H0ME Warranty? Did you buy one? (sale, rentals) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

FranklyRE · 08-23-2010, 10:23 PM

Just curious if anybody has bought one of these within the last year, and whether you thought it was worth it, or a rip off.

Also curious which company you bought and what did it cost you.

Thanks

Denton56 · 08-23-2010, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FranklyRE

Just curious if anybody has bought one of these within the last year, and whether you thought it was worth it, or a rip off.

Also curious which company you bought and what did it cost you.

Thanks

We got one with our house, two years ago. Worthless. I definitely wouldn't bother.

slduvall · 08-24-2010, 05:10 AM

On the other hand...I have "acquired" them with each home purchase and renewed them after they expired and kept them on three homes and each time they have paid off! It just takes one AC unit to go out to pay for it. I turned two of those homes into rentals and it was invaluable. I currently have First american. Some of the reports on them havne't been great, but I haven't had any problems what so ever and I have had multiple claims.

kutra11 · 08-24-2010, 07:06 AM

I use Old Republic. And have also used HMS in the past. The former fixed my A/C in the current house while the latter had replaced my refrigerator in the previous one. I chose Old Republic over HMS in my current house because Old Republic has an add-on for Septic Tank problems.

It's a good idea to have this warranty if your equipment is in average-old condition. But this is just like insurance (auto/home/medical/life/etc,)....if you don't use it, it is worthless. But if you have to use it, you will be glad you had it. For me, I like that peace of mind knowing everything is covered, and it is worth the price I have to pay.

Bigbluelandrover · 08-24-2010, 09:13 AM

Hello,

I just bought a home in May and the house was built in 1961. The previous owners kept the house spotless but the systems are definately nearing replacement time. I have HMS. In July my A/C unit condenser went out the week we had those 100 degree temps!. Called HMS and paid $100 and it was repaired. There are a few minor things I need to get fixed that just did not show up in the inspection (replacement doorbell-etc).

If the house is newer I might reconsider but I know what my luck is like and I don't want to deal with the hassle of a major repair.

ajzjmsmom · 08-24-2010, 09:25 AM

When we owned a home we had one with American Home Shield, it was real handy when our a/c went out and it cost us $50 to have it repaired. It also payed to have our garage door fixed as well as a sewer line fixed, so for us it was well worth the money. When we buy again we will get one.

DC Oldtimer · 08-24-2010, 09:57 AM

We have never bought one, but one came with our previous home in MD. My husband describes it as "worthless."

We will be putting our current home on the market soon and have no plan to offer the warranty. It's money better spent elsewhere.

snoie · 08-24-2010, 10:02 AM

We thought it was worthless as well, considering we can repair most problems ourselves (and the house is only 8 years old). Didn't buy it, and of course in the high heat our AC had problems. The thing would have already paid for itself if we had gotten it. AC unit is only 4 years old as well...

Not sure what I'd do now if I could do it over. I've got bad luck, but definitely didn't except a 4 year old unit to crap out.

lindy112 · 08-24-2010, 10:54 AM

We have Old Republic and they just finished re-piping our entire house because they got tired of coming out every 2 weeks to repair pinhole leaks in our 41-year-old copper pipes. So, this year, the warranty has been worth it for us. Other years, not as much, but I seem to keep renewing it!

slduvall · 08-24-2010, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DC Oldtimer

We have never bought one, but one came with our previous home in MD. My husband describes it as "worthless."

We will be putting our current home on the market soon and have no plan to offer the warranty. It's money better spent elsewhere.

I for one wouldn't consider purchasing a house that didn't have one in place ..dated from the date of sale or as close to that as possible, to allow for at least a years worth of coverage. It might be better $ spent for the seller...but not the buyer, if something were to go...