Website offers ways to organize home records
Some of us are better organized than others. You have the list makers, the write-everything-down personalities and the I-can’t-live-without-Post-it-Notes folks, who I am definitely one of. But what about the generation who are physically and emotionally attached to their electronic devices and may have forgotten the ability to use a pen and paper? When it comes to home ownership even this generation is getting a helping hand with an app and website that has the ability to remember everything about your home.
HomeZada.com is basically a creative data base where you can enter all of your home’s information including downloading pictures to help homeowners stay organized. So why do I need HomeZada? I’m pretty organized, I have paper files for everything that was purchased and I have a pretty good feel for when maintenance is due; really? I’m guessing if I asked for the owner’s manual for the refrigerator you purchased 10 years ago you might have a problem finding it.
With HomeZada, you can upload owner’s manuals for all of your appliances, air conditioning units, computers and electronic devices or link to online access. HomeZada will also upload multiple photos and documents of your home and possessions in it. You can then create a PDF file to send to your insurance company for their files. You can also keep track of purchase dates, cost and warranty expirations, and update the information when new appliances are purchased.
And if you really want to know where every penny goes in your home, HomeZada can track all your expenses, and for the nerd in all of us, provide pie charts. This includes the value of your possessions including historical charts tracking the value of these items by month and year. You can also keep records of fixed assets like appliances and systems and annual maintenance costs.
Speaking of maintenance, HomeZada will create checklists of routine and seasonal cleaning, maintenance and yard work. This is an especially useful tool when preparing for hurricane season. Once you set up what your hurricane preparedness criteria are, HomeZada will store and make available the information as needed as well as reminding you at the appropriate time.
There is also a handy little area that will manage your home improvement projects. They have an inventory of common improvements to start with and you can add multiple projects and track costs. HomeZada will also bookmark the Internet links you’ve visited while researching your project and store any photos you have taken associated with your project. And if you’re a real estate investor with multiple properties, HomeZada can organize maintenance and keep track of service providers.
The real value of HomeZada is that it provides database organizational abilities to the average homeowner who may not know how to otherwise setup tracking databases. However, like any other computer generated tracking software, the old adage, “garbage in, garbage out” applies, so being very accurate when initially entering and updating the data is crucial. HomeZada stores your data in their secured data center where it can always be retrieved even if your home computer or portable tablets are compromised.
HomeZada has two packages. One is free and has the basics of home inventory, property documents, contacts, a mobile app and a few other things. The Premium package is advertised as $5.95 a month and is really where you can keep detailed track of home maintenance and improvement projects and multiple homes.
The concept of HomeZada is a great one,especially for so many of us who are drowning in paper. Certainly for new homeowners who are starting fresh, it’s perfect. This is another example of technology giving us options never before available; I hope this doesn’t mean I have to give up my Post-it-Notes.
