If you are a homeowner, you know that it is expensive to maintain. I never realized how many things you are nickeled and dimed for until buying my first house. Not only do you have your mortgage, insurance, taxes, utilities, and possibly even association dues, but you’ve also got the little things you don’t dream of like home maintenance now falls on your shoulders. The yard or fence needs to be refurbished.
These were not issues when you were a renter. With all of these bills adding up, you may be wondering if you could skip out on something as minor as home maintenance or maybe cut a few corners here and there? Here are some reasons why home maintenance is so important and can affect your homeowner’s insurance.
Pay a Little Now, Or Pay More Later
Home maintenance can be expensive no matter what the project is. Maybe you are replacing a broken sprinkler or repairing some broken boards on your deck? No matter what the project happens to be, it takes time, effort, and money. Some projects are bigger than others, but every project requires all three.
However, with almost every home maintenance project, the longer you put it off, the more expensive it will be in the future. As such, you are probably better off paying for it now and taking the time to complete it now instead of waiting for the problem to get worse.
For example, you may not worry too much about that broken sprinkler head today because it is just one day. Then, one day becomes, three, and then it is the following weekend. Now, in that week you took to address the issue, you wasted a lot of water. And when your water bill comes, you could get a rude awakening with a huge bill. This is just one simple example, but it applies to most other home maintenance issues as well.
Not Tackling Home Safety Can Hinder Insurance Claims
A lot of home maintenance items revolve around safety. These could include repairing decks, checking the heater, cleaning equipment, or more. You really cannot compromise the safety of you and your family, so you shouldn’t delay or skip out on maintenance of these items.
If heaven forbid, anyone were to get hurt because you failed to maintain your home, not only would you feel incredibly guilty, you could be liable for damages (for example, a deck breaks at a party and people get hurt). You don’t want that to happen, so take the time and maintain your home properly to being with.
Neglecting Home Safety Can Negate Insurance
If you have been neglecting to get a leaky roof fixed and now how a large mold problem, you can find your homeowner’s insurance policy actually being denied because of your neglect in repairing a known issue you had with a leak. While skipping home maintenance and some repairs may seem minor enough that you may be able to push them off to another day, you could find yourself in deep water with your homeowner’s insurance company if you are not careful.
What home maintenance do you continue to put off day after day? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.
I’m not a homeowner but I’m sure there would be a ton of extra costs, especially when stuff needs to be fixed. In addition to the effect on your insurance, you should also take pride in your home and want to keep it in the best shape possible. After all the money you are spending on your mortgage, you don’t want to let your home deteriorate and reflect poorly upon yourself.
This is a great post. The same applies to your car. It stinks to have to put the money out now, but it is much less than what you will have to pay if you put it off.
The things I put off aren’t major things – like touching up paint. Anything major, I take care of it right away.
Tips don’t get any easier than this. Put the kettle on or use the stove or microwave if you don’t own a kettle and boil up as much water as it will hold. Now pour it slowly down the drain in two to three stages, allowing the hot water to work for a several seconds in between each pour. This is usually the easiest and quickest way to unclog a drain.