Waiting for a better market to sell your house? Love the house you're in and have no intention of selling? Just bought your first house and don't know what to do next?

The first thing you need is a savings account for home repairs. If possible, you should always have $1,000 in it. Major repairs--like a new roof--could far exceed that $1,000, but most maintenance and home repairs are much less.

If you can't save that much right away, the next best thing is a good credit card with a credit limit of at least $1,000. Try not to use it for anything else and when you do have to use it, pay it off as soon as possible, so you'll have credit available for house-related emergencies--like backed-up plumbing.

Here is a collection of links to some great home maintenance sites and articles:

Bob Vila's Home Maintenance Checklist
Run through these 15 items twice a year to stay on top of home repair issues.

Home Maintenance Guide, from Home Inspector Locator. This is a very detailed site. Don't try to get through it in one sitting and don't let it overwhelm you. Home maintenance should be done on a regular basis--a little at a time.

Checklists and info to keep your home humming
This one, from Demesne, has a nice calendar to click for monthly tasks.