Even with the best planning, emergencies can happen to any of us. If you’re a tenant, you have a little breathing space in that your landlord will ultimately pay for repairs to the building and the services within the building as their legal responsibility.
If you are a homeowner, however, you will take on the responsibility for repairs and paying for them yourself.
What’s Classed As an Emergency Repair?
Emergency repairs are those repairs that cannot wait for more than 24 hours. This may change with the seasons, a boiler breakdown may not be classed as an emergency in the middle of summer, but in the middle of winter, especially if you live with vulnerable people, a boiler repair is most definitely an emergency.
Some other examples of emergency repairs might be:
- A loss of gas supply – This could be an inconvenience for cooking and heating, but a significant emergency if there is a gas leak
- Blocked or leaking drains – Especially if these are coming off of black water sources (toilets, for example). Raw sewage can carry all sorts of nasty bugs, so this need fixing as soon as possible.
- Structural damage – Whether it’s from a natural event such as high winds, torrential rain, or even an earthquake, damage to buildings can be dangerous and needs assessing and sorting immediately.
- Lost water supply – Plumbing issues are always tricky, a little drip can become a flood if we’re not careful, but if you lose your water supply altogether, this is a massive issue. Without proper filtration, water can look clean but be deadly.
- Security issues – Broken windows, bent keys in the lock, no doors, all of these mean security issues for your house. Get them fixed to keep unwanted guests out.
Finance Options Available
Paying for repairs can be daunting, a plumber’s hourly call out charge, a structural engineer’s sign-off, a gas safety certificate, all of these can be expensive. There are a few options for raising quick cash to pay for these though, some of these include:
Selling Your Possessions
Online auction websites or social media marketplaces can be an excellent place to start for small-scale cash injections, but they usually take a while, and there’s no guarantee your things will sell.
Logbook Loans
If you own a car, companies like www.carcashpoint.co.uk will give you a fast decision and risk-free logbook loan using your car as collateral.
A Yard Sale
Similar to the online marketplaces but held in your yard, not such a great plan if you need the money quickly.
Overdraft or Credit Cards
A risky way to spend a small amount of money, but you may not be able to get an overdraft in place or may not get a credit card in time to help.
Odd Jobs
Exploring the options for odd jobs in your neighborhood might be a good option. Car washing or lawn mowing could bring in enough spare cash, but there’s no guarantee.
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