Home Warranty, how many of you have one and do you think it is worth it?

[bimmer456]

How many of you have a home warranty, what do you think about it?

[TXF87]

I'm a realtor. They are garbage.

[zx10guy]

^^^The realtor I worked with for my mother in law's condo purchase said the same thing.

So it appears if you want a warranty, buy new construction.

[bimmer456]

I was going to cancel mine as I can do most of the stuff myself for cheaper, they convinced me to switch to the systems plan which covers plumbing, gas lines, heating and AC for around $220/yr. It might be worth it but we'll see maybe I'll change my mind. I have American Home Shield and all the reviews are negative lol. I had another one before them but they were worse.

[Faredo]

I have one but it came with the new build. My last house i owned for 8 years and I passed on the warranty. It was an older house and i had the usual issues. AC broke, water heater went out etc. It was much cheaper to do these repairs myself. $60 for a relay etc etc.
Maybe worth while if you're a single woman, elderly, an idiot, whatever.

[upstatedoc]

[UncleWede]

I pay a few $ to have gas Co cover pipes. Sears covers major appliances. The number of times a day the washer/dryer get run we make out on that one. They have bought us new machines more than once

[suspenceful]

I bought an older house and it came with a 1 year home warranty paid for by the seller. I'm glad it did, I ended up using it three times.

The newish fridge took a crap. Then the in-wall microwave stopped working. The bathroom sink started leaking (unrepairable, required replacement). Also had a chain of outlets stop working. All were covered. I didn't renew the warranty as I thought I had all the bugs worked out after the first year.

[dreamingat30fps]

As with any extended warranty, the odds are against you ever using it. Sure you could be the one who has every appliance in the house go out, but statistically speaking... probably not.

If it was worth getting then they wouldn't be selling it to start with.

[Haywood]

Originally Posted by bimmer456

How many of you have a home warranty, what do you think about it?

How old is your home and your heating/AC/appliances, etc? I used to have it with my home and it saved me many times. I used American Home Shield and it only cost a $75 deductible. Got a new AC, water heater, and other things. So, it was worth it for me. Just make sure you look at the fine print to see what it covers. It could pay for itself if you have a major repair.

[TXF87]

The other part of this is it's going to depend on the state you live in. Different states will regulate these things differently. Earlier someone mentioned getting a new AC covered by theirs. In Texas most of these policies will only cover up to $1,500 and that's not going to cover a new AC. If a seller is throwing it in then whatever...but I'd just knock another $500 off the price of the house. The people they send are usually either dishonest or incompetent. I'd rather use my own people. But then again, I'm not an extended warranty or overinsurer type.

[platnumdesi01]

I got Home Shield this year. After 2-3 months, my hot water heater at my rental took a dive. They paid for the replacement and installation. I had to pay a few hundred for an expansion tank that was out of scope and mandatory for code. So I think for folks with rentals, it's a time saver as well.

[UglyBuzzard]

Yes, for a couple of years minimum. If you have high end home & appliances and a built in fridge, it is a no brainer. Some of the contractors they send out are clowns so you need to watch closely at times.

Make sure you understand what is covered before they dispatch. You are stuck with service fee, even if not covered.

Caveat is that they are very annoying to deal with and try hard to not cover.

[bimmer456]

Originally Posted by platnumdesi01

I got Home Shield this year. After 2-3 months, my hot water heater at my rental took a dive. They paid for the replacement and installation. I had to pay a few hundred for an expansion tank that was out of scope and mandatory for code. So I think for folks with rentals, it's a time saver as well.

It's pretty lame that you still had to pay for something on top of the call fee. The contract should cover everything for it to be code, otherwise it's almost the same as going to home depot and buying the water heater yourself.

[F32Fleet]

Pain in the ass. One year I went the entire month of July w/out AC because of their BS.

Example: They'd rather continually repair rather than replace a failing HVAC. They do this so you'll give up and replace the unit on your dime.

[Spa2k]

The reason that these generally are garbage and so difficult to use is that they are insurance products, regulated by the insurance commission in most states. The are not "warranties" or "extended warranties."

[TXF87]

Originally Posted by Spa2k

The reason that these generally are garbage and so difficult to use is that they are insurance products, regulated by the insurance commission in most states. The are not "warranties" or "extended warranties."

ding ding ding

[BayMoWe335]

How would these companies be in business if they didn’t make money off the people to which they sold them?

This is much different than home insurance.

[dkracing]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

^^^The realtor I worked with for my mother in law's condo purchase said the same thing.

So it appears if you want a warranty, buy new construction.

I second this. I recently bought/had a house built. Came with a 1 year warranty. Anything wrong they come fix.

I could not imagine this on a "used" house. Like how you would claim it wasn't owners fault, like a used car warranty. Idk.

[Spa2k]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

This is much different than home insurance.

Yes, it is - just like it’s different from auto insurance, life insurance and hole-in-one insurance. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good deal in most cases - and it definitely won’t work for preexisting conditions, so don’t plan on using it to buy a houseful of new appliances. The home warranty companies base their rates on the fact that everyone who buys it will make a claim, which helps keep the rates high.

[radiofrequency]

Originally Posted by platnumdesi01

I got Home Shield this year. After 2-3 months, my hot water heater at my rental took a dive. They paid for the replacement and installation. I had to pay a few hundred for an expansion tank that was out of scope and mandatory for code. So I think for folks with rentals, it's a time saver as well.

This, but I have it as my home is up for sale. A couple of weeks ago one of my hot water heaters went kaput. Warranty cost $400, hot water heater cost $800 to replace, all I paid was the $75 deductible. FYI.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by Spa2k

Yes, it is - just like it’s different from auto insurance, life insurance and hole-in-one insurance. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good deal in most cases - and it definitely won’t work for preexisting conditions, so don’t plan on using it to buy a houseful of new appliances. The home warranty companies base their rates on the fact that everyone who buys it will make a claim, which helps keep the rates high.

Did you read my post?