Home Warranty Warning
Are Home Warranties Worth The Cost?
Are you planning on buying a new home or buying your first home and thinking about buying a home warranty to protect it? If so, you may want to think carefully and do your research before you do so because unfortunately most homeowners that have purchased a home warranty have not had a need for it or have found that it does not cover the cost of the item for which is in need of repair or replacement.
Most people purchase a home warranty for peace of mind purposes and are under the assumption that they will not be charged to repair or replace an item in their home should a problem ever arise. This is what they are lead to believe when buying a home warranty, but as the old adage goes "if it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is".
Our Plumbing Company and Home Warranties
We here at Olin Plumbing, Inc. have checked into becoming a home warranty service company and in the process we discovered a few things, such as how they pay and what they pay for after they take your money. While looking at the possibility of doing work for them we found that they only want to pay an average of $75.00 on every ticket. With the cost of doing business in this day and age we believe that the only people who can afford to receive $75.00 for a service call are what we refer to in the trade as bootleggers, unlicensed companies, companies with bad reviews or companies that make up the difference by charging the homeowner the difference in price.
In Addition, we have found that even if you have a warranty you will have to pay a service call charge of about $60.00 just to have someone come out, regardless if your issue is resolved or not. Most of the time if the issue is something large like a water heater and you are covered, it may take days or even weeks before you get a new water heater.
We have also been out on many service calls where people have had a warranty and found that either between the hassle of trying to get the warranty company to cover the claim or to even get a service company to come to their home in a timely manor, they have chosen instead to call us to repair their plumbing.
Helpful Tips To Consider Before Purchasing A Home Warranty
There are some things you should always ask and be sure to get in writing when considering the purchase of a home warranty and we have listed some of these below for you. Once you receive this information you can do the math and determine for yourself if it is worth it to proceed.
- What is the cost of the warranty?
- What is covered and to what extent?
- How long will it take to get a service tech to your home if an issue should arise?
- Is there a service charge involved at anytime?
- How long will it take to resolve an issue?
- Do they guarantee the work performed by the service company they send out if the issue is not resolved or it causes something else to go wrong?
- Is the company they send our licensed, bonded and insured and do they have good reviews?
- Before buying a home warranty be sure to read reviews about that company online on websites such as www.consumeraffairs.com. Once you are on their website, simply type "home warranty" into the search box for reviews.