A testimony from Amanda
My husband and I bought a home in July. We put 25% down and are paying double payments each month. With the help of my parents, we were able to make some improvements and spruce up the house before we moved in.
Six months later, I was sitting on the floor with my daughter when I started to smell gas. I wasn’t sure what to do, but I called my husband for advice.
He said we should call the gas company and have them come out to investigate. I opened the windows and made the call. A technician arrived in less than 30 minutes.
Our House Was a Ticking Time Bomb
Long story short, our house was a ticking time bomb. We had leaks everywhere in our pipes, they red tagged our home, and they shut off the gas to the whole house.
The diagnosis? We had to have every single inch of gas pipe in our house replaced. Not exactly what you want to hear in the middle of February when you have gas heat!
So Much for the Home Warranty
We were really stressed out it, until I remembered we had a home warranty. When I called, the agent said this would be covered. We were thanking our realtor for making us include it in the deal.
However, when they finally gave us the estimate, most of it was not covered. There was a loophole about codes that left us stuck with the bill instead of it being our insurance company’s responsibility. As a result, the work was going to cost us nearly $1300 to complete and we had no choice but to come up with the money.
Our Emergency Fund Saves the Day
This was a time that I was beyond thankful for our emergency fund. We try to save as much money as possible each and every month, but we always make sure our emergency fund is completely funded. We were able to write a check for the work and didn’t have to worry about their “special financing options”.
Now we have brand new pipes throughout our house and can sleep soundly knowing we won’t have any issues like this in the near future!
Amanda is a part-time work-at-home mom to 9-month-old Allison and wife to Christian. She enjoys loving the Lord, finding ways to cut the chemicals in her family’s life, and experimenting in the kitchen.
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We used some of our emergency fund to pay for a new water heater this past year. Our old one was over 20 years old and had a small leak off and on. So we decided to replace it before we had a major problem with it. Since we had saved up money we were able to go with a tankless unit. Now we don’t have to worry about a tank leaking again and we are now saving $15 a month in gas too. I am so thankful we have an emergency fund to help pay for these items as they come up.
I’m just so glad you guys are safe – my goodness.
I’m really surprised they didn’t catch that in the inspection, but seeing the other’s comments, I can see how important it is to make sure it’s thorough. Even then, it may not show up.
What a testimony to an emergency fun!!! Ours is always on the small side as things seem to constantly pop up just as it starts to build, but then I think what a blessing that we had that money there to cash the emergency!
That’s such a scary scenario. O M G! Good thing everything went well, and that you could pay for repair. Still, it’s so scary.
we also had a home inspection done before we bought a house, we had severe water damage to the house which we found 2 year later as the floor rotted through, but he made sure that he gave us 6 pictures of our windows not working, i still cant believe we paid that man 500 dollars.
I have to ask, did you not have a home inspection done before you contracted to purchase the house?
Not all home inspections are very thorough.
Plus, small gas leaks would not be visible to the naked eye. Unless the inspector has a detector, he or she would not pick up on it.
We did have a home inspection. They told us some of the pipes were not up to code, but that they were not leaking at that point. We hadn’t smelled gas before that, so I’m guessing they were truthful?!?!
Amanda, make sure your mortgage company is applying the whole amount of your second (double) payment to the loan principle, not principle plus interest. You can reduce the total amount of interest significantly if the extra payments are reducing the principle “off the back end” of the loan, as they say.
We have a special line on our mortgage slips that is for extra principle only. So we’re make sure to list all the extra we pay in that section!
We bought the money pit of houses. And we had a private home inspection and the bank inspected it also, before they’d agree to a mortgage.
Our home emergency repairs:
$6,000 basement foundation- steel beams, interior drain system and sump pump
$2,000 various roof and gutter repairs that resulted from storms, our deductible is $1k so it didn’t pay to file a claim
$1600 three sewer line repairs due to tree roots
$100 garbage disposal fell out due to faulty installation
$2500 in HVAC repairs before we finally… (see next line)
$7400 new HVAC system
$6000 new windows- old ones drafty, leaked air and water
$500 new glass patio door- it cracked
$100 new window pane- cracked
This was for a $149k house.
So even though some people say owning is cheaper than renting, you sure do need to have a big emergency repair bill.
Also, last summer we were burglarized to the tune of $1,300 in stolen tools, lawn equipment and electronics.
Whoa, that is so bad. I feel for you, our last house was a douzie of repairs, replacements and we sat in ashes watching everything disintegrate.
We recently used our emergency fund to repair both cars since they broke within 2 weeks of each other! Now we have to rebuild it but I am so grateful that it was there for this crisis.
Please get a CO2 and Natural gas detector for your home if you have a natural gas furnace or heat pump…or stove. It is incredibly important. Leave the house and make that call even if you think you just smell gas a little. The gas company doesn’t mind. Do not even switch off a light switch…or do anything that could spark.
YES…everyone should have a carbon monoxide detector in their home! Carbon monoxide is a silent killer; you cannot smell or see it. The detectors can be a little pricey, but your life is at stake. Kidde sells carbon monoxide detectors in Lowe’s home improvement and Home Depot. Please go get one today!!
If you think you smell gas, PLEASE open your windows, call the fire department, and leave your home (or at least go outside)!
I remember when I lived in an apartment during college there was no carbon monoxide detector, but the move in checklist said it was supposed to have one. So, I asked the aparment complex to put one in. I had gas heat and was thankful I had asked for it when the detector went off one night. Putting that in saved our life. They had to replace the furnace I think it was. However, the home inspection (before buying) should have picked up on the problem with your pipes leaking. At least everyone was safe and you had the emergency fund.
Since the realtor tends to pick the home inspector, not all home inspectors are very good. My BIL had his home inspected, they said everything was GREAT! When in fact the wiring was bad, there was no siding on the house, half of the baseboard heaters didn’t work, the upstairs toilet didn’t work, etc. 🙁 So you really can’t count on the home inspector finding everything that’s wrong.
You’re an idiot if you’re letting your thousands of dollars being inspected by someone who is paid to sell your house.
We did have the monitors, but nothing had gone off. The main leak was with a really old fireplace. Upon further inspection they told us the other leaks were there too.
The only warranty program I pay for is the Gas Line insurance from our local gas company. It’s less than $2 a month and it covers all the gas lines from the meter to our house and all the lines in our house. For instance if it’s leaking by the gas stove or anywhere in the house they will fix it totally free. I’m scared of gas, so it’s worth it to me.
Woo Hoo! What a great story of paying cash for such a major repair. Stories like this help me to keep up the gazelle intensity.
Amanda, so glad your home is safe now. We had an experience similar about 3 years ago when we had our gas furnace serviced. Some major part in the furnace was cracked and leaking gas and fumes and it had to be immediately replaced. A new furnace and some new venting ended up costing us approximately $4,500. Ugh.
Wow! Thank goodness they had their emergency fund! How scary!!! That’s why I’m thankful we have an emergency fund! When our van was totaled by a drunk driver (he hit it while it was parked in our driveway, so no one was in it) we had the money for a down payment on a new one among other various expenses. You just never know what is going to happen, it’s so important to have an emergency fund!