Home Warranties

[alotofyarn]

We've had a home warranty on the house for the last year, paid for by the sellers. It's up for renewal, and it's a pretty good chunk of money, out of our pocket this time. We did use it once in the last year, to fix the freezer - it isn't free though, you still have to pay the $75 deductible or whatever on top of the monthly or annual fees. Do you have home warranties, and do you think they're worth the cost?

[HouseofWool]

I had one for the first 2 years that I had the house, because there was no way that I could absorb the cost of a huge repair. I was dead ass broke.

Mine was roughly $550 a year and I was able to get a new furnace for $300 bucks. I thought it was a pretty good deal. Even with all of costs, I still saved a couple of grand.

[ladymoreta]

I'm trying to decide, too. We had one on our residency house, and we renewed it once. It didn't cover a major repair ($10k) that I thought it would, so I didn't renew it the next time. I have a different company now, and we are still working to build up our savings, so I'm considering renewing it one more year just in case.

[SoonerTexan]

We had one and NEVER AGAIN.

The companies they sent out were unprofessional and not people I enjoyed having in my home.

I considered renewing just because our HVAC system was super old. Last June it went out in 95 degree weather. I submitted a ticket and was assigned a vendor. I learned from previous experience to call the vendor to set up the appt instead of waiting for them to call you. The wait was FOUR DAYS. There was NFW I was going 4 days without A/C. I called and emailed my claims representative repeatedly for a few hours trying to get a new vendor assigned, but she never responded. Finally, I gave up and called someone myself who had it fixed that day.

I then spent the next month getting them to reimburse me. It was a nightmare.

After that, I decided that it wasn't worth it. My AC or Heat was bound to go in extreme temperatures and waiting for days for it to be fixed/replaced (and probably fighting for the replacement if needed) was not an option.

We had American Home Shield FWIW.

[Chrisada]

Home Warranties

My mother got denied a new AC unit with hers bec. It hadn't been "dusted." To maintain properly. My realtor says they're a waste of money, but that his co. would buy us one if I really wanted it, instead of asking the sellers. The inspection guy suggested a warranty bec. our units ( we have separate ones for upstairs/downstairs) are from 2001. I dunno...


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[ladymoreta]

We had American Home Shield FWIW.

That was the company we had such a bad experience with. Same scenario where we lived - unprofessional people who often didn't show up or fix it right the first time, and it took forever. I have Old Republic now, and they seem a little better, but it still takes a couple days to get someone out.

[Chrisada]

I also remember SuzySunshine having lots of problems with her home warranty.


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[SuzySunshine]

Yes we did not renew ours, read the fine print! If we had had something major, like a furnace go out it still would have only paid $2k towards a new one, it would not have replaced it like Kris's did. We also had to pay the service charge each time someone came out, I think it it was $60. We decided just to get a service contract on our HVACs because they are old, they need to be serviced twice a year to get them to hold on along as possible. They also had no flexibility, like we had a faucet issue in our master shower, so we wanted a new handle installed they wouldn't even install one we bought they would only instal the standard one they carried on their trucks which was hideous and didn't match our finishes.


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[spotty_dog]

I guess it feels like to me that you insure against the loss of really irreplaceably big things like cars and houses. And you keep an emergency fund for big but annoying things like water heaters and refrigerators. That's home ownership, yeah? The two year contract to sweeten the deal of a new house makes some sense -- so you don't get leveled by something that was faulty when you bought it. But after that...I can't get Homer Simpson out of my head. "Extended warranty? How can I lose?!!"

I wonder if Consumer Reports has done an analysis on whether most homeowners break even on those products. I'm thinking the warranty companies wouldn't stay in business if they weren't profitable.

[alotofyarn]

Ours is also American Home Shield. We have a separate service plan for our AC, which we'll keep.

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[SuzySunshine]

CR did do a report in 2012.

Home warranty: What's in it for you?

Consumer Reports magazine: February 2012









A sputtering heating system or leaky pipes can keep you up at night. Home-warranty companies claim to offer peace of mind.

Unlike homeowners insurance, which covers damage or loss after an emergency or disaster, a home warranty typically lets you repair or replace your home’s major appliances, water heater, plumbing, wiring, or heating and cooling systems for one year due to normal wear and tear.

The warranty company contracts with local service technicians, so you can’t choose your own. Most companies have a 24-hour call service to handle requests. (If emergency service isn’t available and you call another company, you might not be reimbursed.) The annual cost is about $400 to $500, and if the repair is covered by the contract, you’ll pay about $65 for a service call. Pre-existing conditions and improper installation generally aren’t covered.

In 32 states, home-warranty companies must be licensed or registered by the state’s regulatory agency, says Stephen K. McDaniel, a spokesman for the Service Contract Industry Council, a trade group. That helps ensure that contracts will be honored if the company goes bust.








Bottom line. Peace of mind isn’t worth the price. For most people, it makes more sense to put money in a home-maintenance fund. The exception: someone who’s selling a house and wants to boost the buyer’s confidence. About 25 percent of sellers offered potential buyers a warranty over a 12-month period, according to a recent study from the National Association of Realtors. If you’re buying, be sure the warranty is paid in full; know the responsibilities, limitations, and exclusions; and check on the contractors the company uses.

[HouseofWool]

Mine was American Home Shield and they were very easy to work with. The contractors they use locally are all very reputable.

When I was having the furnace looked at, I said point blank to the technician that it would be awesome if he said it wasn't fixable. The unit was 20 years old and did have some issues. They were fixable, but it definitely was better to replace it. Both the original technician and the second opinion both told AHS that it wasn't worth fixing. And for $300 labor, I got a new furnace. My heating bill dropped by 40 bucks a month immediately. It was awesome.

[alotofyarn]

I will say that the one time we used it, the appliance repair guy they sent out was really awesome. He fixed the freezer, stayed a bit to make sure it was getting colder, then called back later in the day to make sure it was freezing again and was willing to come back out and check it for me. If we ever need an appliance guy, I'm calling him directly.

When I told AHS I wanted to cancel, they offered some discounts, so anybody looking to renew theirs might try to get the rates lowered a bit.

[medpedspouse]

At our last home where we had American Home Shield, we got our money's worth. $1400 worth of work when our new front loader washer went out right after it's year warranty...only costs us $60. We also replaced a new well pump...that puppy would have been pricey. Viking f-ing stove also benefitted several times. There were a few other things but those were the major savings.

Here, we already used it once (old republic) and were able to get $411 reimbursed for some work since they did not have a service person in my area and we chose one. You can tell them if you no longer want to use the company they send. They will take it off your list. And if you still have the issue, you don't pay an extra service fee.