Foreclosure Help Blog

Avoiding Foreclosure Tips-Saving Money On Home Maintenance

When facing foreclosure, it comes down to one main thing; you need money in the bank, to pay your bills.  Sometimes saving your home from foreclosure comes down to having an extra thousand dollars at the end of the year.  By learning to cut expenses down, you can have that extra money and more.

This is my fourth article on money saving tips to avoid foreclosure.  The first article tells you how you can save several thousand dollars a year on grocery’s, article number two tells you how to save on clothing, the third is how to save money on car repairs and this particular article will deal with saving money on home maintenance.  Having a house can get expensive and you don’t want to put money into it, just have the bank take it away from you because you can’t pay the mortgage.  Spend your money wisely and you can keep your house from foreclosure and have it in good shape.

Prioritize what needs to be done
If you feel like home repairs are just becoming too overwhelming, it is time to make a priority list.  This means you need to write down everything that needs to or you want to fix up in your home.  After you make this list go through it and see what really needs to be done right away and approximately how much it would cost.

Then you really should separate the list into what must get done and what you would like to have done.  The stuff that must get done needs to move to the top and things that you would just want to have done, goes to the bottom.  You may have to put off those things until you truly have extra money and just get the things done that really need to get done, such as your roof is leaking.   By the end of the year, you will be glad that you waited on repairs that weren’t quite necessary at the time and that you have the extra money.

Pay Cash for Home Repairs
If you have hired someone to do the repairs on you home.  Offer to pay them cash in exchange for a discount.  Most people will say yes to this.  After they quote you the price, ask them for a possible discount, if you pay with cash.  Remember to pay them half when they start and half when they finish.  Never pay it all up front, because you want them to come back and finish the job.  Or just try and pay them all at the end of the job, if they don’t say anything about being paid up front.

Buy Second Hand
If you making repairs in the kitchen or bathroom, try buying any appliances or cabinets you may need second hand.  Look in your local classified list or go to a second hand store.  This can save you several 100 dollars, depending on what the item is.

Choose Your Contractor Wisely
If you are working with a licensed contractor, go with one that has fixed-price bids for there work.  This way you won’t get ripped off by someone, just throwing a price to you, with no rhyme or reason behind it.  Working with a trustworthy contractor is very important, finding one that explains everything they are doing, before they do it, is helpful as well.  Never pay them in full until you have inspected and approve the final job.

Replace Appliances Wisely
If you have to buy new appliances for you place, look for ones that are going to be the most energy efficient, so that you can at least save money on the electricity bill. Also when buying a new product, price shop all the stores, if you find a lower price online, bring in a printed copy of the cheaper price and see if you can get a local store to match it.  Also don’t be afraid to ask people what is the best price they can do, sometimes you will get some sort of discount by doing this.

Hopefully by following these tips and the previous ones, you will have plenty of money to make your mortgage payments on time.  Keep finding ways to save money and if you have a good tip, please let us know so we can spread the word to other people trying to save their homes.