Whether you’re a first time homeowner or a long time homeowner, smartphones are useful for many things. Apps are helpful in keeping up with maintenance, making décor and design changes, bill payment reminders, and much more. Many of the apps are free , or are less than $5.
Top Apps for Utilities, Appliances, and Maintenance
Centriq
I wish I had known about this app sooner. What a useful tool this one is for any homeowner! When purchasing a new appliance for your home, use Centriq to scan the label. The app then imports the manual and any warranties, so you can easily locate them when needed. Even better, the app will alert you of any changes in warranty or recalls.
HomeSavvy
This free app is customizable to your needs. Sign up for free with an email, and select your customizations such as (basement, attic, pool, etc). HomeSavvy will remind you of upcoming maintenance needed for your home, according to your selections.
Priority Matrix
After researching, I downloaded this app for myself. The Priority Matrix assists you in prioritizing tasks. Homeowners can plug in tasks they need or want to complete. The Priority Matrix can also be shared with others, and you can assign tasks to collaborators.
Top Apps for DIY Repairs and Projects
Bubble Level
Bubble Level helps you to hang those pesky pictures and mirrors and get them perfectly straight. Don’t have a level in your toolbox? Haven’t unpacked all of the tools? Bubble Level acts as a level right from your phone.
Photo measures
This app is a little pricier than others at $6.99, but if you are purchasing new decor or furniture for your home, this app is quite handy. Take a photo of the room or item you need to remember the measurements of, then write the measurements directly onto the photo. Once you have measurements written in, the app has features to export the photo, change the numbers on the photo, and save the photo to easily access when you’re out shopping and can’t remember how big of a space you have.
iHandy Carpenter
For $1.99 you can get the iHandy Carpenter app that has five useful tools for DIY projects. The five tools include a bubble level bar, a plumb bob, a surface level, a steel protractor, and a steel ruler. The iHandy Level app is now available for free.
Top Apps for Design and Decorating
Color capture by Benjamin Moore
This is the perfect app to download for visualizing paint colors in your home. If you’re thinking of changing up the colors in your bedroom or kitchen and unsure of what you want to go with, this app is great to use to check out different colors. There are connections to the nearest Benjamin Moore Paint Store and a QR scanner if needed.
Housecraft
Housecraft uses augmented reality to scan a room in your home. You can then place pictures of new furniture pieces inside of it, to help visualize what new pieces look like in that room, before purchasing.
Houzz
Houzz is a popular app to go to for inspirations for house designs as well as decorating tips. You can use Houzz to browse over 17 million interior decorating photos and inspirations. Houzz is also a site used to shop for home items and find professionals in your area to complete renovations and other home repairs.
Top Apps for Finances
BillMinder
BillMinder is highly recommended and given almost 5 stars on Apple’s website. Use BillMinder to keep up with utility bills, mortgage payments, and more. This app is perfect for those forgetful homeowners that need the occasional reminder or two.
HomeZada
Homezada is your place for all finances for homeowners including mortgage, taxes, and more. This app also reminds you about maintenance tasks like changing the air filter in the HVAC system. If you are renovating your home, or planning to renovate, HomeZada can help you budget and keep track of your spending during the project.
Top Apps for Landscaping and Plants
iScape
When we first moved into our home, we were clueless when it came to, well mostly everything. Particularly, landscaping and gardening was quite the challenge. It still is today, but iScape helped us with landscaping ideas and was a great tool when working with those at a nursery to make our plans come to life. Visualize landscaping projects and more before you start.
Happy Plant
Happy Plant makes growing plants fun, engaging, and interactive. Not only can you set the app to receive reminders for watering, you can also make watering the plants into a game. What a great way to get kids involved in taking care of your houseplants! Additionally, the app has a time lapse feature that shows plant growth over time. Take a picture of the plants and give them their own names. This app is free, and has purchase options for more features.
Top Apps for Community
AroundMe
Not only is Around Me useful for when you’re new to the neighborhood or area, but it’s also great for travel, and even discovering new places nearby.
Top Apps for Buying or Selling a Home
DocuSign
DocuSign is a great app to have on hand if you are buying or selling a home. The many forms needing signatures can be digitally signed through this app. Docusign is free to receive the documents and return them. A paid version is needed, however to send forms to another party to be signed.
Zillow
Use Zillow to see what is for sale and for rent in your area. Zillow is also useful to keep an eye on what homes are selling for in your neighborhood. You can use this app to look up homes as you drive by and have interest in price, square footage, days on the market, school district, and more. Another great feature of Zillow is the option to view Profiles of Realtors to read reviews of real clients about their home buying experiences.
Demographix
If you’re looking in to relocating to a new area, this app is for you. The U.S. Census Bureau runs this app and provides information regarding demographics, income, school ratings, etc. You are able to zoom in to a very small location and retrieve detailed information about the area.
Top Apps for Remembering What You Own
Encircle and My Home Scr.app Book
Encircle and My Home Scr.app Book are great for renters or if you want to be prepared for a disaster. Unfortunately, things can happen that are out of our control. Use this app to take pictures of everything you own and everything in the rooms you have in your home. You won’t regret using one of these apps if you have to file an insurance claim and estimate the amount of loss in an incident or disaster.
Hopefully these apps will be useful for you, or someone you know that owns a home.
