18 Sep What is a Home Warranty and How Does it Help the Homeowner?
You have just purchased your fabulous home in the Glendale area. You have signed off on all the paperwork and made sure your home is insured but have you thought about getting a home warranty? Chances are you haven’t given that much thought. Here are some insights on what a home warranty is and why it could save you money in the long run.
A home warranty is different from homeowner’s insurance in that the insurance covers the structure of your home, your personal belongings and liability coverage if someone gets injured on your property. A home warranty covers things like your appliances and household operating systems like plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling systems.
There are different types of home warranty policies so when researching what is right for you; you need to ask what specifically will be covered and how it works. For example American Home Shield is a warranty company; let’s say your washing machine goes on the fritz. You call AHS and they will send out a technician that they work with, there is a fee for the service call (in this case it is $60). The technician will assess what the problem is and if it is fixable they fix it, for just the $60 regardless of what parts need to be replaced. If the problem is beyond repair, AHS replaces the appliance for one that is comparable to what you had. No charge to you, unless you want to upgrade your appliance at this point, then you cover the difference. In this scenario the technician was out multiple times as the problem was a bit hard to diagnose and I only paid the $60 fee, I saved quite a bit in labor and parts so it was worth it.
Home warranties range in price anywhere from $175-$400 depending on the coverage you get and the size of your home. I feel if you have a home approaching that 10 year age things are bound to start happening so you may find that the $400 you paid will be worth it if say your hot water heater busts or your a/c unit dies. If you have a pool don’t automatically think that your home warranty covers this, in most cases that is coverage you can add to your warranty.
Make sure to do your homework and call around to a few different companies and compare the coverage and fees. A home warranty can give you some extra piece of mind that your most expensive purchase is well protected.