Weathering the Storm

By Kelly Buchfink

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Living in Texas can provide wonderful opportunities for any person, whether that’s a chance to start over and create a new life, open a new business venture or continue the traditions of your homegrown Texan family. Texas can often present plenty of challenges as well, especially as it pertains to the weather. You’re in luck, though, because if you don’t the like the weather, just wait, it will change. Texas weather can swing in totally opposite directions in one day. Depending on the season and how the weather swings, it can also negatively affect your finances if you’ve not prepared and taken steps to protect one of your greatest assets: your home. Let’s look at a few things you can do to protect your home and your finances in various weather seasons.

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Winter: If you were living in Texas on Valentine’s Day, February 2021, you might recall the great freeze we had. The unusual freeze kicked Texas’ independent power grid off line, leaving hundreds of thousands of families without electricity and water for days and some even a week. The result of the freeze left much damage to homes in the way of busted water pipes, frozen wells, collapses, downed trees, etc. So, how do you protect your home against something like this?

Review your homeowner’s insurance policy to make sure your home and other structures are covered for such an event in the future.
Have a plumper review how your pipes are run through the house to see if moving them would be helpful.
Check the amount of insulation you have in your outside walls and ask an expert if additional insulation would be prudent.
Invest into a permanent surround for your well pump and add insulation and thermal blankets.
Detach outside water hoses and cover your outside faucets.
Have your trees trimmed every few years to clear out the dead branches and help shape them to grow away from the house.

Spring: Texas is no stranger to spring storms, where a beautiful day can quickly morph into a lightning and thunderstorm in the evening, giving birth to deadly tornados. It happens every year as central Texas lies directly in what’s known as Tornado Ally. Texas typically sees about 140 tornados a year, but 2020 alone gave us over 1,000 destructive and deadly tornados! Tornados are extremely unpredictable, but there are steps that can be taken to protect your home.

Review your homeowner’s insurance policy to make sure your home and other structures are covered for such an event.
Review your homeowner’s insurance policy wind and hail deductible to make sure you have an adequate savings set aside to meet the deductible. Many wind and hail deductibles are a percentage of your home value and separate from the other peril deductible.
If you live in a high tornado area, consider building your home with insulated concrete forms, wind resistant roof structures, impact resistant windows and bracing your garage doors.
Install a safe-room or shelter in your home. It can be above ground and built into your closet or installed in your garage. It can also be below ground and integrated into your garage floor or outside your home.

Summer: Summer in Texas brings triple digit temperatures that can last weeks and even over a month at a time. Some love the heat and others do not. No matter if you love it or hate it, the heat can severely damage your home as it dries up the caulking and leaves your roof structurally impaired and can crack your roof shingles which may lead to leaks. The Texas heat routinely causes severe droughts that can cause the moisture in the home’s foundation to evaporate and lead to cracks and settling, leaving an uneven foundation. A few steps to help prevent these issues are:

Review your homeowner’s insurance policy to make sure your home’s roof and foundation are properly covered.
Run a soaker hose around the foundation and water it a couple times a week at night.
Check the level of attic insulation and have an expert determine if adding more would be beneficial.
Keep your soffit vents clean to allow a flow of air into to the attic.
If you’re building your home, consider using a cool roof or a green roof.
Think shading with strategically places trees, plants and awnings.

Fall: What’s fall in Texas? Typically, we go from summer to winter with no in between. All joking aside, fall gives Texas some of the most beautiful blue October skies. The weather is actually quite nice and lends itself to being the perfect accomplice to the homeowner as this is the perfect time to do routine home maintenance. Here’s a quick list:

Trim bushes and trees and rake the yard
Clear the gutters and downspouts of debris
Conduct exterior repairs and seal all openings and gaps
Install weatherstripping and clean dryer vents
Inspect the condition of walkways, porches, and railways
Stock up on winter materials and remove window AC units
Shut off exterior hoses and faucets
Inspect safety devices and check energy efficiency
Schedule a chimney cleaning

As you can see, each season provides its own set of challenges and list of things to do. Taking the time each season to protect your home can certainly save your wallet and some heartache in the future. Saving a little each month to pay for each season’s maintenance will help reduce unexpected costs. If it’s not in your current budget, now is a great time to add it as a line item. Our team is no stranger to advising and guiding people on the tricks and tips of budgeting. We even have our own system that we’ve taught to hundreds of clients, who tell us they have more money now than they’ve ever had before. Give us a call today to schedule a meeting! We’d love to share our secret with you and help make sure you’re all set up to weather the storm.

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Lockheed Martin Retirement Specialist is not an official title or professional designation nor is it conferred by Lockheed Martin on any individual or company.

Our Complementary consultation and free report are for informational purposes only and provided free without any obligation to utilize or retain our investment advisory services.

SMWG, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by Lockheed Martin Corporation. Our expertise comes from working with LMT employees for several years and helping them to retire with confidence.

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