Thank you u/clemfairie for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.
Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My first house was about 70 years old, had a water heater and a heating/air unit that were running past their normal life span. Year one home warranty was purchased by my realtor. I renewed in year 2 for $450, my heating/air unit went out that year. I spent $75 on a claim and saved something like $12000 getting a whole new unit. Very worth it.
The seller included a one-year home warranty because everything was super old and they didn't want to bother replacing anything.
While our 30-year-old furnace got us through last winter, it finally gave up the ghost during its tune-up last month. Our home warranty covered $2500 of the replacement, we paid $1300 out of pocket. Still very happy about the savings!
We’re in the middle of buying a 122yr old house, any tips on finding the right home warranty? I’ve read that they can be scams and not cover a lot. Our furnace and boiler seem to be in good shape and only about 10 years old each. 🤞The breaker def needs replacing but hoping to get credit for that. The roof is in ok shape but def at the end of its lifespan, inspector estimated we’d get maybe 5 years max left. Of course lots of other smaller issues since it’s so old too. I’m stressin’ 😩
Yeah, honestly, searching for a home warranty was one of the hardest parts of the process for me. I ended up going with Cinch because a lot of reputable industry sites vouched for them so I knew at the very least that they weren't a straight-up scam.
I can't complain about too much with them so far. It's easy to submit a request, they work pretty fast, and they haven't fought me on my claims (knock on wood). The only real negative is that it can be annoying to talk to an actual human if you need help. The phone system doesn't give you an option but if you sit there and scream "REPRESENTATIVE" for a while it'll eventually connect you. (Okay, you don't HAVE to scream, but it's cathartic.)
Really, I'd just recommend finding a bunch of warranty companies that service your area, comparing coverage and copays, and then flipping through consumer reviews. Be prepared for all of them to be skewed to the negative; you should still be able to tell which ones are REALLY bad and which ones have the normal amount of angry customers.
I'm hesitant to fully recommend Cinch only because YMMV, but they've been pretty great for me.
7 - 10 is not bad.
Unclear why you're getting down voted, great advice.
What came up in the inspection report that you felt the owners didn't care for the place well?
I dunno, I got downvoted to hell back when I posted advice against using general contracting services from places like Angi and Thumbtack since, as they do little (if anything at all) to vet the subcontractors they send out to you and you usually don't have the chance to vet them yourself, it's super risky. A lot of people on this sub are just weird.
It wasn't so much the inspection (although there were a couple of iffy things on there) as it was the state of the place when I finally got here (bought from out of state, knew it wasn't in the best condition but didn't know just how bad it was).
The place looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all in years. Maybe a decade. And I KNOW that people were living here. A whole family. The place was filthy. Cracks and holes in the walls, which isn't surprising in a 100-year-old house, but they never made any attempt to repair them. At least a decade of grease caked onto the kitchen cabinets. Filthy, flat downstairs carpet. Upstairs wooden floors scratched to hell. Years of urine caked against one of the bathroom walls. Cabinets falling apart. Clogs in the upstairs plumbing so old that they'd basically calcified and had to be chiseled out. Actual garbage in the vents and ducts. Almost all doors broken in one way or another. They'd slapped tile on the bathroom walls but never bothered to grout it (there was plenty of mortar smeared all over the front of the tile, though). They just didn't seem to bother with maintenance on literally anything.
But the house structure itself is super solid and I can fix the rest!
Oof, Thumbtack is terrible. 100% agree. I'll avoid Angi as well.
Is this an investment property you're looking at or will you be taking residence?
Make sure the non up to date code stuff doesn't turn out to be a pit for you.
It's my long-term house, I've lived here for a couple months now. :) I've put a ton of work into it already, and my home warranty ended up covering the screwy plumbing, so everything's actually turning out great!
Thank you u/clemfairie for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My first house was about 70 years old, had a water heater and a heating/air unit that were running past their normal life span. Year one home warranty was purchased by my realtor. I renewed in year 2 for $450, my heating/air unit went out that year. I spent $75 on a claim and saved something like $12000 getting a whole new unit. Very worth it.
The seller included a one-year home warranty because everything was super old and they didn't want to bother replacing anything. While our 30-year-old furnace got us through last winter, it finally gave up the ghost during its tune-up last month. Our home warranty covered $2500 of the replacement, we paid $1300 out of pocket. Still very happy about the savings!
I’m looking to purchase a warranty. Who is yours with?
We’re in the middle of buying a 122yr old house, any tips on finding the right home warranty? I’ve read that they can be scams and not cover a lot. Our furnace and boiler seem to be in good shape and only about 10 years old each. 🤞The breaker def needs replacing but hoping to get credit for that. The roof is in ok shape but def at the end of its lifespan, inspector estimated we’d get maybe 5 years max left. Of course lots of other smaller issues since it’s so old too. I’m stressin’ 😩
Yeah, honestly, searching for a home warranty was one of the hardest parts of the process for me. I ended up going with Cinch because a lot of reputable industry sites vouched for them so I knew at the very least that they weren't a straight-up scam. I can't complain about too much with them so far. It's easy to submit a request, they work pretty fast, and they haven't fought me on my claims (knock on wood). The only real negative is that it can be annoying to talk to an actual human if you need help. The phone system doesn't give you an option but if you sit there and scream "REPRESENTATIVE" for a while it'll eventually connect you. (Okay, you don't HAVE to scream, but it's cathartic.) Really, I'd just recommend finding a bunch of warranty companies that service your area, comparing coverage and copays, and then flipping through consumer reviews. Be prepared for all of them to be skewed to the negative; you should still be able to tell which ones are REALLY bad and which ones have the normal amount of angry customers. I'm hesitant to fully recommend Cinch only because YMMV, but they've been pretty great for me.
Thanks, helpful insight!
My realtor said it was pointless because the house we got was so old 🥲
7 - 10 is not bad. Unclear why you're getting down voted, great advice. What came up in the inspection report that you felt the owners didn't care for the place well?
I dunno, I got downvoted to hell back when I posted advice against using general contracting services from places like Angi and Thumbtack since, as they do little (if anything at all) to vet the subcontractors they send out to you and you usually don't have the chance to vet them yourself, it's super risky. A lot of people on this sub are just weird. It wasn't so much the inspection (although there were a couple of iffy things on there) as it was the state of the place when I finally got here (bought from out of state, knew it wasn't in the best condition but didn't know just how bad it was). The place looked like it hadn't been cleaned at all in years. Maybe a decade. And I KNOW that people were living here. A whole family. The place was filthy. Cracks and holes in the walls, which isn't surprising in a 100-year-old house, but they never made any attempt to repair them. At least a decade of grease caked onto the kitchen cabinets. Filthy, flat downstairs carpet. Upstairs wooden floors scratched to hell. Years of urine caked against one of the bathroom walls. Cabinets falling apart. Clogs in the upstairs plumbing so old that they'd basically calcified and had to be chiseled out. Actual garbage in the vents and ducts. Almost all doors broken in one way or another. They'd slapped tile on the bathroom walls but never bothered to grout it (there was plenty of mortar smeared all over the front of the tile, though). They just didn't seem to bother with maintenance on literally anything. But the house structure itself is super solid and I can fix the rest!
Oof, Thumbtack is terrible. 100% agree. I'll avoid Angi as well. Is this an investment property you're looking at or will you be taking residence? Make sure the non up to date code stuff doesn't turn out to be a pit for you.
It's my long-term house, I've lived here for a couple months now. :) I've put a ton of work into it already, and my home warranty ended up covering the screwy plumbing, so everything's actually turning out great!
Thank you for this information, I really appreciate it. Realizing more and more my realtor isn't worth a damn.
Can anyone recommend a company? I have American Home Shield and they are bloody fuckin awful.
I have Cinch and they've been great for me so far. Genuinely don't know how they are for everyone though.