Source: Rhino Times Greensboro

Keeping Your Home in Good Health with Residence M.D.

by Zoe Murphy

August 30, 2012

You want your home to look nice and stay in good condition, but for many there simply isn’t the time or the know-how to keep up with the day-to-day maintenance of a house, from leaky faucets to aging water heaters. Residence M.D.’s goal is to take the worry of home maintenance off homeowners’ plates.

Thomas Simpson, CEO of Residence M.D., said he has found, after 25 years of building and designing homes in North Carolina, that most people don’t know what to do to their homes to keep them in good repair, and even if they did, they often don’t take the time. As a result, homeowners lose value in their homes and face expensive repairs and delays if and when they decide to sell. That is why he created the Greensboro-based company to help homeowners with the ins and outs of regular home maintenance.

“We’ve all owned homes and know what it’s like to take care of them,” Simpson said. “Emergencies happen because we didn’t take care of things.” He explained, “We’ve created a program that allows homeowners to know exactly what is going to be done to their home in a professional and orderly manner. We have a specific set of items our technicians are going to take care of while they’re at someone’s home.”

During the initial visit, Residence M.D. will do an evaluation of your home, including a record of all your appliances. Simpson explained, in case of a middle-of-the-night or weekend emergency, technicians have the information they need to know what it will take to repair an item, saving clients time. “The whole thing is set up to make your life easier,” he said.

Subsequent visits are scheduled on a quarterly basis. A Residence M.D. technician will visit a home and go through a checklist that includes inspecting all the home’s plumbing, interior items such as window frames and basements, electrical and appliances (such as heating and cooling systems, wiring and refrigerators) and the exterior of the home. There are also seasonal items on the checklist, for instance inspecting fireplace flues in the fall and checking concrete and asphalt for cracks or deterioration in the spring.

In addition, clients can include any other items they would like to have checked on during their next visit via the company’s website. “Once you’re set up in the system, you can go to the site and put a code in that allows you to add items that need to be looked at before our technicians come,” Simpson said. “You don’t have to call anyone. It’s really convenient for people.”

Simpson said there are three things that distinguish Residence M.D. from other home maintenance companies. First, they are strictly offering professional home maintenance, not remodeling or additions. Second, Residence M.D. offers pre-scheduled visits, so clients know in advance when technicians are coming and what maintenance they will be doing during that visit. Finally, he said he feels that the four levels of service that Residence M.D. offers truly sets the company apart and enables homeowners to adapt the services to their needs and budget.

Residence M.D.’s four levels of service are: basic, intermediate, comprehensive and complete comprehensive. The basic service level includes the quarterly visits that inspect plumbing, the interior, exterior, electrical and appliances. The intermediate level includes the basic items, as well as appliances that did not come with the house. Residence M.D. will provide the labor to repair those items, but not replace them. The comprehensive level goes one step further than intermediate and includes the repair or arrangement for the replacement of appliances. Finally the complete comprehensive plan offers all that the comprehensive plan does, as well as care for the home’s lawn, interior house cleaning and an annual washing of the home’s exterior.

Every plan has 24-hour service available, too, with varying service rates depending on the plan level. Non-clients can also call for emergency service. There is no additional charge for 24-hour service under the Comprehensive or Complete Comprehensive plans.

Simpson says the company is designed to meet the needs of all people, from those with small homes to large, custom homes. “Our purpose is to focus on maintenance and maintaining your homes’ appearance and quality. Things deteriorate in front of your eyes, and you can’t tell it’s happening,” he said. “Our people are trained to look for specific items.”

He said the company’s plans are particularly helpful for single mothers and retirees. “Single mothers are the perfect example, because they’re too busy working and taking care of other things to worry about home maintenance, so Residence M.D. is perfect for them.” Simpson said that for seniors who may be having a hard time with home maintenance, but who don’t want to move into a retirement community, the company is a way for them to have their house taken care of and save the expense of assisted living. “That’s where our Complete Comprehensive package can help – offering home cleaning, yard service and home maintenance for one monthly fee, rather than having four or five different folks working for you doing all that. There’s only one bill to pay, and it’s very easy for folks to do that.”

Residence M.D. is at 408-F Gallimore Dairy Rd. in Greensboro. An additional location is also opening in Charlotte. For more information, call (336) 285-7165.