Owning a home comes with major set of responsibilities. You’re in charge of your own budget, but you’re also in charge of your own maintenance and repairs. When home issues arise, you’ll need to fix it right away…but what if you don’t have the funds? Setting aside a home emergency fund before problems arise is a smart financial decision. Here’s why.
How Much Should I Save in a Home Emergency Fund?
First, you’re probably wondering how much you should save. While different home issues will cost different amounts, you don’t have to segment savings into different buckets of home repair. You can simply dump some savings into one large “home emergency account” separate from your regular savings.
Financial advisors recommend you saving no less than 1% of your home’s value each year. That means if your home is worth $200,000, you should have no less than $2,000 put away for maintenance and repairs per year.
3 Benefits of a Home Emergency Fund
1. Brings peace of mind.
First and foremost, having a substantial home emergency fund will give you peace of mind. Imagine being able to relax in your space without worrying about how you’ll pay for the next structural damage or AC failure. When you have the extra funds to maintain your home, you can usually avoid uncomfortable financial strain from home-related expenses.
2. Preserves your home’s value.
Maintaining your home regularly will also ensure your home’s value remains high. Fixing smaller issues right away can help you avoid major breakdowns and, with a home emergency fund, you can make sure this happens. Second, when it’s time to resell your home, you won’t be overwhelmed by the upgrade costs. If you save roughly 1% of your home’s value each year, you should be in a great position to do some upgrading before you put your house on the market. New flooring, updated appliances, or a fresh coat of paint can do wonders for your resale value.
3. Helps you avoid major breakdowns.
Again, fixing little quirks around the house now will help you avoid major breakdowns in the future. Let’s say you find mold in the basement. You might be inclined to ignore it. “I don’t have the extra money to call in a mold professional,” you think to yourself.
That’s where you’re wrong because the mold growth could be a sign of water leak in the wall. In a few weeks or months, it could turn into a burst pipe and leave you with a flooded basement. Restoring a flooded basement will cost you even more—and without a home emergency fund, you’ll be stuck financing your home repair.
970 Services: Emergency Restoration Company Near Denver
At 970 Services, we understand each family’s unique situation in a disaster and aim to make it right every step of the way. Has your roof experienced hail damage? Is water seeping through the ceiling? Have shingles disappeared after a late-summer hurricane? We are the #1 emergency restoration company near Denver. For a FREE quote, contact our team by phone at (970) 888-0970 or online here.
We also offer disaster clean-up, roof repair, roof replacement, and home restoration service in the following areas: Fort Collins, Loveland, Ault, Greeley, Denver, Windsor, Boulder, Longmont, and throughout Northern Colorado.