Buying A Home
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Are home warranties worth the money?
We are looking at a foreclosure that we know will need some repairs/replacements in the next few years. One being the roof and the other being the 20 year old heat pump. Our realtor kept suggesting that we ask for a home warranty but it seems like I've heard that the warranties only cover some things and that they don't necessarily cover replacement of an HVAC unit should it die? Does anyone know through experience? I am trying to get a copy of the fine print for the warranty because if it doesn't cover some major repairs then I'll have to factor that into what I'm willing to purchase the house for. TIA
Re: Are home warranties worth the money?
I had a home warranty when I first bought the house and didn't renew it after the first year. During that time I placed one service call and the tech they sent out was worthless. I complained to the company and they said as long as the job was eventually completed that the company was getting paid. Also found out that they would rather come out to repeatedly fix a failed unit verses replacing my 20+ yr old HVAC system.
I prefer to just put the premium in a saving account and hope I never need it. When I do, I have influence over who comes out, what they do, and can hold payment if I need to.
We asked for a home warranty when buying a house. Since we didn't have to pay for it, it was worth it to us but I wouldn't get one thinking it would be the end-all-be-all. The type of home warranty we got (HSA) only covers HVACs as a separate rider (about $60 more/year) and only up to $1500 which doesn't cover much at all.
No home warranty will cover your roof, and they don't cover any type of routine maintenance/servicing, only repairs when something isn't working.
We were fortunate when buying our foreclosure that the furnace was completely disassembled and non-functioning. The selling bank had to completely replace it for my bank to approve our mortgage. This saved us around $6,000.
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I have an HSA home warranty that I got when I bought my house. Mine does cover HVAC. My deductible is $75. I have claimed a fridge repair (replaced fridge board and fan $500) and a new cooktop ($650).
We asked for ours in our offer because our house was built in 1960. It was $400, and it covers pretty much everything. So far we've only made one call-- there was a leak coming into our basement. (Turns out it is a rainboot on the roof that has eroded and the water was traveling down the pipe in the walls.) They were great about it.
Honestly, the peace of mind is worth every penny, and we will certainly renew it at the end of the year.
As a REA, I suggest HSA home warranty. They have recently revamped their warranties and you can always add on additional items. If the seller pays for the basic coverage, ask your agent or click the link above about adding additional coverage for the items you are concerned most with.
The techs I've worked with have provided great services.
Good luck, but if it's a foreclosure and bank owned, with getting them to pay for it.