<p>Home warrenty is an insurance which covers your major appliances in the house. As a real estate broker, I should know better, but I am not involved in home sales, so looking forward to hear from your thoughts. </p>
<p>Did a search on CC and am suprised that no one had brought up this subject.</p>
<p>To start, check out this $24.95/mo to START warrenty, there are thousands of similar offers. What are your experiences?</p>
<p>I think most of the home warranties are overpriced for what’s covered. Also, too limited coverage, too many exclusions, too high deductibles. I think brokerages push them to avoid having hassles after a sale when something isn’t working for the new homeowner. The warranty excuse gets the monkey off the broker’s back; when the a/c isn’t working 2 weeks after closing the agent can say call the warranty company…not me!</p>
<p>Many times, you have to use the contractors that are on a list with the home warranty company. If the A/C goes out, it could be several days before one might be available. I prefer to use the contractor that I have established business relationship. Home warranty company might not pay for them. Agree with previous poster that it is a realtor sales gimmick…</p>
<p>Last summer when we were closing on our house I tried to compare several different products, but I found the whole process confusing. Some covered one thing, others covered other things. Some had their own list of preferred repair people, others would pay whoever you hired. I decided to skip it.</p>
<p>One friend did pay for this for her first year in her home. She did say that it was convenient to have an approved list of repair people available for the things that did need fixing, but altogether she prefers using “Angie’s List” which is why she didn’t renew after a year.</p>
<p>We provided this to the buyers of my parents home. I had no real idea what might arise on a home I hadn’t been living in. And if it helped to sell a house in these times, I am all for it. It gave me peace of mind.</p>
<p>We had one for many years and used it several times. I do not think it paid off and I also had mixed luck with their contractors. In recent years, the companies have started putting in a clause that routine maintenance of everything is required and they always use the excuse that something has not been maintained properly to deny coverage. I say that it is a good selling point for a house, but other than that, put the same amount of money in an emergency fund.</p>
<p>I do have a home warranty through American Home Shield, I have had it for quite a few years and it has paid off for us. I guess part of it depends on the age of your house, ours was built in 1963…which by California standards is old…haha! Our deductible is $60.00 per call, it covers everything from my doorbell (which was repaired after I couldn’t fix it), plumbing, water heater, furnace… to all my appliances. </p>
<p>Last month I had a plumber out twice, my neighborhood plumber charges a minimum $100 service call so just those two repairs payed for itself. I also had my washing machine repaired last week; the seal around the door had ripped and would have cost way more then $60 for the part. In the past, my dryer failed and because the cost to the parts was so high, ACH actually gave me the option to have them pay me off, I took the money and kicked in a little more and bought a newer model ;). And I also had my dishwasher a few months ago repaired. Mind you, all these appliances are no more than 4 years old, so it had been worth it for me!!</p>
<p>There is a huge reason warranties are sold,whether home warranties or appliance warranties…They are HUGE profit makers for those who sell them, rarely,if ever,do they make financial sense</p>