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June 28, 2008 at 9:03 AM #230139June 28, 2008 at 9:58 AM #229985doublewideParticipant
Each time we bought a place we had the seller buy a 1 year home warranty plan as part of the purchase contract. The costs varied from about 100.00 for a condo in 1999 to 350.00 for a mcmansion in 2004.
All three times (one condo and two houses) we had small things that went wrong. A remote control fan stopped working, a toilet leaked (bad wax seal thingy), dishwasher died, A/C unit had a fit, all within that magical 1st year. All these things were promptly fixed by the warranty company and cost us a $10-15 “co-pay”.
We had all our places inspected by very good home inspectors but the warranty was just an added layer of security. Inspectors would never have been able to catch the things that went wrong with our places, they were just due to age and could have gone at any time.
After the seller purchased, first year was up we never renewed. It always seemed like they’d send us a renewal for 3 times the amount the original plan had cost the seller. For me to pay a 900.00 premium for a 1 year service plan was nuts. My dishwasher, oven and microwave would all have to blow up for the cost to break even!
FWIW, the provider we used in the last two homes was Old Republic and they did do good repairs in a timely manner. I can’t remember who we used for the condo in ’99.
Hope this helps,
DoublewideJune 28, 2008 at 9:58 AM #230105doublewideParticipantEach time we bought a place we had the seller buy a 1 year home warranty plan as part of the purchase contract. The costs varied from about 100.00 for a condo in 1999 to 350.00 for a mcmansion in 2004.
All three times (one condo and two houses) we had small things that went wrong. A remote control fan stopped working, a toilet leaked (bad wax seal thingy), dishwasher died, A/C unit had a fit, all within that magical 1st year. All these things were promptly fixed by the warranty company and cost us a $10-15 “co-pay”.
We had all our places inspected by very good home inspectors but the warranty was just an added layer of security. Inspectors would never have been able to catch the things that went wrong with our places, they were just due to age and could have gone at any time.
After the seller purchased, first year was up we never renewed. It always seemed like they’d send us a renewal for 3 times the amount the original plan had cost the seller. For me to pay a 900.00 premium for a 1 year service plan was nuts. My dishwasher, oven and microwave would all have to blow up for the cost to break even!
FWIW, the provider we used in the last two homes was Old Republic and they did do good repairs in a timely manner. I can’t remember who we used for the condo in ’99.
Hope this helps,
DoublewideJune 28, 2008 at 9:58 AM #230112doublewideParticipantEach time we bought a place we had the seller buy a 1 year home warranty plan as part of the purchase contract. The costs varied from about 100.00 for a condo in 1999 to 350.00 for a mcmansion in 2004.
All three times (one condo and two houses) we had small things that went wrong. A remote control fan stopped working, a toilet leaked (bad wax seal thingy), dishwasher died, A/C unit had a fit, all within that magical 1st year. All these things were promptly fixed by the warranty company and cost us a $10-15 “co-pay”.
We had all our places inspected by very good home inspectors but the warranty was just an added layer of security. Inspectors would never have been able to catch the things that went wrong with our places, they were just due to age and could have gone at any time.
After the seller purchased, first year was up we never renewed. It always seemed like they’d send us a renewal for 3 times the amount the original plan had cost the seller. For me to pay a 900.00 premium for a 1 year service plan was nuts. My dishwasher, oven and microwave would all have to blow up for the cost to break even!
FWIW, the provider we used in the last two homes was Old Republic and they did do good repairs in a timely manner. I can’t remember who we used for the condo in ’99.
Hope this helps,
DoublewideJune 28, 2008 at 9:58 AM #230148doublewideParticipantEach time we bought a place we had the seller buy a 1 year home warranty plan as part of the purchase contract. The costs varied from about 100.00 for a condo in 1999 to 350.00 for a mcmansion in 2004.
All three times (one condo and two houses) we had small things that went wrong. A remote control fan stopped working, a toilet leaked (bad wax seal thingy), dishwasher died, A/C unit had a fit, all within that magical 1st year. All these things were promptly fixed by the warranty company and cost us a $10-15 “co-pay”.
We had all our places inspected by very good home inspectors but the warranty was just an added layer of security. Inspectors would never have been able to catch the things that went wrong with our places, they were just due to age and could have gone at any time.
After the seller purchased, first year was up we never renewed. It always seemed like they’d send us a renewal for 3 times the amount the original plan had cost the seller. For me to pay a 900.00 premium for a 1 year service plan was nuts. My dishwasher, oven and microwave would all have to blow up for the cost to break even!
FWIW, the provider we used in the last two homes was Old Republic and they did do good repairs in a timely manner. I can’t remember who we used for the condo in ’99.
Hope this helps,
DoublewideJune 28, 2008 at 9:58 AM #230164doublewideParticipantEach time we bought a place we had the seller buy a 1 year home warranty plan as part of the purchase contract. The costs varied from about 100.00 for a condo in 1999 to 350.00 for a mcmansion in 2004.
All three times (one condo and two houses) we had small things that went wrong. A remote control fan stopped working, a toilet leaked (bad wax seal thingy), dishwasher died, A/C unit had a fit, all within that magical 1st year. All these things were promptly fixed by the warranty company and cost us a $10-15 “co-pay”.
We had all our places inspected by very good home inspectors but the warranty was just an added layer of security. Inspectors would never have been able to catch the things that went wrong with our places, they were just due to age and could have gone at any time.
After the seller purchased, first year was up we never renewed. It always seemed like they’d send us a renewal for 3 times the amount the original plan had cost the seller. For me to pay a 900.00 premium for a 1 year service plan was nuts. My dishwasher, oven and microwave would all have to blow up for the cost to break even!
FWIW, the provider we used in the last two homes was Old Republic and they did do good repairs in a timely manner. I can’t remember who we used for the condo in ’99.
Hope this helps,
DoublewideJune 28, 2008 at 11:41 AM #230182sdduuuudeParticipantdoublewide – same experience here.
The seller purchased the home warranty and we kept it open for two years after the purchase, then let it die.
We used it to get the oven repaired and that was it.
I was glad to have it, but didn’t see any value after the first year or two.
June 28, 2008 at 11:41 AM #230236sdduuuudeParticipantdoublewide – same experience here.
The seller purchased the home warranty and we kept it open for two years after the purchase, then let it die.
We used it to get the oven repaired and that was it.
I was glad to have it, but didn’t see any value after the first year or two.
June 28, 2008 at 11:41 AM #230220sdduuuudeParticipantdoublewide – same experience here.
The seller purchased the home warranty and we kept it open for two years after the purchase, then let it die.
We used it to get the oven repaired and that was it.
I was glad to have it, but didn’t see any value after the first year or two.
June 28, 2008 at 11:41 AM #230055sdduuuudeParticipantdoublewide – same experience here.
The seller purchased the home warranty and we kept it open for two years after the purchase, then let it die.
We used it to get the oven repaired and that was it.
I was glad to have it, but didn’t see any value after the first year or two.
June 28, 2008 at 11:41 AM #230175sdduuuudeParticipantdoublewide – same experience here.
The seller purchased the home warranty and we kept it open for two years after the purchase, then let it die.
We used it to get the oven repaired and that was it.
I was glad to have it, but didn’t see any value after the first year or two.
June 30, 2008 at 6:44 AM #231282CoronitaParticipantddm,
When we bought our home in 2004, a homeowner’s warranty was included for a year. Nothing happened in the first year, and because of the deductibles, exceptions,etc, we decided not to continue the policy in thereafter.
The only real things that “broke” was a water heater recently. All the other appliances and stuff still works, though we are replacing them because either they smell or we want something quieter,etc, so it wouldn’t have been covered by warranty policies anyway. Also, I’m pretty handy, so repairing appliances doesn’t usually cost me that much (parts are cheap, labor isn’t).
A few things about appliances/etc
1)Waterheaters: supposedly out here in san diego, they will last about 8-10 years (shorter if you run a water softener), Most home warranty policies prorate the cost of replacement, similar to your car battery, making this useless.
2)Fixtures: home warranties cover leaks and functional failures..They do not cover cosmetic things, such as tarnishing, chipping, peeling,etc…. However, most major brand fixtures offer no questions asked lifetime guarentee anyway. Rather than spending $$$$ on brand new fixtures, just call the manufacturer. If things are chipped, dinged, corroded,etc they will send you parts of the fixtures, repair kits, or a brand new faucet (if your part requests are too many, they just send you a brand new faucet) free of charge. I replaced about 8 fixtures that retailed for about $200 without having to spend a dime. And mostly, the replacements were done for cosmetic reasons (things were tarnished,etc.
3)Appliances. In my experience, when your appliance gets to a condition that they need to be “repaired”, it’s more cost effective just to get a new one. A dishwasher for example might not be “cleaning enough” anymore, but good luck getting a warranty company to “fix” that.
Often times, home warranty don’t pay for replacement, just repair. The only exception might be built in fridges. I wouldn’t know though, because I don’t have one.
June 30, 2008 at 6:44 AM #231405CoronitaParticipantddm,
When we bought our home in 2004, a homeowner’s warranty was included for a year. Nothing happened in the first year, and because of the deductibles, exceptions,etc, we decided not to continue the policy in thereafter.
The only real things that “broke” was a water heater recently. All the other appliances and stuff still works, though we are replacing them because either they smell or we want something quieter,etc, so it wouldn’t have been covered by warranty policies anyway. Also, I’m pretty handy, so repairing appliances doesn’t usually cost me that much (parts are cheap, labor isn’t).
A few things about appliances/etc
1)Waterheaters: supposedly out here in san diego, they will last about 8-10 years (shorter if you run a water softener), Most home warranty policies prorate the cost of replacement, similar to your car battery, making this useless.
2)Fixtures: home warranties cover leaks and functional failures..They do not cover cosmetic things, such as tarnishing, chipping, peeling,etc…. However, most major brand fixtures offer no questions asked lifetime guarentee anyway. Rather than spending $$$$ on brand new fixtures, just call the manufacturer. If things are chipped, dinged, corroded,etc they will send you parts of the fixtures, repair kits, or a brand new faucet (if your part requests are too many, they just send you a brand new faucet) free of charge. I replaced about 8 fixtures that retailed for about $200 without having to spend a dime. And mostly, the replacements were done for cosmetic reasons (things were tarnished,etc.
3)Appliances. In my experience, when your appliance gets to a condition that they need to be “repaired”, it’s more cost effective just to get a new one. A dishwasher for example might not be “cleaning enough” anymore, but good luck getting a warranty company to “fix” that.
Often times, home warranty don’t pay for replacement, just repair. The only exception might be built in fridges. I wouldn’t know though, because I don’t have one.
June 30, 2008 at 6:44 AM #231415CoronitaParticipantddm,
When we bought our home in 2004, a homeowner’s warranty was included for a year. Nothing happened in the first year, and because of the deductibles, exceptions,etc, we decided not to continue the policy in thereafter.
The only real things that “broke” was a water heater recently. All the other appliances and stuff still works, though we are replacing them because either they smell or we want something quieter,etc, so it wouldn’t have been covered by warranty policies anyway. Also, I’m pretty handy, so repairing appliances doesn’t usually cost me that much (parts are cheap, labor isn’t).
A few things about appliances/etc
1)Waterheaters: supposedly out here in san diego, they will last about 8-10 years (shorter if you run a water softener), Most home warranty policies prorate the cost of replacement, similar to your car battery, making this useless.
2)Fixtures: home warranties cover leaks and functional failures..They do not cover cosmetic things, such as tarnishing, chipping, peeling,etc…. However, most major brand fixtures offer no questions asked lifetime guarentee anyway. Rather than spending $$$$ on brand new fixtures, just call the manufacturer. If things are chipped, dinged, corroded,etc they will send you parts of the fixtures, repair kits, or a brand new faucet (if your part requests are too many, they just send you a brand new faucet) free of charge. I replaced about 8 fixtures that retailed for about $200 without having to spend a dime. And mostly, the replacements were done for cosmetic reasons (things were tarnished,etc.
3)Appliances. In my experience, when your appliance gets to a condition that they need to be “repaired”, it’s more cost effective just to get a new one. A dishwasher for example might not be “cleaning enough” anymore, but good luck getting a warranty company to “fix” that.
Often times, home warranty don’t pay for replacement, just repair. The only exception might be built in fridges. I wouldn’t know though, because I don’t have one.
June 30, 2008 at 6:44 AM #231452CoronitaParticipantddm,
When we bought our home in 2004, a homeowner’s warranty was included for a year. Nothing happened in the first year, and because of the deductibles, exceptions,etc, we decided not to continue the policy in thereafter.
The only real things that “broke” was a water heater recently. All the other appliances and stuff still works, though we are replacing them because either they smell or we want something quieter,etc, so it wouldn’t have been covered by warranty policies anyway. Also, I’m pretty handy, so repairing appliances doesn’t usually cost me that much (parts are cheap, labor isn’t).
A few things about appliances/etc
1)Waterheaters: supposedly out here in san diego, they will last about 8-10 years (shorter if you run a water softener), Most home warranty policies prorate the cost of replacement, similar to your car battery, making this useless.
2)Fixtures: home warranties cover leaks and functional failures..They do not cover cosmetic things, such as tarnishing, chipping, peeling,etc…. However, most major brand fixtures offer no questions asked lifetime guarentee anyway. Rather than spending $$$$ on brand new fixtures, just call the manufacturer. If things are chipped, dinged, corroded,etc they will send you parts of the fixtures, repair kits, or a brand new faucet (if your part requests are too many, they just send you a brand new faucet) free of charge. I replaced about 8 fixtures that retailed for about $200 without having to spend a dime. And mostly, the replacements were done for cosmetic reasons (things were tarnished,etc.
3)Appliances. In my experience, when your appliance gets to a condition that they need to be “repaired”, it’s more cost effective just to get a new one. A dishwasher for example might not be “cleaning enough” anymore, but good luck getting a warranty company to “fix” that.
Often times, home warranty don’t pay for replacement, just repair. The only exception might be built in fridges. I wouldn’t know though, because I don’t have one.
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