Home warranty company

[indian73]

I recently bought a 2 year old home in Katy. Since it is a foreclosure, there are a lot of unknowns with the house. I would like to hear from people who have home warranty as to which company are they using and what has been their experience. I am mainly looking to cover the basic stuff, like A/c Heat plumbing etc.

I am replacing all appliances with brand new ones so those will have their manufacturer warranty at least for one year.

Thank you all in advance.

[satriela]

I'm in the process of buying a foreclosure and wondering the same thing. One person I talked to said that they were a worthless rip off and another said she wouldn't buy a home without one...

[HoustonMidtown]

I used mine to replace a washing machine and an oven. I wont buy a home without one.

You could try to get the sellers to pay for it....

Read all the fine print and make sure the items you want covered are covered - there are all sorts of add-ons that can bring the price up pretty fast

[jm1fd]

Typically, they don't cover stuff that will actually break. Water heater leaking? No coverage since it was caused by corrosion. Compressor died, but there's rust on your A/C unit? DENIED....caused by corrosion, even if the failure really wasn't caused by corrosion.

For the stuff they do cover, they're going to send out the cheapest hack they can find to fix it.

Unless you're not going to be staying in the house for long, and you KNOW there are issues looming on the horizon, you'd be better off putting the money away into a savings account.

[jb4647]

If you can get the seller/bank to pay for the first year then it doesn't hurt to have (not costing you any $) I bought my first place last year and had the seller pay for the first year and I found the warranty to be worthless. I called them out on a couple of plumbing issues and the people they sent out were obviously low-bid contractors. They are getting paid a flat fee for the job so they have no incentive to spend any longer working your issue than they have to. I wound up calling a plumber directly and only paid a little over the Home Warranty service fee of $55 to have the issue fixed with one visit.

That's a key point to remember, you are not only paying $300+ a year for the warranty, you also have to pay a service fee of $50+ for them to send someone out. If they have to replace something like an appliance or AC they will generally go with the cheapest unit that will probably cost you more in the long run in electricity bills.

Since my first year warrenty is expiring soon, they want me to re-up....I won't. My advice is to take the $300+ and put it into a savings account to create a rainy day fund. You'll be earning interest on top of it rather than paying some warranty company. Think about it, if your AC goes out after 10 years, you'll have $3,000+ saved to get a new one....

Just my 2 cents.

[westguy76]

Typically, they don't cover stuff that will actually break. Water heater leaking? No coverage since it was caused by corrosion. Compressor died, but there's rust on your A/C unit? DENIED....caused by corrosion, even if the failure really wasn't caused by corrosion.

For the stuff they do cover, they're going to send out the cheapest hack they can find to fix it.

Unless you're not going to be staying in the house for long, and you KNOW there are issues looming on the horizon, you'd be better off putting the money away into a savings account.

This is exactly right, in my experiance they are virtually worthless (and why they are so cheap up front) I wouldn't be surprised if the realtors get a commision for pushing them.

[AJXterra]

Our experience is similar...worth nothing. Had people come out for two differend issues, first was ducting that they obviously didn't cover b/c of the type. This didn't upset me too much b/c it seemed legit. The next one was for a bathroom shower faucet. The diverter was toast and the faucet needed to be replaced. They sent three different plumbers out who all said they covered it but couldn't fix it b/c the company wouldn't let them b/c it would cost too much. The fourth gave me this BS about me creating access in my tile for him that the company wouldn't cover to get in there and then repairing the tile afterwards...I told him no thanks and he actually asked for the service fee (the other three were smarter than this.) I told him to get out of my house and if there was an issue his employer could contact me. 4 visits, 3 days, 3 not allowed to fix and one potential fix that would have costed me probably 2k+.

My father who was a plumber took a look over some pics I sent him via the internet and gave me a DIY solution that costed about $100 total, 4 hour of noob plumber time, and an old t-shirt (plumbers goop doesn't come out it seems.) Included a new faucet, some creative but up to code pipe work and NO TILE REMOVAL. Took him about 10 min to figure it out...I was proud at this point and resolute in my decision to never use another warranty company again.

[Marksmu]

If your getting the new home warranty as an offer for a NEW home, DO NOT TAKE IT. The new home warranty is how your builder literally tricks you into a binding arbitration clause. If you just say you do not want the new home warranty if you ever have problems you can go straight to court with them, after the 10 month process of messing with the TRCC...EITHER way the TRCC mandatory builder warranty is the EXACT SAME as the "Warranty" the builder leads you to believe is a great deal.

The new builders are offering up the new home "warranty" and its a total joke. The cost to arbitrate a $300,000 home is nearly $10,000....and the arbitrators are in bed with the builders.

REJECT EVERY NEW HOME "WARRANTY" if it also comes with a binding arbitration clause.

[travelguy_73]

Typically, they don't cover stuff that will actually break. Water heater leaking? No coverage since it was caused by corrosion. Compressor died, but there's rust on your A/C unit? DENIED....caused by corrosion, even if the failure really wasn't caused by corrosion.

For the stuff they do cover, they're going to send out the cheapest hack they can find to fix it.

Unless you're not going to be staying in the house for long, and you KNOW there are issues looming on the horizon, you'd be better off putting the money away into a savings account.

Ditto. If someone else is paying for the warranty, then take it. But I wouldn't spend a dime of my own money...the people they and the hassle you are put through for warranty work isn't worth it.

[KatieDidIt]

All those companies try to weasel out through some sort of loop hole. If it is included in the pruchase of the home, fine go for it. But my experience has been to pay 65 bucks for them to come out and whatever the problem is not covered or the item wasn't "maintained properly" therefore not covered.

[houstonmacbro]

I recently bought a 2 year old home in Katy. Since it is a foreclosure, there are a lot of unknowns with the house. I would like to hear from people who have home warranty as to which company are they using and what has been their experience. I am mainly looking to cover the basic stuff, like A/c Heat plumbing etc.

I am replacing all appliances with brand new ones so those will have their manufacturer warranty at least for one year.

Thank you all in advance.

My home was purchased in November 2007 and it too was about 2 years old. I recently had an issue with the water heater and called the insurance. I was without hot water for about 4 days (this happened on a Thursday and they couldn't get someone out until Monday so it was whores' baths with heated water from the stove for 4 days), but they repaired the heater and my 'deductible' was $60.

All in all it was pretty painless and repaired expertly. I was told that if they had had to replace the water heater they would have. Anyhow, I would suggest getting it from the seller or making sure you purchase it separately.

I would definitely renew when it is time.

NOTE: Make sure you look at the optional coverages. I had the basic service but upgraded to cover the washer and dryer. It was not included initially on the basic warranty coverage. Read it carefully.