It could happen to anyone. You’re living your life going about your day when suddenly you come home, open the door and hear what sounds like a waterfall in your house… well this is not ideal considering NO ONE was home. Where could this terror sound be coming from? It almost doesn’t even matter because you have to leave immediately anyway. The only thought could be turn off the house water source and call for help. There is a reason in my opinion why home warranties and home owners insurance policies are so important!
Yes, this happened to me. A smart, educated, homeowner and REALTOR. But unfortunately things like this can happen and apparently easily and often! So what was it? My water line to the ice maker in my fridge. (Insert snarky sarcastic eye roll here)… Of all things. So one might think well that damage can’t be that bad mmm false. Our walls, cabinets in our kitchen, drawers in our kitchen, the entire wall, linen closet and floor in the main hallway. All a total reconstruction zone. Also, to add insult to injury when we opened the hallway walls SURPRISE we have termites too. Why not right? So after moving home items to the garage we then needed to move items away and out of the garage for a full termite treatment and warranty. Now we are awaiting a full re-do on our flooring, walls, paint, etc. This is after 2 days of no water, a home warranty claim to fix the water line, a homeowners insurance claim to do remediation (fans, dehumidifiers, etc.) then also rebuilding the home items and a termite treatment later. Wow, I wish I had just paid a service fee call to have the items in my home checked. I am a huge believer in maintenance rather than totally letting something go and then making up for lost time when something goes terribly wrong. But the unfortunate truth is that this is something that didn’t even cross my mind. Life gets busy and sometimes there are items that are simply out of sight, out of mind. The thing I’ve learned is this is actually extremely common and happens quite often. I can certainly say this was a lesson I will not forget anytime soon. Now I am looking for as many other ways as possible that I can keep up daily maintenance and help others do the same and think in this proactive way to stay ahead of the curve!