Home Warranty companies-- any good??

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Are any of the Home Warranty companies any good or worth the price?

If so which ones. In my mid 70's and really can't do most of the repairs anymore and it it so difficult to find good repair folks.

Thank you
 
Ours has very specific coverages, and when a claim is filed they will advise and/or send someone with, THEIR, replacement product.
 
When I purchased this house, they provided a free one year home warranty for us. A few weeks later, our pool heater died. They send out a pool repairman from 60 miles away, charged me $50, and charged the insurance company $75. He said it was dead, and recommended I receive a new pool heater. A month later, same pool company from 60 miles away came out to size the pool heater. This company didn't charge me again, but charged the home warranty company $75 to do this. One month later, I called the home warranty company inquiring how much longer I'd have to wait until I received a new pool heater. They told me a new pool heater was going to cost $2900, but my policy had $1000 limitations on pool equipment. With the two service calls costing $75 each, they wrote me a check for $850, and said they were done. For the remainder of the year, I no longer had any warranty service on my pool equipment.

Bottom line was, this warranty crap is a rip off. Had they called one of the 200 pool companies within 5 miles, I'm sure they could have got it to work.

Months later, I discovered a hot wire in my breaker box, on a return wire. Obviously someone wired something inside the house wrong and back fed this wire into the breaker box. I once again called the home warranty company, and 3 weeks later, an electric company from Mojave Desert, 100 miles away, came and found the short in quick order. Great company, but the downfall if these home warranty companies require cheap companies only to respond.

Lastly, 10 months after moving in, with 2 months left on my home warranty, my condensation line clogged up and flooded 3 carpeted rooms with an inch of water. I ripped all the carpeting out and set up fans to dry the water. I called the home warranty company, explained the situation, but was immediately declined, being told that a condensate clog was a maintenance issue, and declined any and all repairs.

I spent thousands of $ repairing the damage.

Needless to say, my experience with my home warranty company was horrible.
 
My DIL is, marginally.

I, on the other hand, spent 45yrs in the trades, and fix things, and save the receipts as a deduction against taxable profits, at time of sale.

I'd hesitate to post the name,
because there have been 2 threads deleted, that I thought would have been informative.
 
Where are these deleted threads?

I will tell you that I have a cousin, who doesn't know how to even use a screwdriver.

He purchased the premium home warranty for his vacation home, but he said it costs him $6k a year. He likes it because if something breaks, he makes a call, spends $50, and when he returns in a month, the item is repaired (usually). He has a Sub Zero refrigerator that they keep throwing parts in to, but is just doesn't work properly. He has been fighting with them for years to just replace, but they won't do it.
 
Where are these deleted threads?

I will tell you that I have a cousin, who doesn't know how to even use a screwdriver.

He purchased the premium home warranty for his vacation home, but he said it costs him $6k a year. He likes it because if something breaks, he makes a call, spends $50, and when he returns in a month, the item is repaired (usually). He has a Sub Zero refrigerator that they keep throwing parts in to, but is just doesn't work properly. He has been fighting with them for years to just replace, but they won't do it.
They no longer exist.

Our most recent was a HW heater, the guy showed up in a Toyota or Nissan compact with the heater extending out the back. My son needed to help him off-load, cart to the lower level, and remove and load back into the vehicle.
 
Never had one but know a few people that have.



One fellow I know bought a very nice home and it came with a one-year plan. He had several issues in that year each time they sent someone to assess or repair the problem from 150 miles away even though there are lots of local people that could handle it. The issue was a sub-zero fridge and the crew showed up about 6:00 in the evening the first time and were there to 10:00 checking it out and said they would return with parts the next week. That time they showed up at 5:00 and started working and were still working at midnight when he told them they had to leave. They complained that they would have to drive 300 miles just to finish it the next day. He let them stay and went to bed to find them still working the next morning when he did toss them out so he could go to work. He got a call from the company asking why he didn’t let the guys finish and they couldn’t come back for a week or more. He hire a local guy and he had it running in an hour saying he didn’t think the other crew had a clue.



I had a friend at work that bought a whole house 100% plan thru Sears. Don’t know is they still sell them it was 25 years ago. He told me what he was paying and I thought he was nuts. It was something like $10k/year. He said it paid for itself but he was filing a claim or two every day. It covered everything down to his light bulbs or his mower blades. He was happy with it, but I know it would wear me down and not for me.



I figure all these things are there to earn money and may be great for someone that doesn’t have the budget, but in the long run they come out winning.



I just pay as I go and supplement it with DIY when I can and hire it out to someone I trust when I can’t.
 
My DIL is, marginally.

I, on the other hand, spent 45yrs in the trades, and fix things, and save the receipts as a deduction against taxable profits, at time of sale.

I'd hesitate to post the name,
because there have been 2 threads deleted, that I thought would have been informative.
You can PM the name if you would
 
They no longer exist.

Our most recent was a HW heater, the guy showed up in a Toyota or Nissan compact with the heater extending out the back. My son needed to help him off-load, cart to the lower level, and remove and load back into the vehicle.
That's funny right there i don't care who you are. LOL
 
We have one for sewer coverage. When roots clogged it, we had to wait 10 daysfor service. They only use one company and the company was busy.

The technician said the pipe was separated and the roots got in. He said it will repeat until fixed. I mentioned that our contract covers replacement. He said that they will only pay if it is a total collapse. Until then, they will just keep coming back every time it clogs and to expect at least a week delay. Not so good. (Didn't know if it's proper to name the company here.)

I mentioined switching to another company and the technician also told me that the same home insurance company works under many names, so I have to study carefully who owns whom.

It might be worth investigating your utility companies' policies. Some cover not only appliances, but other house things, too. Or, it may be cheaper to get appliance/heating/cooling from a utility and a limited policy for the other house stuff from a private company. Just a thought...
Paul
 
I would think instead of paying into one of these companies, who obviously work for profit, toss the same amount of money into a savings account to only be used for homeowner repairs. That way, if a problem arises, you can get a local tradesman and negotiate what they charge or what really is needed. Remember, you still have at least a $50 deductible just to call their person out to your house.
 
I had a bad experience with a home warranty company back in the 80’s and swore to never have a home warranty again. My neighbor has one and it’s ridiculous how they run her around.
 
I would think instead of paying into one of these companies, who obviously work for profit, toss the same amount of money into a savings account to only be used for homeowner repairs. That way, if a problem arises, you can get a local tradesman and negotiate what they charge or what really is needed. Remember, you still have at least a $50 deductible just to call their person out to your house.
That is a very good plan for most.

In some circumstances, the warranty makes sense.
Our house has clay tile sewer and lead water service. The clay has gaps & gets roots. The lead may or may not break at a wiped joint with (clay) ground shifting in winter. (DPW guy told me they fix these non-stop in winter)

Sewer is under the driveway for about 25 feet- and not in a straight line. (straight, then angle, then straight, the repeat...)
Many square feet will have to be removed.

Water is under a walkway and a raised, concrete porch & birck. Both will be very expensive projects. At least the sewer will be needed at some time.

Warranty pays for both, including concrete & brick fix, with no deductible. They pay for sewer cleaning with no deductible. Cost is about 60.00/year for each. (They raise it each year, I fight, they lower it again.)

I realize that it will be a giant fight when the time to replace the piping comes, but agrivation versus cost is sometimes OK.
 
Then, of course, in your case, there is the, "honey, the thunder-mug needs emptying, again", syndrome, when waiting for the roto-rooter to arrive.
 
My elderly neighbors across the street obviously have a home warranty service company. For the last month, there has been an A/C truck parked in front of their house almost daily. They have a phone number listed on their truck, indicating they are from 50+ miles away. I just don't understand why they are out there as much as they are, but I think they are doing anything and everything to fix their unit.

I have a friend, who has a commercial A/C business. He lives about a mile away and I guarantee he could fix the issue with just one stop. Maybe wasting trip money?
 

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