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I always get one for at least the first year. You don't know the property and could have issues. After that, it depends on the property. There are pros and cons to getting one.
Would you rather your tenant call you for any piddly thing that goes wrong or put a home warranty on the property and tell the tenant to call them for any repairs?
I have never purchased one myself. The question is asked in out contracts here to buy one or not. I don't think it's right that that is in there, but I'm sure the home warranty companies think it's a great idea. I don't push them to clients, just explain what they are and it is left up to them. In the past I have had a client get a new air conditioner with one and another very unhappy because it didn't cover anything he wanted done. I would tell someone to read the warranty very carefully before buying, because often enough they do not cover just every piddly little thing.
I can tell you from personal experience that a home warranty is tough to deal with. I did some research before I bought mine and they try and get out of EVERYTHING. I had a roof problem a few months after I moved in. They wouldn't cover it because it was on a room that wasn't original to the house. They denied a pool pump problem that I had to pay for. Luckily I used their guy to get it fixed and when the pump failed again, they had no choice but to fix it but that was a fight to get them to fix that as well.
My RE agent warned me that they almost never do roof stuff saying it was pre-existing. Well, DUH.
Anyway, I won't be purchasing another home warranty nor will I be recommending them in the future. Total scam.
Their brochures say they cover this and that and the brochures are very convincing. They say they cover all kinds of stuff but when it comes down to it, they will always have a reason they won't fix something.
They say they cover all kinds of stuff but when it comes down to it, they will always have a reason they won't fix something.
I don't advocate home warranties as I've actually sued one personally, but American Home Shield's new policy covered pre-existing AND improper installs. I've had several buyers have good luck with this new policy.
As a seller, I have bought them and it seemed to reassure my buyers. The sellers on my current home bought one and I used it to repair the trash masher and sink disposal. I was happy I had it, especially as I didn't pay for it. It does seem to be more useful as a seller's option to furnish it and the last time I did so, it was around$450. Of course, that was 10 yrs ago.
I had one on my house for two years. Some of the contractors they send are terrible. In some cases they didn't even show up and we had to call and get a new contractor sent. And as others have stated they don't cover a lot of things so carefully read what you are buying.
I would say it was worth it for us though. Our tub had a leak that was causing problems with the ceiling of our garage and they repaired it. They also repaired some other stuff in our house as well and it was much cheaper to pay the $50 for their visit than pay out of pocket.
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