Top Three Strategies to Protect Your Portland Home

Written by, Raj

Updated June, 22, 2023

Your home is a major investment. Not lightly do we take on mortgage debt and calculate monthly payments into our budget. And like every good investment, it needs to be protected. We do our best to take good care of our home, keeping up with maintenance, improving energy efficiency, and more. But protecting your home goes beyond the occasional DIY project or home improvement— it also includes appliance replacement and disaster response. What you need to do when Portland’s severe winds and storms cause damage to your home in order to mitigate the impact and get back to normal as quickly as possible. Below, we’ll talk about three of the best strategies to be prepared for your home’s larger, more expensive needs.

Strategy One: Premium Home Insurance

If you already know your home, then you know that home insurance is somewhat customizable. Folks on tighter budgets often go with the lower cost, but this comes around by sacrificing certain coverages and protections. While we all hope to never need our insurance, it’s best to be prepared. Insurance can help with a lot of repairs, replacements, and improvements, such as your roof or storm damage.

Work closely with your insurance agent to make sure you get the best coverage for your home. They can help you trim anything superfluous while keeping you above bare-bones coverages. If you have a mortgage, you are required to carry insurance on your home. Make sure you understand the minimum requirements from your lender before you meet with you agent so you can check all of their boxes, as well.

Strategy Two: Invest in a Home Warranty

A home warranty is like a renewable home service plan. It covers or discounts repair and replacement services for certain appliances and other services that insurance doesn’t. You should invest in a home warranty if any of your appliances or services have exited their manufacturer’s warranties. A home warranty rounds out protection from your insurance by covering what insurance doesn’t.

Strategy Three: Disaster Preparation

If we’re being completely honest, making sure you have solid insurance and home warranty coverage can be counted as a part of disaster prep. But strategy three goes beyond investing in those protection styles. There are many other facets to disaster prep, so let’s break them down:

Have Professionals on Retainer

Every good homeowner knows you should research a company before letting them work on your house. What many don’t consider is that you really shouldn’t wait until there is a disaster to find a repair company. If you already have a company to work with, you can call them immediately and schedule repairs. If you need water damage cleanup in Portland, you don’t want to leave it sitting while you check reviews and sit through consultations. Instead, look up local companies in your free time and start comparing. Maybe sit down for a consultation and explain that while you don’t have an emergency currently, you’re getting your ducks in a row so you can be prepared for the worst.

Have a Family Plan

Everyone in your home needs to know what to do in various emergencies. This can include evacuation plans in addition to how you will keep life going if you can’t stay in your home during repairs. Will you choose a local hotel or create a mutually beneficial plan with some friends to house each other during crises? Do you know what resources are available to help Portland families recover from disasters like major storms or unlivable housing? By setting up this information while things are going well, you will have several fewer concerns if the worst should happen to your home.

Know What to Do with Animals

If animals are a part of your household, then you need to plan for their needs after disasters as well. Even if your home is livable, home improvement and repairs can be incredibly stressful—and even dangerous— for your pets. Have a plan in place for how to care for them. Perhaps your vet offers to board and will work with you on the cost. Pet insurance can help with any injuries or anxiety medication. Doggy daycare can get your pooch out of the house while workers are there. Check the local resources for whatever animals you have, and come up with ideas for what to do during emergencies.

It’s less likely that you will need to move livestock, but you may want to look into ideas for temporary fencing if your current system goes down after a storm or you need to fence off part of their field for repairs.

Preparation is Key, and Budgeting is Imperative

When disaster strikes, it’s best to be prepared. Having plans and coverages in place to mitigate your stress can also cut down on how long your home is waiting for repairs. While it can be difficult to do so, try to keep an emergency fund with a few thousand dollars to get you started in case of disasters like storm damage. If that’s not possible for you, just put back as much as you can afford from your monthly budget. For larger repairs, damage cleanup, and like issues, most companies will work to help you finance any cost remaining after insurance or warranty payout. Above all, know what you need to do to keep your family on solid ground while your house is repaired.