One of the things you need to consider, whether you're looking at buying property here on Old Algiers Main Street, is that your neighbors are going to expect you to maintain the exterior of your home for the good of the aesthetics of the entire neighborhood. They may even require it through a homeowner's association. Therefore when you're property shopping, it's important to look at the home's exterior as well as the interior to see if you will be able to keep it up.

Facade

Your home's facade is the face that it presents to people who are driving by your home and around your neighborhood. To keep a lovely facade, wooden shingles will need occasional repainting or re-staining. Siding, brick, and stone will need regular power-washing. Trim will need to be painted, windows will need to be washed, gutters will need to be cleaned at least twice a year, and your roof will need to be cleaned and checked for loose shingles and mold growth about once per year.

Yard

The advantage for many people of buying a townhome is that they tend not to have much of a yard, which reduces the exterior maintenance. Even a small grass lawn will need to be mown every two weeks or so, sprayed in the spring, and patched with seed or sod when bare spots appear. If you have plants, trees, or shrubs, you can add raking dead leaves, weeding beds, watering flowers, and pruning shrubs to your to-do list. The more vegetation in your yard, the more work it requires.

Driveway

Unless your home is somehow gifted with underground parking, you will have a driveway and walkway to maintain. This means weeding between paving stones, resealing any asphalt that is starting to grey, and occasionally having the entire thing repaved to get rid of unsightly cracks and potholes. Even gravel and dirt driveways will need occasional infusions of dirt or gravel to stay level and neat.

Fencing

If your home has fencing already installed, this will help keep neighbors and pets off your property but also force you to do more maintenance. Fences require regular repainting or recoating about once a year to avoid unsightly wood rot or rust. You'll also have to be vigilant about loose boards and areas where pets can dig underneath the edge and regularly oil your gate (if you have one) to prevent squeaking.

10 quick home exterior fixes