Home repairs can really sneak up on homeowners if they aren’t careful. There’s simply nothing worse than an untimely failure that plunges your home into darkness for days at a time, or one that knocks out your heating in the dead of winter. Unexpected repairs are sadly par for the course when it comes to being a homeowner. That being said, there are a number of ways to leverage collateral or prepare for these inevitable breakdowns that can induce hair pulling and tears if you haven’t prepared.
Plan ahead for outages in uptime.
As a homeowner, it’s your responsibility to make sure that your thermostat and AC unit is running as it should, the roof isn’t leaking, your water heater coil is functional, and a host of other line items that make up a routine maintenance list. Conducting routine maintenance – especially on the air conditioning elements that provide year-round comfort inside your home – is the best and only way to get ahead of any emergency maintenance issues that may arise. A yearly inspection with follow up servicing by a professional AC repair technician is the remedy for unforeseen breakdowns in this essential unit.
A functional AC unit should last, on average, 15 to 20 years. However, this doesn’t take into account the weather extremes that may frequent your local area. East coast residents must contend with wild temperature swings and seasonal hurricane conditions, while those in the west deal with howling winds, tornadoes, and the threat of wildfire. Any of these weather systems can damage or destroy an AC unit altogether, regardless of its age. Keeping a close eye on your equipment is therefore essential to maintaining a comfortable home.
Similarly, the roof and windows must be a point of intense focus for homeowners hoping to keep moisture and cold air out of their home. Your HVAC system does a great job of conditioning the air within the walls of the house, but aging and leaky windows or roofs allow that air to sink out into the surrounding space, racking up a huge bill and stressing the system to its limits. Keeping your HVAC system, ductwork, and any other component of the AC system in good working order is only half the battle.
Save early for repair costs.
Keeping a system in good working order with regular maintenance and routine checks is only part of the picture. In order to do this, and pay for replacement parts when a failure does occur, you will need to keep a tight lid on your finances. Budgeting for replacements is the best-case scenario, but many homeowners simply can’t afford to put aside cash every paycheck for the eventual failure of a critical home system.
Learning how inheritance loans work and carefully tending to your credit score are important steps for every homeowner for this exact reason. Most Americans have less than $1,000 in savings, so setting aside cash for these repairs is an unlikely inclusion in many of our budgets. Instead, understanding how you can leverage the collateral of your home, future inheritance, or great credit report in order to tap into financing options can alleviate the stress of having to fork out hundreds of dollars for an emergency repair that simply can’t wait.
A probate loan is a great way to leverage the final wishes of a dear loved one into a better quality of life and peace of mind for your family. These are loans extended to borrowers who are due a lump sum inheritance in the near future, as the heir of a will holder. In the interim, you can tap into those funds through the help of an inheritance loan in order to conduct these much-needed repairs immediately rather than waiting.
Taking care of your home is a tall order, but keeping your finances in check and conducting routine maintenance on the most important systems in your home can help reduce the panic and stress brought on by their repair needs.
