Which home warranty company do you use? (insurance, appliances)

[nerak31]

I bought my first home 3 months ago, and although I had what I thought was a very thorough inspection, I've encountered some major issues in the past few weeks (ahhh, first time homeowner woes...twinges of buyers' remorse, even though I tried to prepare myself for the responsibilites of home maintenance).

My two major issues of concern right now: Compressor in AC unit that needs to be replaced (or the whole unit itself), and major leaking in the roof/attic that's causing LARGE water stains on my ceilings and walls (this is scaring me).

Anyhow, I probably should have done this earlier, but I'm researching home warranty companies and plans right now. Seems liek American Home Shield is very popular, but which one do you use? Have you been happy with the contractors that they send out?

Thanks so much...!

[ramblinwreck17]

AHS- They are automated and the service so far has been good.

[spacelord75]

Typically these are a waste of money. First of all, those things you mention would not be covered since they exist before you got the warranty. Second of all, a typical rebuttal to the ever-popular compressor problem by the warranty company is "improper maintenance" which they will say nullifies the coverage. This whole industry is pretty much a scam - even if you get them to send somebody out, it will be a company/contractor hired by the warranty service and, believe me, they could not care less if they really fix the problem. Do some research on this and you will see this is a common complaint. We had it on our house when we bought it and our A/C unit kept cutting off (after only about 2 months of living there)...the vendor they sent out said the condensation pump was full of water. What does he do? He simply empties the water into the crawlspace and says "oh look, it's working now" then leaves with his $55 visit charge. Sure enough, 15 minutes later the pump is full of water again and the HVAC shuts off. My wife calls them up again (I was out of town for all this) and they say it will be another $55! She basically refuses to pay when they come out and say "oh look, the condensation pump wasn't plugged in!" So now it is fixed, but how do you not figure that out at the first visit??? These types of issues happen consistently, from what I have seen. I would personally save the money and use it for any repairs, which would be made by vendors YOU pick and trust.

[AtlantaRes73]

Don't get a home warranty. They are the biggest ripoffs around. They say that they cover items that break, but if you read the fine print, you will realize that they don't cover the items that could cause things to break. I would never even consider one again.

[atlantamoi]

Take the money you'd put towards a warranty and save it for the repairs as they come instead of giving away your money to a warranty company.

[nerak31]

So interesting...so I hear a lot of opposition to home warranty. Thanks for the insight.

[wxjay]

I have a home warranty with First American, and I too thought it would be a waste of money. However, we have had two major repairs in my place (the water heater busted and an AC problem), and I WELL made my money back on it. The water heater bill alone would have been $1200+, so paying $410 for the year saved me a lot (well, I had to pay a $75 service fee, but it still came out cheaper).

I do agree you need to read the fine print with it if you decide to use them. But it is like having insurance on your car or home, in a way. It's not useful if nothing happens, but if something does happen, then you get your money back and then some easily.

[LoufromNewYork]

Home are a lot like cars, you can't just drive it and think it'll be okay. I'm learning that you have to take care of your HVAC, water heater, ceiling fars, appliances and do so on a regular basis.

If you don't you'll get a very unpleasant surprise.

[chiefs fan]

We have American Home Shield (AHS) and have been very pleased with the service so far. We purchased our now 21 year old home about 2 1/2 years ago and have renewed the policy. Each year the warranty has more than paid for itself. We haven't had any problems with the company trying to get out of covering repairs done. We have been pleased with the various service people that have come to our home to repair items.

I don't believe a homeowner's warranty would cover your roof leak issue, even for future roof leaks.

As someone else mentioned, if you purchased a warranty now, it would only cover future items that break down; not pre-existing problems.

[applejuice]

They are a ripoff!