Don’t Delay: Renos That Need Doing Right Away

Don’t Delay: Renos That Need Doing Right Away

When it comes to home improvement, patience is a virtue. Waiting before you jump into a project gives you time to save up what you need.

But this rule of thumb only applies to projects you can sleep on. What about the projects you can’t delay, no matter how empty your bank account is?

Without savings, a personal line of credit may help you tackle unexpected emergency repairs. Taking the time to check this out could help you understand how a personal line of credit fits into your renovations.

But what makes a repair worthy of a personal line of credit? Here’s a short of list of issues you should never ignore.

Black Mold

Black mold often lurks in the grout of shower tiles or behind the baseboards of a leaky basement. But it can grow anywhere that offers the right damp conditions, including air vents, carpeting, and drywall.

Visually, black mold is easy to spot. It’s black just as its name suggests. But if it’s hidden under thick carpeting, you may only guess from the following household and health symptoms:

  • Blistering or peeling paint
  • Spongey floorboards, baseboards, or walls
  • Chronic fatigue and/or headaches
  • Chronic coughing or sneezing

If you suspect you have black mold, you need to remove it immediately. Left untreated, it releases toxic spores that affect your respiratory system and seriously harm your family’s health.

Damaged Trees

A dangling branch during the winter poses a hazard to your safety, your home, and your budget. Ignoring it could land you in hot water. All it takes is one seasonal storm to blow through and rip off the offending limb, hurling it towards your home or some unsuspecting visitor on your property.

While most home insurance policies will cover damages caused by fallen trees, it draws the line at healthy ones. If your tree was rotting, ready to fall down, or showing other signs of damage before it fell, your insurance usually won’t cover the subsequent damages.

Depending on the size of the tree, you may prune hazardous branches on your own. But it’s a job better left to the professionals if you don’t have the right equipment for tall trees.

Although they may be expensive, calling a tree care specialist is cheaper than repairing a tree that crashes into your home, car, or neighbor’s house.

What Should You Do?

Go through your chores list and divide it into two categories: those tasks that can wait and those that can’t.

Although you may not want to delay refreshing your space, everything from painting your child’s bedroom walls to redesigning your kitchen doesn’t have to happen right away. You can put these ideas on the back burner until you save up what you need.

But as for black mold or damaged tree branches, delays will only cause you more work and cost you more money. Look into a personal line of credit to get a head start on these chores before they escalate into a dangerous and expensive emergency.