Home Warranty? Good/bad experiences?

[gradchica]

My husband and I are getting ready to sell our approx. 15 year old home and our realtor has suggested getting a home warranty. Also, the thought of having to pay out of pocket to replace our heat pump system with a new energy efficient one if it dies this winter makes this seem like a good idea.

So...any thoughts on home warranties? From browsing around the internet, I see tons of horror/scam stories and some glowing reviews--often of the same company.

Anyone have any good or bad experiences they care to share? Any companies that actually honor their contracts and don't require ridiculous documentation from the homeowner, such as maintenance records from the past two owners??

Thanks!

[Bettykin]

gradchica,

Most national home warranty companies offer coverage to the seller while the property is listed that will convert to a new policy for the buyer when the property sells.

I've used both Fidelity Home Warranty and Old Republic Home Protection.
Make sure you read the coverage carefully since they each cover different systems. For instance one of my rental properties has a Sub-Zero refrigerator which Old Republic covers but Fidelity did not.

I put a home warranty on every residential property I buy and it's saved me $1,000's of dollars a year in repair bills.

Good luck!
Betty

[suburbandollar]

If you are getting ready to sell your home and you can get a policy that will roll over to the buyer you might as well do it. Buyers love it when they get a home warranty thrown in on top of their offer price. We got a home warranty on our first house, paid for by the seller, and it helped fix a few things around the house with minimal documentation.

[Socal104]

You have to be careful about which home warranty company you get. We have American Home Shield and we just got a notice of a Class Action lawsuit that they earned because many of the technicians that are sent don't actually fix anything, they just collect the upfront fee (typically $60) and spend a few minutes and just leave.

Interestingly enough, we just had one of those exact experiences but in fairness, we will see if AHS actually fixes it. But the service call was not done by what I would consider a qualified technician.

If you go to Ripoff report or one of the other online complaint boards, they are littered with Home warranty scams. Some people I know have been happy with their home warranty and it makes sense when you are buying a home since it is usually paid for by the seller. Also realize that many, many things are not covered under a home warranty.

[alexender]

It is good to know that you are getting a new home and selling your old one. It will be a great new experience on your part as it will be of great benefit to all. I have not had any kinda experience about it but i am exited to know a lot from here.