This is one of my favorite topics. Whether you are buying or selling a home, never do it without a home warranty! Just like any kind of insurance, home warranties are not perfect creatures. But they can save you a boatload of money if something breaks.
The reason this topic has made it here today is an interesting one. My sister is the unfortunate owner of two homes temporarily. She moved to South Carolina recently leaving Maryland. Her home is on the market in Maryland. Well, she is sitting in the freezing cold today because her heat pump is not working. Just the day before yesterday, she got a message from the agent who has her home listed for sale in Maryland. She has a plumbing leak at her old house. Fortunately for her, she has a home warranty...on both homes! There is a particular home warranty you can get when your home is on the market. This means if anything happens while you are in the process of selling your home, you can have it fixed courtesy of the home warranty company. How awesome is that? She also has a home warranty on her new home with the heat pump problem. So this will be fixed as well. If the subcontractors sent out by the home warranty company can not fix it, then they will be replacing her heat pump with a new one. She is very fortunate that she has these warranties in place. It appears that they might ultimately save her thousands and thousands of dollars.
Now for the imperfect part. This is the fourth time in the past month that the home warranty company has been out to fix the heat pump. She is still freezing. It is still not fixed. However, one thing to remember is that even if she were paying out of her own pocket with her own HVAC person, she would more than likely still be eating dinner with her hat and gloves on. As for her Maryland house, the plumber came out the first time and the repair cost was less than the deductible. But the second time the plumber came out for a slightly different problem, the cost was much greater than the deductible.
If you are a seller, ask about getting a warranty on your home while it is on the market. Also--offer the buyer a home warranty. A short-sighted seller might grumble that that will just be an extra expense and they are not going to pay a penny more than they have to. However, consider this story. A couple of years ago I got a call from a real estate agent who had been on the other side of a deal where I had represented the seller. Well a little over twelve full months later, she calls and said that her mom's furnace is not working correctly. (For those inquiring minds--yes it was her mother who bought this particular property). She proceeded to inform me that they planned on coming after the seller and making them fix the furnace.
So at this point, I figure you're on my page wondering how in the heck they could blame the furnace not working at that moment , after she had been in the house running the furnace for months, on the prior sellers. I was totally floored that they could even think about blaming the sellers. But I digress. The problem was quickly nipped in the bud when I said, "You had a home warranty! The seller's bought you a home warranty....are you telling me you didn't renew it?" I never heard from that agent again on the issue. That $300-something home warranty quite possibly saved my sellers some serious dough.
As a buyer, make sure the seller purchases a home warranty for you. Have it written into the contract to purchase. As a buyer, that should be a non-negotiable item. You can usually renew it year after year. Important point coming up! You have to read the fine print to know what's covered. Never assume. Many do not include things like washers and dryers or pool equipment in the coverage, but will allow you to purchase a rider covering these items. Also-never call a repairman yourself when something breaks. Always call the warranty company first. If you call the repairman yourself--you've likely just kissed that money goodbye! One of my personal favorites is Old Republic. I have had experience with them in my personal home and in my case their response time and service has been wonderful.
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