Home Warranties - Worth It?

[GrnNatlFan]

I recently bought a house which is approx 14 years old and as with any home purchase the realtor mentioned a home warranty (the seller would not pay for this). I rejected the offer but am now having second thoughts. I have had a couple of issues come up that may have been covered if I would have had the warranty. So now I am looking online to possibly purchase one of these. From all I am reading though, a lot of them appear to be crappy in that they either give you the run around or deny your claim stating you didn't maintain the equipment properly. Does anyone here have any experience with home warranties and if so would you recommend the company you purchased from?

 

[aminga]

If you're trying to sell a house it's a comfort point for the buyer. Other than that...

I bought one house with a home warranty and sold one with it. A service call cost you $50 if they come out and in all cases they said there wasn't a problem or it wasn't covered.

 

[Dabigguy]

Your house is at the edge of the life expectancy of your home's systems. HVAC, water heater, kitchen applances.....all last about 15yr. If they've never been replaced, they will soon fail.

One more negative home warranty issue is the warranty company will replace the broken device with the cheapest unit available and they will do it with the cheapest techs/installers available. Ya gets what you pays for.

I've been called in to repair a gas fireplace after the home warranty's "experts" could not repair the issue....Moe, Larry and Curly couldn't have messed up more things trying to repair it !!!

 

[LOT]

home warrenty

I recently sold and relocated. Both deals had the home warrenty. I would never ever recommend anyone to purchase a home warrenty. A total ripoff. There is always an OUT for them.
Current home has a gas log fireplace which would not light. I inquired about getting someone out to have a look see. $60 service call and the warrenty only covers the gas line to the unit. Fixed it myself--turns out it was a unit for LP gas--drilled the orfices out large enough to work with natural gas. Home inspection is another rip off !!!!!!

 

[NCC1701]

no.......

I agree with above. They are only a piece of mind for a buyer who doesn't know how they operate. ( like me when we purchased this house a few years ago). Paid for for the first year by the bank we got the house from. After my experiances, I am glad I didn't waste my money on it. Both issues we tried to have our home warrenty fix, they found different excuses for not covering the repairs.
Me and my wife bot got a laugh when they sent us a renewal letter.

 

[turbo39151]

Depends...

I used American Home Shield for a rental property and for the most part they were invaluable when it came to dealing with stupid crap my tenants would come up with. Always plumbing and electrical issues... Only cost me $45-50 bux for the visit. Only one time they couldn't repair and the plumber tried to rip me off so I went over and fixed it myself...

If you are inclined to do your own repairs then skip the warranty. They, like all insurance, go out of their way to not pay. So, they'll want to come up with reasons why they can't cover anything.

On the other hand, if you're not mechanically inclined (I'd probably wonder why you're on a turbo buick board first of all. ) or you don't have the time; then it could be worth it for you when all you need to do is call and they send someone to fix the issue. If it's small stuff they usually won't have a problem... If your A/C goes out, well, then you might have a problem...

AHS ran me about $400 or less a year for the coverage...

 

[nonoss38]

No Way!!! I was a Homeinspector for a couple years and actually offered a 3year from my company.. Not the best bang for your buck. BTW, If they do replace anything it has to be the same grade or greater. Most of the time its a big company like serviceone that handles the cases, because they do get very bussy.. Joe Blow would never keep up..