home maintenance Web pages. On the site, detailed, illustrated instructions guide each homeowner through each scheduled maintenance activity.

As any real estate professional will tell you, good maintenance is the key to retaining and growing home values. Get in the habit early of protecting your home investment by keeping the parts running that could cost you big money in repairs if they aren't well-maintained.

American Home Shield is a national leader in home warranty plans, so they know all about preventive maintenance. A home warranty is great protection for most homeowners, but it can't be expected to cover every problem. Just as in the insurance business, warranty providers are asking homeowners to share the cost of protection by doing more to prevent breakdowns of fixtures and appliances that should run smoothly with a little TLC.

So don't buy into higher costs when warrantying your home. Keep your costs lower by doing your part in home maintenance.

That's a nice extension of any warranty.

Published: July 1, 2002

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.