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Home Warranties

By Mark Karten on August 30, 2009

Last week, I spoke about the importance of performing a home inspection on any property you're interested in purchasing.

Just as important is the need to purchase a home warranty to protect you for the first year you own the home.

Especially for a home you're buying "as-is," where there is no information given as to the history of the home, this coverage is priceless.

Not all home warranty companies are created equal, and we've had our share of bad experiences. Back in 2004, there were a lot of folks who submitted claims that were declined because of flimsy excuses or loopholes in the coverage.

For the most part, this has changed and the plans have few exclusions for normal failures within the home. Today's plans even cover foreclosed homes and unknown conditions.

Here's how the plans generally work. You pay a fee of approximately $329-$450 for one year of basic coverage for a single family home. If a covered item breaks during the year, you call one number to arrange for a service call. The service call costs $55-75, depending on the company. Any repair costs over the service call fee, is free. The company will either repair or replace the warrantied item.

When you consider the cost of an A/C unit is $3,500, a hot water heater is $600-$800 and a garage door opener is $350 - this coverage is priceless. Plus plumbing, electrical and appliance issues are covered as well.

There are different levels of coverage that vary from company to company. We will guide you through the coverage that is specific to your home and help you make an informed decision.

Even if you don't believe in "warranties" - this is one coverage you should not do without, especially during the first year of ownership. If you'd like to see some of the policies available, just drop me a line.

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