Watch Out for These 3 Unexpected Home Maintenance Costs

Home maintenance should be on everyone’s radar, especially with the increase of work-from-home jobs during the pandemic.

We’re spending more time at home than ever before, so we should make sure our homes meet our needs.

Purchasing a home is a significant milestone in anyone’s life. Making this dream a reality for many of us entails a mortgage, a mountain of paperwork, insurance, and maintenance costs.

Owning a home is costly, whether you have a mortgage or not. Experts recommend that we set aside 1% of the house’s annual costs for repairs per year. So, if you spent $200,000 on a new home, set aside $2,000 per year to maintain it. You may not use all of this money in some years.

Other costs, on the other hand, can easily exceed $2,000. As a result, make sure you save the required amount each year and keep it in a separate account for emergencies. And you never know when unforeseen maintenance costs will occur.

Here are 3 unexpected home maintenance costs you should watch out for.

Pest Infestation

Pests in and around your home are not only enough to make anyone feel itchy, but they’re highly unsanitary too!

Getting rid of pests should be your first priority, but here are some tips to help prevent infestation in the first place (or further infestations). Most of the time, simple measures can be taken to avoid infestation:

  • Fix any appliances or pipes that are leaking.
  • Avoid planting trees or bushes too close to the house.
  • Declutter your house and yard.
  • Keep your food in airtight containers to keep ants away.
  • Keep the floors clean and vacuumed on a regular basis.
  • Maintain a clean and locked trash can.
  • Inspect the walls and baseboards for cracks and gaps, and seal them as soon as possible if you find any.

Replacing or Repairing Your Roof

Time, weather, and lack of maintenance could cause your roof to become compromised. Because of this, rainfall can easily seep through the gaps in your tiles, causing damage to your home that could end up costing thousands of dollars. 

A roof’s lifetime should be between 20 and 50 years, depending on the materials used to construct it, the weather, and the standard of installation. This can be accomplished by inspecting the roof twice a year, in the spring and fall. Look for water stains or other leak signs on the attic ceiling. Inspect the roof for missing or damaged shingles and tiles.

If you’re not sure what to look for, hire a commercial roof company to assess your home and make any repairs needed.

Removing Mold

Finally, mold thrives in damp conditions, where it can find organic materials to feed on. Window frames, drywall, insulation, and even flooring are examples of such areas.

Mold will affect your health in addition to causing damage to your house. The Institute of Medicine discovered evidence that indoor mold exposure can result in a variety of respiratory problems, including shortness of breath, cough, and, in some cases, asthma.

Depending on the size of the infected area, mold removal will cost thousands of dollars. You could fix the issue for less than $500 if you clean it right away. Monitor the moisture levels inside your home to prevent mold — they shouldn’t be higher than 50% during the day. If you see tiny spots on hard surfaces that appear to be mold, you can clean them with a bleach solution (1 cup of laundry bleach in 1 gallon of water).

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