Struggling to afford home repairs? Certain properties – generally older ones – can need a lot of upkeep which can get expensive. Here are just a few ways to lower the cost of home repairs.
Note: Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you click a link and then make a purchase.
Compare and negotiate
When it comes to hiring plumbers, electricians and other handymen, you can save a lot of money by shopping around for quotes. You can then use these quotes as a negotiating tool – if one company is offering a cheaper rate, you can ask for a price match. There are other things to consider when hiring handymen such as their online reputation. Positive reviews and testimonials are usually a good sign of a reliable handyman company – you don’t want to hire a cheap handyman only for them to do a botch job. Also look out for guarantees as these could enable to get a refund if the repair isn’t up to scratch.
Go DIY
Fewer people these days are putting their DIY skills to the test when it comes to home repairs despite there being plenty of guides and tutorials online available as how-to blog posts and Youtube videos. Whilst you should probably leave most electrics and plumbing jobs to professionals, there are plenty of other repair jobs that you can do yourself including replacing broken roofing tiles, fixing broken flooring and attending to minor leaks. This can often be much cheaper than hiring professionals, although it does require more work on your part.
Source your own materials
Even if you don’t feel confident DIYing home repairs, you can still save money by sourcing your own materials. Many handymen make a large profit on the materials they order, whether it’s a new countertop or new pane of glass. By sourcing your own materials you can shop around for pricing and negotiate.
Don’t be afraid to borrow
When it comes to emergency repairs, you probably don’t want to be spending weeks saving up money, especially as this could make the damage worse (for example, fixing a leak). Borrowing money may result in interest, but could still work out cheaper in some cases. There are lots of fast loans that you can take out to fund your repairs. Many handyman services are now also accepting payment on credit card. You may even be able to borrow money from a friend or relative interest-free.
Check your home insurance scheme
It’s possible your home insurance provider may be able to cover some of the costs of repairs. Storm damage and vandalism are the most obvious kinds of damage covered by property insurance, but some insurers may go beyond that and cover various costs of wear and tear. There may also be other insurance policies that you forgot you’d taken out such as warranties on appliances – if you’ve kept onto paperwork, you may be able to make cheap repairs.
This is a contributed post.
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Abello Handyman says
Great post! Definitely would make sure to hire a company with integrity that does quality work. In the long run it will definitely pay off.
electricians Coorparoo says
In creating a good budget for your home repairs you should try researching and be familiar with the repair needed to be done to your house to properly allocate budget for it.
commercial plumber says
Familiarizing yourself with certain repairs in the house can help in your repairs as you can asses the value beforehand.
electrician Coorparoo says
When building a good relationship with a contractor repair guy for your house you can have discounts on repairs on your house.
Great site says
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Amelie Parker says
Hi ! This is a very informative & interesting article. Nice to read your blog post first time ever. I really appreciate this post. Thanks for sharing this awesome post.
Amy Winters says
Thank you for pointing out that you can source your own materials for things like glass repair and can negotiate the pricing with a professional if you are using your own materials. My son just broke one of the glass door panels on the front door. It’s good to know that I could negotiate the pricing if I provided my own materials.
Eva Taylor says
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