Houselogic.com is one of my favorite websites! If you have never paid them a visit, you must. Run by the National Association of Realtors, it is not only full of amazing house tips for homeowners, but is also quite funny at times.
I stumbled upon this article on Houselogic.com, perfect for the spooky month of Halloween, and had to share....
The Real Costs of Halloween Home Disasters:
Serial Killers, Phantasms, and Floods of Blood
HouseLogic estimates the home repair costs in Poltergeist, Scream, The Shining, and other horror classics.
Zombies, vampires, and other forces of evil can take quite a toll on unsuspecting humans in horror movies, but they also can do some serious property damage. Your home can take quite a beating inside and out when the things that go bump in the night decide to drop by for a visit.
With Halloween on the horizon, HouseLogic looks at some startling property disasters in legendary horror films and calculated their real repair costs.
The Shining:
When little Danny Torrance saw a river of blood surging down the hallway, there’s one thing that was probably not on his mind: What’s it going to cost to clean up this mess? He was a little more concerned with evading his possessed, axe-wielding father. But the answer depends entirely on whether the Overlook Hotel was covered for flood insurance. Let’s just hope they opted for maximum blood coverage.
Disaster: Flooding
-The average flood claim for a residence is about $33,000.
-The average annual cost of flood insurance for a residence is $540.
Poltergeist:
When considering a new home, save some money, have it inspected—and make sure it’s not on an unmarked burial ground. You’ll disrespect the dead, and as we learned in Poltergeist, phantasms can get pretty miffed. They’ll suck children into other dimensions and even push coffins through the back yard, ripping up the landscaping and inflicting serious damage.
If ghosts do turn your yard into Swiss cheese—and your house doesn’t get sucked into a void like the Freelings’—you’ll need to redo your landscaping. Consider hiring a certified landscape architect to design a plan that includes irrigation, lighting, soil conditioning, and repotting (or removing) those pesky coffins. You might also want to consider planting a few new trees which, when properly placed for shade, will save you up to $250 a year in energy costs.
Disaster: Destroyed landscaping
-A landscape consultation costs about $100 to $150.
-A detailed plan can run from $300 to $2,500.
-New sod installation is 30 to 50 cents per square foot.
-Total sod cost for the average suburban yard: $2,000.
-Three 15-foot trees cost a total of $300 to $600.
Scream:
Going up? When Ghostface caught this beered-up victim in the too-small cat portal of a garage door, he scored a memorable kill, but shorted out the garage door opener in the process. While this party girl never made it to a sequel, the home owners lucked out with an easy repair. So easy, they might even consider a whole new garage door. But, of course, spring for a bigger cat door.
Disaster: Broken garage door
-A replacement garage door opener costs about $300.
-Installed garage doors range from $550 to $1,650 for a single door, and $800 to $2,500 for a double door.
The Amityville Horror:
Bolts of lightning might have blown out the windows of this infamous Amityville residence, but whole-house surge protectors would have kept the lights on and things running smoothly—at least until Father Delaney and the Devil battle it out over who has to pay for window replacements. Spoiler alert: bet on the Devil.
Disaster: Broken windows
-Replacement windows cost $250 to $800 each.
Interview with the Vampire:
Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt had a great time slurping the life out of the residents of New Orleans, but you wouldn’t want the same drain on your homestead. That’s why you need to be vigilant about the waste caused by vampire energy, also known as standby power consumption—unneeded electricity usage that sucks up to $100 out of your wallet annually. Most common culprits are computers, monitors, printers, and stereo subwoofers. Try plugging devices into a power strip and get in the habit of turning them all off at once. Or try a “smart” power strip that senses when you’ve shut off your computer and cuts the juice. It works much better than garlic.
Disaster: Energy drain
-Power strips are $10 each
-“Smart” power strips cost $30
Thriller video:
When Michael Jackson and his zombie buddies broke into an old house to terrify his girlfriend, costly damage ensues—destruction that could have been avoided if only the undead had turned the doorknob. Unfortunately, zombies aren’t too dexterous, and the hapless home owners got stuck with the cost of a new steel exterior replacement door. If only they had installed a home security system, those zombies would be singing an entirely different tune.
Disaster: Zombie attack
-A replacement door costs about $1,200.
-A home security system installation costs $500, with a monthly fee of $35 to $75.
