Home ownership, part of the American Dream, but if you don’t plan right your home could keep you up at night.
Did you get a professional Home Inspection? Great, now get out the report and read it. A professional home inspector will note the condition of many components of the home. They may tell you if the component is near the end of it’s life, if that is the case there are a few things you can do.
Research local home warranty companies.
There is a difference between home warranties and home insurance, your insurance is not going to fix the furnace or air conditioner when it quits at the worst possible moment.
Read the home warranty information completely. understand what they do and don’t cover and do not pay for the additional coverage unless you know exactly what it covers. I found one local company that will cover the air conditioning registers for an extra $60 a year. If a register fails you pay a $50 service call and they will come out and replace the $20 register. Yes that means you are going to pay $110 to replace a $20 register on the rare chance it should fail.
Don’t get me wrong, home warranties can be a good thing, I have one on my house. I have a 25 year old heat pump that I am just waiting for it to fail then they can replace it.
Budget for repairs.
Again look at the home inspection report and figure out what is going to need to be repaired soon, find out how much it will cost and start setting money aside now. When you have the money, it may be a good idea to have the item repaired or replaced before it fails. there are some pretty nice tax incentives to upgrade appliances these days and I would much rather decide when I am going to replace a water heater than wait till it floods the house.
Perform routine maintenance.
So many homes age before their time due to poor maintenance. There are several checklists online to help you decide what to look at, and even videos on You Tube that will show you how to perform the work. Don’t wait, do the little work while it is still little, if you fail to take care of the house it will come back to bite you in the end.
So what are you waiting for?
Go take care of your home so it will provide you years of comfort.
If you need someone to help you decide what needs to be done, call a ASHI Certified Home Inspector.
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