Be Prepared for Homeowner Headaches Along the Way

Buying a house is great. Homeownership is the American Dream. I mean that is what we are told. Let's face it though, owning a home can be a headache at times. It is nice to not be throwing away money on rent.

Buying a home is expensive. It has a lot of perks but you have to save up money. You should keep money saved up because it is now on you to fix anything that breaks. You won't have a landlord anymore. You are now the one responsible.

If you are a handy kind of person or can learn from a Youtube video you can save some money. If you are more like me then the home warranty is something you need to make sure you keep up with every year.

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When I bought my home a few years ago I loved the fact that I was getting a tankless water heater. Oh wow. Instant hot water all the time was a great concept. I didn't think that with our hard water here in Amarillo there were things I wasn't prepared for. I didn't know that the hard water we had would cause the aerator's on my sink and shower to clog up with sediment.

I didn't know that those clogs would lower my water pressure. My hot water heater without that pressure would not kick on. That equaled cold water. So after having countless repairmen over I started saving for a new water heater. I wanted to go back to the regular tank heater. If you can save for issues like that it is great.

If you are not a person who is handy with repairs, I sure know I am not. It is probably a great idea to keep up the home warranty on your home. I do every year. I have covered my refrigerator, washer, and dryer as an add-on. That has really saved me. Last year I needed to replace my garbage disposal. I needed my hot water heater replaced. Yes, I saved money, but that warranty did help me with some of the costs. I have had repairs needed to my ice maker. These repairs more than helped cover the amount of money I spent on the warranty. For me, that warranty is a no-brainer.

This year I already know I have to have a ceiling fan replaced. The cost of the $75 service call will more than cover the cost of buying a fan and having it installed. So another win for me. So glad I keep up with that warranty. Being a non-handy person I have to make sure I am prepared.

Being prepared is really important make sure you inspect your home every few months. Take a walk around. Look for cracks that may have started to form in your wall or ceiling. Patch them while you can. If they keep coming back you have bigger problems. You may want to call out a foundation expert to help you get ahead of that.

Look for other issues that could happen. Check out your plumbing for leaks. Plumbing can be a huge hassle so not getting ahead of it can cause you more repairs and headaches.

Owning a home is great. It really is, it's helpful in the long run. Just know that you are going to run into issues. It's part of being an adult. Being prepared is the best way to help you through it all.