When you own a home, one of the most important things is being able to maintain it., This means keeping it in great condition. The condition of your home has a large bearing on its value. There are many things that can drive down that value. The goal of this piece is to identify how to protect your home. If you do your part, you’ll be able to uphold and even increase its value. That means watching your investment grow.
There are certain factors that cause damage to your home and your belongings, and the good thing is that they are mostly avoidable. Here are five things that can damage the value of your home and how to avoid them.
Moisture
When most people think of moisture damaging their homes, they are most likely to think of flooding. But honestly, water doesn’t have to be that catastrophic to wreak havoc on your home.
Moisture can come in many different forms. Most often it builds slowly over time. That’s why you need to know how to protect your home by looking for the tell-tale signs before they turn into costly fixes.
Some of the most common causes of moisture build-up in your home include;
- Not cleaning your gutters. The leaves that fall into them can block the free flow of water, which can, in turn, lead to moisture spreading into other parts of your home.
- Not checking for leaks. If you haven’t been keeping an eye on your pipes, you might end up with the nasty surprise of noticing a leak when it has already done real damage. Kitchens are especially prone to leaks that build up over time, so keeping an eye on the flow of water, and signs of a leak are very important.
- Poor waterproofing. Rooms like bathrooms need to have proper waterproofing done first. Before any of the other items are installed. If this isn’t done right, it will lead to structural problems. Also, remember that moisture can also lead to mold, which can be really dangerous to your health, so it’s important to take action before the moisture gets out of control.
Pests
You might think that pests like rodents and insects are just a nuisance, but they can actually do a lot of harm to the structure of your property. Certain pests can get into beams and studs and break them down over time. So it’s very important to take action as soon as possible.
According to Facility Pest Control, a company that offers pest control in Simi Valley, “Homeowners should be concerned about pests like mosquitoes, gophers, spiders, ants, bees, bed bugs, termites, flies, fleas, and rats. Some of them can impact the health of your family, and others compromise the structural integrity of the property.” Learning how to protect your home before these small issues become large problems.
Thefts and Break-Ins
Safety is a major concern for every homeowner. Your home is where you are meant to feel safe so anything that threatens it should be addressed. Depending on where you live, break-ins might be more common, and if so, criminals are looking for the easiest targets.
If you want to keep your home safe, there are a few measures you can take. You can invest in a security system that includes an alarm, a couple of cameras, and other tracking and monitoring measures. It’s also important to make your home hard to break into, with things like night-time lights around the property. Feeling safe in your home is crucial, so anything you can do to increase that is a worthy investment.
Bad DIY Projects
Some of you are thinking you already know how to protect your home. It’s not like you’re planning on your upcoming DIY project will do anything destructive.
How many of us have been there? You start off well, then something unforeseen happens. Maybe you didn’t plan it out properly? Or perhaps the project was a lot more difficult than you thought?
There are certain projects that need to be left to the professionals. Bad DIYs can ultimately reduce the value of your home, and make things worse than they were before. This means spending more money to correct something you made worse. Obviously, there are jobs that almost anyone can do but for anything that deals with the structure of the home, electrical, and or large plumbing jobs, it’s best to call in pros.
Natural Disasters
I saved this one for last because it’s the most common and destructive. But at the same time, it’s also the one you have the least power to stop. Honestly, you need to know how to protect your home from these major problems by having the proper insurance.
Sure, it’s not fun to spend money on insurance, but if something major happens to your primary residence, you’ll be glad you’re covered. In today’s world where companies are trying to get you to pay them for insurance on things like cell phones, extended warranties, or life insurance for children, homeowners insurance is one you definitely need.
