[daneault23]

We're in the process of buying a home and of course the seller is offering us a credit to purchase a home warranty. We can pick any company, but gave us brochures from the following companies: Old Republic, First American, Fidelity National, and some company called Dwellness (we're in Las Vegas).

We've had First American in the past and they seemed okay as far as home warranty companies go but they didn't cover much and took forever to come out to our house.

Has anyone had any good experiences with home warranty companies? If so, which ones?

[TheMoneyShot]

I've been a home owner for about 17 years now. I personally don't see any advantage on warranties... I believe all of them are scams... and/or are limited. Not even worth $1.00 from you...

Let me give you an example. Our electric provider DTE Energy in Detroit sells a pretty impressive package for around $40.00 a month. It includes... Refrigerator, A/C, Furnace, Stove, Dishwasher, Hot water heater... Washer Dryer etc. But if you look closely at the fine print... it says... you can't exceed $1,000 in repairs on any one call. Well... if your blower motor goes out in your furnace... goodnight. If your inducer motor goes out in your furnace... goodnight. If your compressor goes out in your A/C... goodnight. They won't cover anything. All of these issues are well over $1,000 Furthermore, they don't come out quickly... It's always best to read the fine print.

Seems like the seller might be getting a kickback somewhere.... sure you get a credit... but is it worth the hassle? Worth your time??

The only advice I can tell you... read the maximum coverage per house call. Most have restrictions. Most electric companies offer home warranties.

[marcoloco]

From what I have heard, unfortunately most of them provide the same level of service....

[daneault23]

I've been a home owner for about 17 years now. I personally don't see any advantage on warranties... I believe all of them are scams... and/or are limited. Not even worth $1.00 from you...

Let me give you an example. Our electric provider DTE Energy in Detroit sells a pretty impressive package for around $40.00 a month. It includes... Refrigerator, A/C, Furnace, Stove, Dishwasher, Hot water heater... Washer Dryer etc. But if you look closely at the fine print... it says... you can't exceed $1,000 in repairs on any one call. Well... if your blower motor goes out in your furnace... goodnight. If your inducer motor goes out in your furnace... goodnight. If your compressor goes out in your A/C... goodnight. They won't cover anything. All of these issues are well over $1,000 Furthermore, they don't come out quickly... It's always best to read the fine print.

Seems like the seller might be getting a kickback somewhere.... sure you get a credit... but is it worth the hassle? Worth your time??

The only advice I can tell you... read the maximum coverage per house call. Most have restrictions. Most electric companies offer home warranties.

Thanks for the feedback. We've been property owners and have had home warranties on all of our properties in the past (because the seller paid for them) but overall I feel like they're a waste of time and money for the reasons you mentioned.

When we moved into our current home (pending sale right now) literally 1 month later we started having sewage problems at the main sewer line. We tried contacting our home warranty company and they took forever (over 1 week to come out) so we paid out of pocket to get it snaked. This happened multiple times and found tree roots broke into the main sewer line and of course they wouldn't cover any of this. We ended up having to pay over 2K to drill into our concrete walkway, dig out the roots, replace the pipe, etc. No issues since but man was that a hassle. Sewer water backed up downstairs and everything.

Bottom line I feel home warranties sound good, but in practicality, aren't worth much.

[DrunkHorseplayer]

No different than those extended car warranties you see on TV; total scams.

[TheMoneyShot]

Thanks for the feedback. We've been property owners and have had home warranties on all of our properties in the past (because the seller paid for them) but overall I feel like they're a waste of time and money for the reasons you mentioned.

When we moved into our current home (pending sale right now) literally 1 month later we started having sewage problems at the main sewer line. We tried contacting our home warranty company and they took forever (over 1 week to come out) so we paid out of pocket to get it snaked. This happened multiple times and found tree roots broke into the main sewer line and of course they wouldn't cover any of this. We ended up having to pay over 2K to drill into our concrete walkway, dig out the roots, replace the pipe, etc. No issues since but man was that a hassle. Sewer water backed up downstairs and everything.

Bottom line I feel home warranties sound good, but in practicality, aren't worth much.

Sorry to hear about the sewer issue. I tell a lot of my friends when buying a new home from someone (finished basement) here in Michigan.... always run the sink and shower downstairs.... while flushing the toilet several times for around 3-4 minutes. If the toilet doesn't flush smoothly.... you have a partial clog already forming. Could be as high as 50% clog. If the water is draining very slowly.... the lines need to be snaked. More than likely all previous home owners know the errors in the household... hoping you don't discover them. I wouldn't know any type of warranty that would cover sewage lines? I don't even know if a natural home owner's insurance would cover it unless you had a rider on the policy for backups?

Another interesting story that happened to one of my friends... he said he had a home warranty on his furnace. We all know when furnaces decide to stop working right?? lol When it's 10 degrees outside lol Anyways... his home warranty service told him the soonest they could come out would be in 3 days. I don't know of anyone who would put up with sitting in a super cold home for 3 days..... then come to find out after they checked the furnace... the warranty didn't cover the part. lol He said it was the worst week of his life.

Good luck with the new home! Hope everything works out for you!

[daneault23]

Sorry to hear about the sewer issue. I tell a lot of my friends when buying a new home from someone (finished basement) here in Michigan.... always run the sink and shower downstairs.... while flushing the toilet several times for around 3-4 minutes. If the toilet doesn't flush smoothly.... you have a partial clog already forming. Could be as high as 50% clog. If the water is draining very slowly.... the lines need to be snaked. More than likely all previous home owners know the errors in the household... hoping you don't discover them. I wouldn't know any type of warranty that would cover sewage lines? I don't even know if a natural home owner's insurance would cover it unless you had a rider on the policy for backups?

Another interesting story that happened to one of my friends... he said he had a home warranty on his furnace. We all know when furnaces decide to stop working right?? lol When it's 10 degrees outside lol Anyways... his home warranty service told him the soonest they could come out would be in 3 days. I don't know of anyone who would put up with sitting in a super cold home for 3 days..... then come to find out after they checked the furnace... the warranty didn't cover the part. lol He said it was the worst week of his life.

Good luck with the new home! Hope everything works out for you!

Thx Money. We were pissed when these issues started popping up. There's no way the previous owners and/or whoever lived here prior to us buying the house were unaware of a sewer issue. When multiple companies came to snake the main sewer line, they were getting things like baby wipes etc out of the pipe. We don't put those down the pipes. Items like that and the huge issue that happened don't just form overnight. We tried going back to our home inspector and talked to our agent and the seller's agent etc but nothing could be done. Just something to know for the future I guess.

As far as your story about furnaces, well here in Vegas, I've heard multiple stories of the same thing happening but for AC units. People's AC seem to crap out of course in the dead of summer when it's 110+ and every company is swamped and they can't come out for a week. Some nights it still stays in the upper 80's/low 90's and as soon as that sun comes up in the morning it's over with. I take my son to daycare at 830am and it's already 95 out lol. Crazy times.

I actually lived in MI most of my youth and majority of my family still lives there. I try to visit when I can. Detroit's making a comeback or what?

[JIBBBY]

Youtube tutorials for home improvements and repairs are your best friend.

Save the money and don't be lazy, fix shit yourself! Be a man!

[OldBill]

I have bought a plan from my gas company that will repair or replace Heater , HOT water Tank etc... for only $160 a year

SEE if yours has that also i got from water dept for pipes from my house to the main really low cost had work done on pavement years ago swere line replaced but not out into street

[TheMoneyShot]

Thx Money. We were pissed when these issues started popping up. There's no way the previous owners and/or whoever lived here prior to us buying the house were unaware of a sewer issue. When multiple companies came to snake the main sewer line, they were getting things like baby wipes etc out of the pipe. We don't put those down the pipes. Items like that and the huge issue that happened don't just form overnight. We tried going back to our home inspector and talked to our agent and the seller's agent etc but nothing could be done. Just something to know for the future I guess.

As far as your story about furnaces, well here in Vegas, I've heard multiple stories of the same thing happening but for AC units. People's AC seem to crap out of course in the dead of summer when it's 110+ and every company is swamped and they can't come out for a week. Some nights it still stays in the upper 80's/low 90's and as soon as that sun comes up in the morning it's over with. I take my son to daycare at 830am and it's already 95 out lol. Crazy times.

I actually lived in MI most of my youth and majority of my family still lives there. I try to visit when I can. Detroit's making a comeback or what?

Detroit is making a comeback but I hardly go downtown. It will definitely never be the same as it once did. There's plenty of entertainment in my opinion... without going downtown.

I'm glad you brought up A/C units. Mine went out about 2 years ago. Compressor failed. 12 years ago.... I bought all top of the line stuff thinking it would last a long time... Carrier Infinity Series. Furnace/AC. Had all these fancy bells and whistles... I figured... the "quality" would go a long way. It really didn't... lol In Michigan... you barely use your A/C like maybe 3.5 months a year? Anyways... I was pissed off at the lifespan of the AC unit.

While getting price quotes for a new AC unit... I heard $4,200.... $6,800 and even $11,000 lol Unreal. The 4th quote... this young kid... about 24 or so says I can earn your business and teach you a few things. He wasn't cocky.... just down to earth... friendly... but he had an amazing intelligence about him. I said... shoot kid... tell me what I need to know.

What he explained to me is... there's 2 types of AC units... Single Stage and Two Stage (Variable Speed). He said... in my honest opinion... when you get into variable speed and two stage units... a lot can go wrong. The repair bill will always be double... there's more things I need to look at component wise. There's several sensors that can fail. With single stage.... there's 1 sensor... 1 capacitor.... and it's plug and play. The only thing bad about single stage is.... they are louder db wise when running. He basically told me.... unless the compressor fails... or you need to put more puron in the unit... you can repair the unit yourself with no issues with simple youtube videos. So I had him install this Goodman unit for $3,200 cash. And he said it included a 10 year warranty parts and labor. Before I even made the purchase.... I knew about Goodman units before.... heard nothing but bad things etc. But... I do believe it has everything to do with your TECH who's installing it... and something about this kid made me trust him. That price also included new coils, new AC line and everything... you couldn't beat it.

I know Vegas is definitely a lot hotter than Michigan... if the AC unit is sitting next to a room in the house you use frequently.... you might want a quieter AC unit?

I tend to try to put myself in a position in which.... you get quality without overpaying. And if you need to repair something... you can do it yourself. Anytime a compressor fails... AC or refrigerator... you might as well throw out the unit. It's not worth the repair bill... just buy new. But anything else that fails.... you can typically fix it yourself. I'm not a wiring expert by no means lol there's a lot of great teachers on youtube. Best of luck with the new home!