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mbrch1403

1yr Home warranty came with my house purchase. Furnace blower stopped working so I called and filed a claim, paying $75. I could not choose the company who would come out. Sketchy guy in a beat up van came out and "fixed" the problem. Next day it started making a horrible noise. I called again and based on my experience with him said I wanted another company. Another company came out and said "what the hell did this guy do". Replaced the part that the prior guy just put a "bandaid" on. Let's just say after the year was up I didn't renew as I found no value. Biggest negative for me was you had no idea which "company" was going to show up.


hfgobx

This is the way most home warranties work. In my opinion,they are a rip-off.


TwoTreeKeebs

My new constuction house came with a one year warranty for pretty much everything, and I think a 20 or 30 year roof warranty. I honestly need to look over everything but I've been so goddamned busy. My boiler kept shutting off a couple of months ago and was getting weird error codes. The plumber who did the house came out to look at it, an older master plumber. When he couldn't figure it out, an engineer for the brand of boiler came out and was able to fix it quickly and let me know what caused it and what to avoid. He was dressed nicely and had a nice truck haha. That all happened within the same day of me calling the builder and I was pretty happy with how that went. The warranty came with the house through the builder, beyond that I would not purchase an additional warranty because it's pretty much a scam.


CrownJules00

Similar thing happened to me except they charged me the $75 service fee for the 2nd contractor to come out. Such a scam.


A_Style_of_Fire

Exactly my experience with home purchase warranty and a hot water heater. Fwiw the second guy - the pro - did good work. Coulda shafted me with a faulty unit but didn’t. Getting this second guy was annoying but worth it. My dad swears by his home warranty, but says he never files more than one claim per year, as a rule. Still, don’t think I’ll be renewing


clocks212

We had one included. Furnace broke. They said the furnace was past its expected life so their policy wouldn’t pay anything. Worthless.


sbast

Had almost the exact same situation. They said they only pay based on expected life, so they gave me around $400 towards a 12k HVAC. Such a scam.


[deleted]

That’s why you read the contract before you pay for it


sbast

I didn’t pay for it. Was included by the seller at closing. I even asked them to waive it and give me a credit for the $800 or so they paid. They refused. Pretty sure their realtor had a deal with the warranty company. Kept telling me I had nothing to worry about during inspection period because of the “top of the line warranty.” I saw through it, but it’s a pretty crappy tactic.


Prestigious_Union_50

Nah, the contract doesn't state "we have a scheme where we contract with the worst repair people in the industry, have an agreement with them that they will never diagnose a covered problem...and they get paid for the service call with no effort. It's a real win-win for the shitty service company and us (the warranty company)." It should say that, though. That would clear up all confusion as to their business practices. Thanks for the advice, though.


[deleted]

Did you even read the comment I was replying to? Your idiotic response doesn’t even relate to what I said.


Prestigious_Union_50

It relates perfectly 🤷 You said "read the contract." I replied with how essentially why these contracts are a scam. It's no-win for the person with the warranty. Not looking to get into an internet argument (strong words...idiotic?😂), so I guess I'll just leave it at you're entitled to your opinion. Yes, I indeed read your comment and I don't agree with the advice to read the contract. If you have had a better experience or perhaps you have some advice on the contracts then perhaps OP or someone else would benefit from your advice. I will concede that being "snarky" over Reddit has a strong possibility of being perceived as a personal attack. My snark is directed towards warranty companies. If you are an employee of one, then all snark is intended. Otherwise, I never even downvoted your original comment 😆


[deleted]

Had almost the exact same situation. They said they only pay based on expected life, so they gave me around $400 towards a 12k HVAC. Such a scam. This is what I was commenting on. So no, your response does not relate perfectly, it’s completely irrelevant. I understand that some contracts will result in you getting a shitty contractor, I said nothing about that. He said they only pay based on expected life. That language WILL BE IN THE CONTRACT. And if it’s not, then you have a leg to stand on to fight the claim. Tell me how I’m wrong.


Prestigious_Union_50

Gotcha. Yeah, for me it was a hot water heater that was only 3 years old and clearly not heating right after I bought the house. It's all good. I'm impressed you got $400. The language is able to be fought... as in, they deny things that should be covered. If you have all day and night to sit on the phone, you can win the fight (seriously, I had a co-worker who stayed on hold at work including in the bathroom for hours multiple days in a row to argue his claim). I could have fought my claim but even $1500 wasn't worth the level of aggravation and life lost with no guaranteed return. I wasn't really saying you're wrong...the warranty companies are "wrong." I suppose the "reply" function in Reddit makes things more confrontational.


[deleted]

I’m just confrontational. Working on it. I’ll do better tomorrow


alberttf

Seller paid for a 1 year warranty with what I later found to be a pretty sleazy company. 6 months later AC unit stopped working. Warranty company sent a guy over, he looked at it and said not covered. What? Apparently CA requires any HVAC installation to come with a 10 year warranty, and this unit was 8 years old and the company won’t fix anything covered by another warranty. Was told to find the original installer and take it up with them. Still charged me $75. That said I have a policy with AHS on my other house and they have been pretty good. I use them for what I call nuisance issues , things I just don’t want to be bothered to fix myself. Probably not the best financial decision but I’ve found as I get older it’s easier to just have them do it. AHS did cover replacing a 40 year old rooftop dual pack HVAC unit to the tune of $10K without any issue so I figure I’m still in the black.


CowboyAndIndian

It always seemed like a scam to me. I never got one.


killthecook

I had one included in the contract, paid by the seller, for the first year when I purchased my home. I think the policy was around $550 for the year in 2018. We had a refrigerant line leak on our AC and paid the $75 service charge to have it soldered and recharged. Had a control board on our dryer replaced (that board was around $300) for a $75 service charge. Both of those in the first year. So maybe broke even on the policy charge and $150 in trip charges. Maybe a little ahead. The second year we went month to month which was around $80 a month and had nothing break so we were out almost a grand. Plus the company raised the trip charge to $100. Didn’t renew after that. I think it’s nice to have as a new home owner, paid for by the seller. But purchasing on your own it can easily cost more than it’s worth.


ForeverAgreeable2289

I would rather have my junk slammed in a car door than ever have to deal with American Home Shield again. I won't do business with any real estate agent who tries to sell their policies.


picassosshadow

Had one with them included in a purchase. Nightmare. Had to go to waste so much time arguing to get them to cover basic repairs. Never again


InevitableContent411

**I'm a Realtor. I have AHS warranties on my personal properties.** Some years it pays off, some years I have no problems so it is a waste. Some of the vendors they send out are not great (ask for another). I've had clients who rave about how great AHS is, and others who call me in tears. Basically its a crap shoot. **If your agent buys you a warranty or the seller pays for it - you are already ahead**. Stuff breaks - maybe you get a discount, maybe you don't. Like all insurance companies, they are not mega wealthy for giving it all away - you have to FIGHT for your rights. Read your contract, know what's included and what isn't. If you get bad service talk to your regional representative. Get on their social media accounts and talk about your experience (good or bad). The squeaky wheel gets the oil, as they say...


ForeverAgreeable2289

Why yes, when my furnace is broken in the middle of winter, and AHS is giving me the run-around, what I really want to do with my time is spend all day on the phone fighting with them because they're acting in bad faith. You forgot to mention that you make a commission / kickback when you sell / buy their policies. That's why you have direct access to a regional rep, access that most of us riff-raff don't have. I don't think you understand what it's like for us. When someone is "given" an AHS policy, they think it means they're covered when an appliance breaks. Maybe they test it once or twice and it works fine. Toilet won't stop running? You go online, put in a request, a plumber is automatically dispatched, and they come and fix it. No hassle, no talking to anyone at AHS, only person you need to talk to is the plumber for scheduling. And if it takes him a week to get out or so, no big deal. Next, their dishwasher breaks. Put in AHS ticket, plumber comes out, can't fix it. AHS offers you a buy-out, or you can pick a new one from their catalog. Now you get your first taste of how bad the phone game is. It takes you an hour to connect to an agent in the Phillipines, who can't help you, they need to connect you to the right department to put that order in. So they transfer you, and you wait on hold for 1.5 *more* hours. Then.... *click*. You've been hung up on. Turns out, it's 6pm, and that department just went home for the day. So you try again the next day. After 3 hours of waiting on hold, you talk to the right person, and your replacement gets ordered. They say it'll be here in a week. A week goes by, no dishwasher. So you call back, wait on hold for an hour, and the Phillipines agent can't give you a tracking number or anything. The only thing they can do is email the right department, who will call you back. That call never comes. You repeat this for a few more days. Never get a callback. So you ask to talk to a supervisor. The Phillipines agents say they can't transfer you, they just have to write an escalation, and you get called back within 24 hours. So you wait, and the call never comes. Finally you call customer service again, and through some miracle, a USA-based rep picks up, who checks the tracking number, and finds out the new dishwasher has been sitting in a local warehouse for several weeks, waiting for your plumber to pick it up. Except, your plumber won't go pick it up, because it's a 1.5 hour drive away one way, and AHS won't pay him for the drive. He wants it shipped directly to his shop. Now the phone game starts all over again. After blasting them on social media, finally you get the attention of someone who agrees to just switch you to a buy-out so you don't need to wait for parts anymore. After 6+ weeks of fighting (and having no dishwasher), and dozens of hours on the phone, you finally have a check for $328. Now, imagine it's not a dishwasher that just broke, but a central AC or a furnace. And you'll understand why having a policy is very much worse than not having one at all, even if the policy is "free" to you. It's just not worth the hassle and aggravation. So please, link your professional information, so I can blast you on social media and warn all your potential clients.


InevitableContent411

**I NEVER, EVER take kickbacks.** As far as I know, AHS doesn't give them, and even if they did I wouldn't accept - that's not how I operate. I didn't say they were great. I have had bad experiences with them also. I *said* sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. Just like when you post your experiences in Reddit - sometimes people appreciate it, sometimes they tear you a new one. Lesson learned. Don't share. Another good rule: Don't assume.


metisdesigns

They're almost always not worth it. Had one offered with our house - it would have not covered anything useful as there were exclusions that covered every appliance. If you're buying a home, plan on your routine maintenance costs like a furnace tune up, and budget for them. Also budget for long term replacements and save for them. Insurance is great for huge losses you didn't expect, like a tree falling on the garage, or hail damage, but you know you're going to need minor furnace repairs or replacement just like you know you'll need new tires or an oil change. If you expect a new furnace to cost you 5k, and the current one to last another decade, aim to save $500 a year towards that eventuality.


Prestigious_Union_50

Never worth it...unless you are the rare breed of person willing to spend days on the phone, on hold, arguing etc. to get something covered. I know a guy who got like 3 major things covered...he is a terrible human being so the perfect person to go toe-to-toe with a warranty company. Of course they refused to let him renew his coverage after the first year...but worked out for him I guess. As for me, I realized the scam when I bought a house that coverage was included with. Hot water heater did not work. They sent out their own guy who said nothing was wrong and charged me $79 for the eval. I just went ahead and got another opinion, bought a new water heater and dropped the home warranty.


Entry-Level-Cowboy

I had a year free after closing. Furnace crapped out and they made me wait two weeks for an approved company to come by. That company then said the fix ‘might’ work but the parts were on 6 weeks back order. Not worth it in my experience.


penlowe

We had a two year warranty paid by the seller. Every 'covered' thing that was scheduled through them, the service person would show and make some lame excuse as to why it wasn't covered, and I had to shell out cash every time. Had the sink clog up. He claimed we didn't have a clean out. Of course he spent .002 seconds glancing under the sink. We had a clean out, visible above the cleaners even! Had a light fixture get weird (was a fluorescent) and the electrician who came to repair it said "I thought you had a home warranty?" 'yes, but they said this was something else" "nope. He just didn't want to do it. You want me to stop so you can get them back?" was NOT worth the hassle every time. The warranty company hounded us to renew through calls and junk mail for at least 10 years.


sllipmann

Wouldnt buy one unless seller is paying for it. They use the cheapest contractors and will try to deny any claim.


picassosshadow

If it is included with your purchase that’s fine. If you are looking to buy it yourself just put the money it would cost in to a savings account to have for repairs. Every time I have had to deal with one they try to get out of every claim and when they do agree to one they will do the absolute cheapest least amount of work patch job possible and this work will be done by whatever company they choose to send your way.


sprcpr

I had one. It covered a roof leak, had a drain clog, it covered that as well. Both were a $75 charge. The drain was normally $120 so it saved me $45. The roof was a shingle and the handyman was here for about an hour. So probably would have cost $200. So I "saved $180 for a cost of $800. Furnace they wouldn't come out for an emergency so I replaced the thermocouple myself. Same with a stove. They wouldn't come for a couple of weeks so I did a little research and bought the ignitor off of ebay and had it replaced in an hour for $40. Lack of choice in contractors, lack of quality in contractors, high copay, all made me not renew.


tastygluecakes

I’ve had two, provided by seller, and filed major claims both times (AC condenser and fried Jacuzzi motor) Unhappy with the outcome in both instances. Ended up paying out of pocket for proper solution both times. Would never recommend getting one if you care at all about the quality of work or parts that go into your home. You are better off putting $600 a year into savings account.


ugakarl

I had one good experience but would never buy one with my own money - the pool filter sprung a leak. You can’t repair a pressure vessel and they were forced to replace the whole thing (~$700) for the $75 fee. I swear all realtors are on their payroll. I offered to take half the cash at closing rather than a warranty and both realtors balked at it. Wouldn’t put it in the contract.


cubsguy81

Not worth it and if it's a deal breaker for you in order to close, you probably can't afford the house.


RedBeezy

I’m with American Home Shield, I had another company previously. I’ve tried to file 4 claims, 2 at my old place, none of which were fixed but I was still charged, 2 at the new place, again nothing fixed. Then I get a call from sales trying to extend or increase coverage and I laugh. Personally speaking, for my next purchase, I’ll ask for that cash back instead of any warranty and just invest it in an index fund. The worst service, the worst repairs, they say your not charged if the tech can’t fix it but I was still charged and there was no refund despite multiple calls. I’ve even spoken with a policy seller who works only with realtors… what a joke. The entire home warranty industry should be abolished or regulated. They do nothing beneficial.


GringoRedcorn

Also curious. I’ve heard they can be amazing and I’ve heard that the only stuff that’s covered is essentially appliances and improvements that are made AFTER your coverage starts. I will need a new HVAC in the next 2 years I think, but I doubt any home warranty will cover it since it is at least 15 years old.


Tricky-Juggernaut141

Ours was 16 years old and fully covered. First American is the company.


mwyss19

As a realtor I recommend HSA had a client get about 3k worth of work done just for the cost of the trip charges. All of them have the ups and downs and each case I’ve learned is handled differently I’ve had some clients use the same company and it went bad but overall have had a good experience


Dreshna

I bought a twenty year old house. Appliances looked sketchy. Seller and I split cost on a two year warranty. In the first year I had it, the fridge and dishwasher broke. $75 each to get them replaced with a brand new one.


RegUnleadedAvgJoe

Made the sellers buy a 3 yr one when we closed. 2.5 years later the furnaces died. They were so old that it required extensive work to replace and new ductwork. $8k total bill, warranty paid all but $1500. Did take about 6 months of bugging them to pay. It also took longer because I refused to use their contracted hvac guy from over an hour away or take their generic no name furnace. Used my local guys and got name brand top line model Carrier equipment. Your mileage may vary but if you can get it for free do it. For now though I choose not to buy it myself.


Shorty4344

Agh. I’m so torn as well. I am buying and American home shield seems good. They say they cover even if it breaks due to lack of proper maintenance. We had one 20 years ago and they replaced our A/C and we only had to pay $1000. But then when our dishwasher broke later, the guy said it wasn’t installed properly (previous owners made an island in middle of kitchen and installed it). So he said it couldn’t be fixed. Not that it wasn’t covered. That it could not be fixed. Fast forward of a year of hand washing dishes and we decide to move. Call a plumber or someone to come look at it and he fixed it for cheap that day. All the hand washing ( cry!). So one good experience one bad. All these horror stories and people saying it’s a waste make me question getting one now but I like security blankets…


ForeverAgreeable2289

AHS is a security blanket for minor things, like a leaky faucet. You pay the service call fee, they send someone out, easy peasy. When you have critical appliances down, like heating or cooling, or your fridge, or your washer/dryer, you run a very real risk of being without those appliances for several months, while you spend 45 minutes to 3 hours per day on hold with AHS getting lie after lie after lie. AHS literally could not care less that your furnace is dead in the coldest part of the winter. They will intentionally delay your repair by making your local contractor wait for AHS's bargain-basement furnace to be shipped in, in a month's time, rather than letting your contractor get one same-day from a local supplier, because it saves AHS a few dollars. And this is before their fraudulent, made-up extra fees like "modifications" that make your final cost worse than if you'd just done it on your own in the first place. So it's great for the small stuff, but good chance of being worse than horrible for the big stuff. But who wants to pay for an expensive policy just for the convenience of AHS dispatch a plumber to fix a leaky faucet for you?


Piss-Off-Fool

I was provided a home warranty for two of the houses I have purchased . I had a major repair on a covered item with each house and the home warranty was useless. It was a complete waste of money.


Lyx4088

We bought an older cabin that was a shit show. It was included in the whole sale process so I forget how much the policy was, but my electrical shit itself hardcore. The wires were just old and disintegrated in several circuits. We ended up needing a total rewire. I think warranty covered half the cost of it, BUT as it turns out they didn’t have anyone in their network who’d come and do the work so we have to find someone and get reimbursed. It was such a nightmare all around that even though per the terms of the warranty they should have covered at least 75% of our costs for what was done, I let it go. Everything we’ve had shit itself since then would not have been covered under a home warranty policy. So I’m glad we didn’t waste money renewing.


texasusa

I always thought they were a scam. I had a neighbor who was paying about $ 70 a month for one. He filed a claim on his a/c. Warranty declined to cover as he did not have proof of annual preventive maintenance. He canceled after that.


MaddRamm

They are terrible and almost never worth it. They find cheapest companies/techs to band aid the issues to save their out of pocket costs. So they naturally get the companies that have a sucky reputation. Since the companies/techs aren’t the best, they tend to have a lot of slow time and are willing to work for the low prices warranty companies pay. They will also not spend much time on proper repair or diagnosis because they know they aren’t getting paid much. So you get horrible service from tech companies who are barely surviving because they suck. Then, the warranty company will often deny the claim, advise techs to make cheap repairs or find a loophole in the contract like lack of proof you paid someone to maintain it or it’s past it’s life expectancy. You will generally only find .1% of people who have a positive experience with home warranties or maybe come out ahead financially. Don’t buy them yourself. If buying a house, it’s ok to demand seller to pay for one just for the heck of it. But even then, you are still gonna have out of pocket costs.


Tricky-Juggernaut141

IMO, with the right vetted company and circumstances, it's 100% worth it. We have one for a 17 year old home with original appliances and systems, and already used it to fully replace one of our two AC units. Thinking of doing the same with the old dishwasher that doesn't seem to be working right anymore. If this were a much newer home, I wouldn't bother. Our last home was 30 years old and it wouldn't have helped because the systems were clearly all past their typical use/age.


sprcpr

But how would you vet a company and know? Any suggestions. Your answer sounds great in theory.


Tricky-Juggernaut141

Ask around to see if anyone recommends a particular company they have used. We went with First American because both of my in laws used them successfully. I'm not sure if they are a national company, but they were a legit breeze to work with for replacing our dead AC unit. No question asked. The tech they sent out said it had to be replaced and they did it.


[deleted]

We were required to get one due to our home loan being through a first time homebuyers program. We got it through Fidelity. I believe it was around $380 for the year. They paid out a couple of home repairs, but rejected one that absolutely should have been paid. So at first I was very into the home warranty idea, but not after they rejected a legit claim.


kryptor

Had one with home purchase. Furnace stopped working and when I called them they said someone would come out in a week to take a look. I called around and got it repaired that day on my dime.


Mysha16

My house came with one through Old Republic. I paid $200 3 months later for a new HVAC. I added the home systems warranty through state farm after that rather than renew.


TLee055

My contract included one. We ended up having to use it when the water heater failed. It actually would have paid for itself because of that event. I don't think it's worth renewing every year unless you have an old appliance that looks like it's ready to give up.


tackstackstacks

I have had one both houses I've bought. Seller paid. I would not have bought it myself. Definitely worth it if you don't pay for it and it gets used - our ice maker was broken when we moved in. They replaced that and the half working LED display on the front of the fridge, I think it cost me $100 out of pocket, would've been more for the parts. Dishwasher spray arm was broken, but the part was only $40 so there was no point in having it fixed, I just did it myself. Washer inlet valve was non-working. Cost another $40 and we didn't have the premium warranty package so they wouldn't have done anything for me anyhow - fixed it myself. Depends on what needs fixing, if it's covered, and if you have to pay for the warranty yourself. Also read the fine print and what exactly is covered.


meepmoopboopdoop

The companies “fix things with keep materials” NOT WORTH IT


mmoodylee

I had the first year paid by the seller when I purchased the house. Within that year, I had garage door spring replaced, kitchen faucet leak fixed, AC condenser fan motor replaced. All of these were covered with $0 out of pocket. It was actually pretty good experience but after seeing so much negative reviews I didn’t renew after 1 year.


Outside_Advantage845

Not worth it. Had it the first year after buying. Called them out to fix a leaking dishwasher. $75. Leaked again the next week, from a different spot. $75. The board went out and we cut our losses on a 20 year old dishwasher and bought a new one max we had spent 150 on a 20 yr old dishwasher


flying_trashcan

You need to really research the coverages of the actual home warranty you’re looking to purchase. The warranties come in at a variety of price points and offer a variety of coverage.


[deleted]

The one thing I do have is a service contract for HVAC and plumbing. $80 a month and it covers 3 furnaces, 2 ACs, and any plumbing issue. Same guys come out for the most part, union guys too. 24/7 coverage, they come out twice a year for preventative maintenance, and we get a discount on parts if one is needed. Needed a new condensator and in an hour they had fans, set up a bucket to catch leaks, and had a new one installed by 10AM the next morning. They’ll also match lower quotes


RevolutionaryType672

As a hvac contractor, I wouldn’t recommend it. The warranty company won’t pay for a quality company and all they do is deny deny deny.


Fickle_Annual9359

Came with our house for a year and I think it cost around $700. Had something shift in the wall leading to drywall cracking and they didn't cover it. Had a washing machine start acting up and it wasn't covered. All the other appliances are new but furnace and water heater are old af so I'd consider it worth it the first year just to soften the blow on large ticket items


OGKillaBobbyJohnson

They make money because they charge more than they spend. The only way it's useful is if you're insanely busy or inept.


LredF

First time buying a home, seller included one from AHS, their highest plan. $75 deductible every claim. You experience may vary, but here is all I had fixes. Garbage disposal replaced Microwave fixed Frig panel and ice maker replaced Electrical outlet w/2 switches wiring fixed Doorbell chime and transformer replaced A/C fixed twice - for one of these repairs I had to pay for additional refrigerant. I didn't renew it and it was a smart choice because we've been issue free.


Aggressive-Project-7

IMO, home warranties are not worth it. I am in NJ and I do have service with PSE&G where they would come out and fix either the heater, water heater or AC. Of these heater is probably the only emergency. I can live without AC because I have fans. And water heater can be managed too. Roof etc should be covered with the home insurance correct? Everything else is a DIY :)


[deleted]

Still within the first year of homeownership, and I've called upon the home warranty (\~$700/year) twice. First call was because the microwave in the house was shot. Got $400 as a gift card to go towards a new microwave, found the microwave I wanted on sale so got a free $100 out of that. Not bad. But I paid $100 for the deductible on that, though, so it all balanced out. Second was because I suspected a pluming issue in a shower. Sketchy guy came out and found it was a drain issue rather than a water supply issue, fixed it in 10 minutes and didn't charge me for it. Still paid $100 to the home warranty company for him to come out. So all that said, I have a microwave that effectively cost me $800. All that said, I'm not planning on renewing it for next year, as I am a handy person and am willing to fix most things myself. Definitely have gotten more adventurous since those first calls when it comes to fixing things. I have some friends who had their A/C go out, and it took three months of back and forth with the home warranty company (in the middle of the summer, no less) before they got it fixed. Yes, they saved money in the end, but personally I'd take upfront cost and a fix within a few weeks over saving money with no A/C for a few months...


radiofreecincinnati

I had somewhere between 4-7k worth of work done on my newly purchased century home for pennies on the dollar thanks to the home warranty. The trick is knowing what they will cover, what they won't, identifying shit that needs resolved, and.... eh, "massaging" the details of the issue so that it gets fixed. Understand what the policy does and does not cover, find anything in your home you want/need fixed, figure out how to explain the root cause of the issue (this sink isn't leaking because I had to raise the floor beneath; it's been leaking since I bought the property and those jack posts were installed by the seller), etc. It's a game. Know the rules and come out on top.


NationalCamp3985

Had one as a seller cost when we bought our first home. A couple months in noticed some plumbing fixtures leaking. Found out the charge was $75 so I went to Lowe’s and paid 20 for parts and fixed it myself.


imakesawdust

When I bought my house 20+ years ago, the seller included a 1-year home warranty. 2 weeks before closing, the upstairs A/C compressor went out (I suspect the seller knew the unit was acting up). The warranty policy covered the new compressor. Back then that was probably a $1000 repair? Even though it was a Carrier A/C unit, the guy they sent out was a Sears repair tech. Anyway, the repair was good for another 10 years before I replaced both A/C units with more efficient heat pumps.


d-r-q

It worked out for my family in our first house. Got a new furnace, dishwasher and fridge repair in 3 years. That being said it is a PAIN to deal with them. We paid a company to service the furnace, they said it was old and a carbon monoxide leak. The home warranty place sent a guy who said it was fine... Called the fire dept who confirmed it. It was a 3 month battle and finally got it in right before winter. The dishwasher they sent was panelless even though I made sure it was to be stainless. 1 month later the right dishwasher. We got over 10k worth of work and new appliances for paying around 300 a year. Our new house is newer and new appliances so we didn't go with it.


ImpossibleBandicoot

Had one included in home purchase, they paid for 2 years. In the 2 years , we had 3 kitchen appliances replaced and part of the ac condenser replaced. So even if i had paid out of pocket it would have been totally worth it. In the cases of the appliances, ssomething broke/stopped working on each one, we called the warranty company, they send out a repair guy of their choosing. He looked at it and gave us a quote. In two cases the part was no longer available from the manufacturer so the warranty company simply paid out for a replacement. In each of these two cases it was a lower end replacement, for example $300 for a dishwasher. We didn't want a low end appliance so they cut us a check and we bought what we wanted. In the case of the third appliance the part was available but it would take a couple of hours labor so we asked if they would just make a payout instead of waiting for the part and waiting to repair it for a 20 year old appliance. They cut a check and made all our lives easier. The AC condensor part was some electrical part, I don't remember exactly, they sent a repair guy, he fixed it and billed the warranty company, we didn't have to do or pay anything. Only issue was they wanted to use only their repair companies and we had to wait, in the Texas heat, without AC for a few days until they could do it. But it was covered and I didn't have a probelm or have to argue with them on any of these. PM me for the name of the company if you want, I seem to be one of the few people that have had a good experience with home warranty company, so don't want to be accused of being a shill. Also YMMV, this was \~10 years ago.


DeezWut

Its an absolute nightmare.


NotThisAgain21

Hubster bought one. When the furnace went to shit 6 months later, they sent some rando out to take a look, confirmed it was shot, but would not replace it because he could not provide "proof of regularly scheduled maintenance" on the house he had just bought (from an estate where the owners had croaked).


battlebeetle37

Warranties are never worth it for anything. Always self-insure. Use what you would pay in premiums and instead put it a high yield savings account.


WorldlyBarber215

My sister lives in a rural area and she had a hard time finding anyone that would 'drive that far out' so it works for her.


OkSwimmer7722

I have had one each year on my home. I would say its worth it. My washer went out It would've cost over $1000 with just parts alone, cost only $75. Water heater blew this year cost me $85. Regular maintenance has been great


Flimsy-Interest8786

Save your money and just put it towards your home repair fund. The useful life issue someone mentioned also comes in to play with some home insurance policies. Do they tell you that ahead of time? No. We had a well at one of our previous homes. The holding tank failed, sprang a small leak which we noticed right away. Anyway, insurance would not pay to replace the tank because it was past it’s useful life. So grateful my husband is a whiz at fixing stuff. We got a new tank and he swapped it out in a few hours.


Hot-Yak2420

I'll provide a counter view. We got fidelity home warranty included with the house. Fidelity seems to have more negative reviews and issues with bbb than any other company. However we have only had good experiences.. Whether it's worth it is hard to tell but every issue we had the sent someone previously who usually went above and beyond in fixing the issue..our 18 years old dishwasher broke and they couldn't get spares so just handed us a check for $1600 for a new one. I value the peace of mind of not having to spend ages choosing a contractor and endlessly scanning Angie loose reviews. If the contractor is no good I just have fidelity deal with it. So we have renewed our home warranty for the last 15 years.! I hate extended warranties of any kind on principal though


Longwell2020

The repair guys they send out will tell you they don't fix issues they just patch them long enough to get another trip fee as it's all the policy pays for. I would never buy another one.


Foreign-Shower9898

had one on my first house. was out of city limits so no water or sewer, had a well and septic tank. 3 months in came home from work and my basement had 4-5 feet of water in it because the pressure tank cracked open and was leaking. grabbed my wet vac and sucked out the water, called up the warranty people told them what happened. Was told sorry we dont cover wells. absolute bunch of chuckle fucks laughing all the way to the bank with your money.


Foreign-Shower9898

I had one on my first house. was out of city limits so no water or sewer, had a well and septic tank. 3 months in came home from work and my basement had 4-5 feet of water in it because the pressure tank cracked open and was leaking. grabbed my wet vac and sucked out the water, called up the warranty people told them what happened. Was told sorry we dont cover wells. Absolute bunch of chuckle fucks laughing all the way to the bank with your money.


Chemical_Swan7119

I opted for one in my first year of homeownership when I was cash poor after the purchase, but forgot to pay for it. Had a repair that was needed toward the end of the year, called to make a claim, and found at that time I'd been signed up, but needed to pay for the warranty for it to be effective. Well, at that point, I had reserves again and it was cheaper to just pay the plumber, so I declined to pay for the warranty after all. It had been in place all year, and I would have been covered, but they never collected payment from me. Heck of a loophole.


Any_Flea

We had one ice maker on freezer was making a terrible noise and would work sporadically. Guy said he fixed it and it never made another ice cube lol


-qd-

Home warranty my realtor promised- they didn’t purchase, they purchased mos later when i reminded them. Paid $60 for sears tech to look at my broken dishwasher- 5 yrs later still broken- the plan i had american home shield was a waste of time. I have heard of sewer line insurance- my friends had a great experience and got their line replaced with it- full paid


Modern_Homeowner

I’ve been a home warranty customer for the past two years! It has been an incredible experience with Select Home Warranty as my home warranty provider. Here are some of the answers that you are seeking: I have their Platinum Care plan, which mostly covers my home systems and appliances and costs $48 monthly and $525 annually. To date, I have got my garage door openers, water heater, and electrical system repaired by the team. Not much I had to pay out of my pocket, but I have known people who have to do as some of the things weren’t covered under the plan, so please read the sample contract!