By Courtney Klosterman, Home Insights at Hippo
After a year of high inflation and unexpected issues that have spurred regrets for homeowners, it’s time to fall in love with your home again. According to Hippo’s Housepower Report, 78% of respondents (U.S. homeowners) have had regrets about purchasing their homes within the last 12 months. Of those who have had regrets, about half say homeownership is more expensive than they anticipated (49%), they’ve had too many unexpected issues with their home (47%) and there is too much maintenance and upkeep involved (47%).
Regrets or not, 59% of respondents overall said they had something unexpected go wrong with their home in the past year. Of those homeowners who experienced an unexpected issue, 67% say that it negatively impacted their mental health.
But there are easy upgrades homeowners can make to spark those warm fuzzy feelings about their home again and save them from needing to make expensive repairs down the line. According to Hippo’s Housepower report, on average, homeowner respondents spent nearly $6,000 on home repairs and maintenance in 2022. Yet, the majority of respondents who experienced a problem in their homes say that it could’ve been prevented with proactive maintenance and/or regular inspections (65%).
With costs high across so many aspects of our lives, one area where we can find ways to help reduce our financial stress is at home. Here are a few ways to help reduce costs at home:
Complete a home checkup: Less than 1% of respondents to Hippo’s survey say they address all necessary home maintenance tasks, such as clearing tree limbs and cleaning appliance filters, within the time frame recommended by our team at Hippo Home Care. In the same way you take your car to get a tune up to help avoid issues, tune up your home to help reduce the burden of unexpected issues. Create your home checklist now or better yet, start by using our Seasonal Home Maintenance Checklist.
Tackling a DIY project: Online videos and on-demand home maintenance services can help homeowners take on home improvement projects and help offset the high costs of materials and labor that come with professional support. Try caulking windows, checking and repairing weather strips, and spraying for pests around your home. While many projects can be done DIY, some projects are better left to the professionals, such as plumbing and electrical upgrades.
Upgrade home systems: After a year of significant weather events, consider home upgrades that help protect your home, such as fire-resistant building materials or windows that can withstand high wind. Help protect home systems with water leak detection devices and sump pumps. Investing in these upgrades now can help prevent bigger issues from occurring down the line when the weather is bad.
Smart Home innovation: As power and utility bills increase, technology can track and monitor energy usage to help us better understand our eco footprint. New services and sensors offer whole-house energy monitoring that can give you real-time information to help cut back on money and excess use. Smart thermostats can also be used in energy efficiency modes to monitor heating and cooling throughout the day.
All homeowners can download the Hippo Housepower guide to learn how to quickly identify specific issues and take action before small issues turn into costly problems.
About the Author:
Courtney Klosterman is a Home Insights Expert at Hippo, the home insurance group focused on proactive care. Hippo is protecting the joy of homeownership, helping to safeguard customers’ most important financial asset by harnessing the power of real-time data, smart home technology, and a growing suite of home services to deliver proactive home protection.
