Are you a NOVA landlord?

[mdcrim]

We just switched to Colonial from 210 (we've also used American Home Shield in the past). Haven't had to file a claim with Colonial but they get good reviews, were super cheap, and totally negotiable (especially with multiple properties). We negotiated extra months, a reduced copay and a free service call per year. We like the home warranties for ease of use. They've always covered their parts (only once did we have to get corporate involved-it was to replace the fridge when repairs didn't work). One of our properties has an ancient a/c unit and the oven is smaller than standard (harder and more expensive to replace). We don't get warranties on individual components but on all the systems in the house. We find that the tenants are generally more than willing to coordinate with the service providers so we generally don't have to be present. We just give the service provider a credit card number over the phone to pay the copay.

I should add that American Home Shield was fine but 210 was a PITA. And they kept jacking up their rates every year, even without a claim in the prior year...

[newnewsmama]

I found my tenant on Craigs List. I had thought about using a property management company. The one company someone recommended on City-Data did not impress me. The property manager sounded unprofessional and never emailed me the documents he promised to send. So I decided to do it myself.

I did all the screening (paystub verification, creidt check, calling the employer and previous landlord, etc). It was a lot of work but it paid off. Our tenant was excellent.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by slim04

I'm not sure if home warranties are going to save you a lot of time, but they certainly probably won't save you any money.

If you are a landlord, your tenant still has to call you to complain, you then have to make a claim with the warranty company, coordinate a time when a repair service can come out, coordinate with your tenant, and then have to pay the deductible and the cost if repair isn't covered (or deal with the claims dispute).

How exactly is that a time saver? You can easily just subscribe to Angie's List or the Washington Checkbook to find out the top rated repair services, only a few will have high scores with hundreds of comments or raters (i.e. Buhl Electric).

Also, I'd subscribe to something like Consumer Reports, because if you have older equipment, it just might be easier to buy and replace it with a reliable best buy model than do a lot of repairs every few years. My fridge went out a couple years ago and the repair cost was something like $400 because of a compressor problem. The repairman told us our model was old and it would be cheaper and more energy efficient just to buy a basic refrigerator model at Costco.

Warranty companies don't usually save you money because they build extremely large profit margins in their pricing and have to pay very high marketing costs and sales commissions to sell those policies. Usually 30 cent of every dollar you spend in a warranty goes for marketing. So in the end, you'll pay more over time. Warranties on old furnances cost a fortune, so it is usually much cheaper to pay for yearly maintenance for them.

It's a time saver when something goes that IS covered in that you just get it fixed without having to shop around for the best price. And not just a time saver, but also a money saver, depending on the timing (obviously, if you have a warranty for 10+ years and never use it, there is no financial benefit to you, but the same goes for health insurance, yet I bet you have that). My coworker just purchased a home warranty in January. They pay $50/month for it. Their a/c died in July and had to be completely replaced. Their cost: $75 (like a copay, not sure if that's what they call it), and their time savings: no research required, as they filed the claim with the warranty company, and the warranty company contacted the HVAC contractor, who called her to schedule the service. My hot water heater died a couple weeks ago (even though our home inspector just told us in February that it was fine and still had years of life left in it...).

I'd asked my husband to research home warranties so we could get one, but he failed to do so. Cost for our plumbing repairs: $2,850 (plus $95 that one of the plumbers we decided not to use charged for coming out to look at it and provide a quote). So, yes, I would have preferred to have spent $50/month for the 5 months we've been in the house plus a $75 copay. We live too far away from the home we will be renting out to just run down there to check out an issue or research a local contractor.

I do have an Angie's List subscription, and I've contacted two different companies about services for that property, and they responded that they do not service that area despite Angie's List saying they do. Talk about a waste of my time and an increase in my blood pressure :P

I've previously had a paid subscription to Consumer Reports and found it pretty useless due to the number of reviews available for free for products on the internet. The few things I really wanted their reviews for, they hadn't tested. Yet another waste of money and increase in frustration!

[deuxcents]

Well, as a landlord I can tell you that I've gone both ways in searching for a tenant - on my own (newspaper and Craigslist) and using a property management company. In my opinion, you that you get what you pay for. The caliber of tenant that you find through a property management firm is so much better - normally stable families and military people. The people I've dealt with on Craigslist are just way too flaky for me - the worst are the ones who make an appointment and then don't show up (or call). I just don't need the aggravation. I also like the fact that the management company will generally work to make sure that the transition to the new tenant goes smoothly (which may entail corralling a host of last minute contractors to get the place in shape).

In terms of warranties, I've had really bad experiences - at least with American Home Shield. You have to read the fine print in the contract to really appreciate all the reasons for which they can deny you service. And if they replace an appliance, they probably won't replace it with something of equal or better quality. Make sure you scrupulously keep up preventive maintenance on your systems; they will deny a claim if you can't prove that you've done that. Also, warranty companies are notorious for contracting working to crappy companies. You can find hundreds of horror stories about these companies online.

True story - a furnace in one of my properties needed to be replaced because of a crack in the heat exchanger that was found during servicing - very dangerous. AHS tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to fix the thirty year old furnace. When I asked that it be replaced, they insisted that they could not actually see the crack without removing the water heater in front of the furnace, and if they couldn't see the crack they wouldn't replace the furnace. They required $500 to pull out the water heater, and $500 to put it back in. I called two other independant companies who had no problem finding the crack. Ultimately, AHS wore me down and I paid to have the unit replaced by an outside company.

Finally, I can say that as much as I like young people in their 20s, they don't necessarily make the best tenants. I didn't find payment to be an issue, for the most part. What I did find is that they tend to take liberties with the property that I didn't feel comfortable with (e.g., building a makeshift brick barbeque in the middle of the backyard lawn, painting the walls bright green, ...), and they aren't good on upkeep. The most difficult tenants I've had have been lawyers.

Just my two cents - I'm sure other people have have different experiences. Good luck.

[michgc]

Originally Posted by deuxcents

...The most difficult tenants I've had have been lawyers.

My sister had the exact same experience. They know every rule of the law and will threaten to sue for every little thing. Well, I'm sure not all of them are like this, but we stayed far away from lawyers and law students when looking for tenants.

The best tenants are handy ones - the ones who don't call you for every little thing and fix things themselves.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by michgc

My sister had the exact same experience. They know every rule of the law and will threaten to sue for every little thing. Well, I'm sure not all of them are like this, but we stayed far away from lawyers and law students when looking for tenants.

The best tenants are handy ones - the ones who don't call you for every little thing and fix things themselves.

heh, if only it were legal to screen out tenants based on age, job title, and hanyman skills!

[michgc]

Originally Posted by jillybean720

heh, if only it were legal to screen out tenants based on age, job title, and hanyman skills!

Actually, of your list, only age is a protected class. In any case, if you are renting out your own home, I *believe* (although I'm not a lawyer) and don't have more than 4 units that you rent out, you are exempt from the Fair Housing Law. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's how I remember it. Regardless, lawyers are not a protected class.