I have wanted to write about this for sometime now - we bought our home in April 2006and our realtor thought he was doing us a favor by getting us a Home Buyer's Protection Warranty. He did not do us a favor. After further assessment and continued review of this Warranty even after coverage lapsed this past April, I have come to the conclusion that Home Buyer's Warranties are the biggest fraud/scam perpetrated on the American home owner since .... well, since sub prime mortgages. Anyway, here are some experiences and observations: When we were under warranty, our washer and dryers were not covered. Apparently, appliances are extra and our realtor did not fork over the extra money. Then, there were tons of loopholes so when we had to fix a faucet in our kitchen which was literally leaking buckets, that was not covered because it was a leak. What?! Aren't leaks a problem? Nope- not covered. We had to buy our own fixture and hire someone to put it in. After this incident, I was not sure I wanted to keep paying $60 a pop for someone to come out and tell me it was not covered so I woulkd not even bother.
Our garage doors may have been covered if they fell off or something but a garage door opener is not covered. So, other than like a mass failure of the entire home it was covered and even then, there are aggregate limits associated with what they will pay out - so they will not pay more than $XXX amount per item- not per event, but per item TOTAL. What that means is that say your furnace needs a repair and it costs $200, and then later despite said repair, it goes out, they will only pay $1300more to replace the furnace cause they already forked over the $200. This is amazing to me! Needless to say, I was not impressed with the home warranty and would not encourage others to get one. There are too many loopholes and conditions and even at a $100 per year, it is not worth it. I'd rather have the realtor pay me $100 so I can use it later when the house starts falling apart which it inevitably will. Home repairs are a pain in the ass as it is and then you gotta deal with red tape with a warranty company? Come on!
Obviously we did not renew the policy and now that we are facing some other major things like a new furnace, we were wondering if we made a mistake by not renewing and the answer is overwhelmingly - NO! I looked at the lapsed contract and realized that if we wanted to get the furnace replaced, we would need a company of their choosing to come out and tell us that it needed replacement. If, however, repairs could be made to keep the 19year old furnace going, repairs would be made and we would only get up to $1500 because that is the max under the contract for the furnace - so if it really did break down in the dead of winter, we'd be SOL. Yep! Thanks home warranty people for being there! To all home owners and buyers out there, beware and read the fine print. A home warranty does not assure you anything especially not peace of mind.
