There are many reasons you may be preparing for an emergency home repair. The recent uptick in natural disasters likely has each homeowner worried about damage to their home. But, the odds that you’ll need home repair increase dramatically as your home ages, whether you like it or not.
After 10 years of living in your home, you may start to realize some negative changes. Your heater or AC may break down, the shingles on your roof might start to falter, or your floorboards may start to creak and break.
Whatever the case may be, emergency home repairs are predictably unpredictable, and they often may come when we’re financially at our worst. If you need help financing these home repairs when you’re short on cash, check out these 8 strategies.
Insurance Claim
The easiest chance you have at paying off these emergency home repairs instantly is by checking with your insurance. While many insurance providers don’t cover the wear-and-tear of your home, there is always a decent chance that you have a good insurance claim that will be able to help you out.
Make sure to be in contact with your insurance when considering your first steps after a home emergency. Though it may seem unlikely, it’s fully possible that your insurance will be able to help you out. If that’s the case, you can truly consider this situation a dodged bullet.
Government Help
Both the FHA 203(k) and also the Limited 203(k) programs offer help for homeowners to refinance their property. This refinance can include some loans that go toward home repairs and property needs. You can defend an additional loan amount as an attempt to make your home “more livable.”
There are some other government programs that grant more specific loans. For example, if you’re a low-income homeowner you may benefit from the section 504 home repair program. There are other options available for senior citizen homeowners, who are the most common beneficiaries of these programs.
Disaster Relief Programs
While most of these emergency home repairs come from age, natural disasters are becoming an increasingly common reality. With these natural disasters come the need for different types of home repairs. Luckily, there are programs available for assistance on these types of repairs.
Relief organizations like FEMA or the Red Cross can often offer emergency funds for areas in which a disaster has struck. But, the money ends up being for major fixes, not for preparation for a disaster. If a disaster has struck in your areas, checking with these corporations may be a good move.
Home Equity Line of Credit
If you need to, tapping into the value of your home may be a good step to take in order to pay off emergency repairs. By using your home to back this loan, you can get more flexibility in repayment and interest rates.
Be sure to use this loan wisely and pay it off well, as irresponsible payment of this credit may end with you losing your home. Be sure to use it purely for repair purposes.
Credit Card
While tapping into your credit card may seem instinctual, it’s something we all should look to do less. But, in the case of an emergency home repair, it may truly be time to tap into that credit card. It is a good strategy to use your credit card to get a good amount of funds when you need them.
Unfortunately, the high costs of many emergency home repairs may be too much for your line of credit. You may also need to check in on your interest rates to avoid making this emergency home repair far too expensive.
Payday Loans
Access to quick cash is very convenient, and payday loans do just that. With payday loans, you can get a good amount of cash and use your future wage payment to pay it off. All you will really need to do to get the loan is have proof of consistent income.
There are even payday loans that are easier to get. A quick online search for “payday loans no credit check” will yield you a few options for obtaining a loan without needing to prove a high credit score.
Non-Profit Organizations
If you’re in an especially dire situation, reaching out to a non-profit organization to help with your emergency home repair may be a good solution for you. Having a non-profit help you out may be difficult, especially when it comes to home repairs such as air conditioning and heating.
But, if it becomes an issue of the structure of your home to where it becomes unlivable, some nonprofit organizations will help. Organizations like Habitat for Humanity are known for using volunteers to rebuild local community homes that are in need of help.
Borrow From Your 401(k)
While it may seem daunting borrowing money out of your 401(k), it is the last resort when you are out of savings. The money from your 401(k) is flexible, but there are some hoops to jump through if you want to take money out of this fund.
There are some tax issues when taking out money from your 401(k). There is also an issue that the money you take out of your 401(k) sometimes comes off as a loan rather than a direct payment. On top of that, taking money from your 401(k) is a bad habit to get into.
But, in desperate cases, your 401(k) is a source of money to dip into when you’re desperate for savings.
What To Do When You Need Emergency Home Repair
There are many options to consider when looking to pay for emergency home repairs, and none are necessarily better than others. Be sure to look into your situation, how much money you need, and what options are available to your before proceeding.
For more tips on how to manage your home and real estate, or for general articles about the Arizona real estate market in general, be sure to visit our real estate articles.
