I'm a real estate agent. 5 years ago I would have recommended the home warranty if any of the appliances or mechanicals were on the older side of life. Unfortunately the home warranty companies now spend more time rejecting claims than paying them. NONE of them are worth it anymore. Check with your state's better business bureau and you will see a ton of complaints against these companies.

Figure out what kind of warrant they are buying. Read it carefully. Read reviews of that company. Expect them to fight you on everything. Ask for deductible to be kept in escrow until the warranty is up.

Good luck in your house. It will cost you more than you think so just be prepared. If you know there are things you are going to do, as in hiring a professional, try to get quotes before you close.

No home warranty is worth even a fraction of what it costs. You’ll spend more time fighting for a claim that it’s worth versus just fixing it.

Ask for cash at closing or repairs for your major concerns or make sure you offer is based on condition.

No, they are all garbage, will fight you on every single thing.

Poorly installed plumbing fixtures- think of toilet tanks with existing cracks yet not leaking- won't be covered. expect the plumbing contractors to 'always need a part' only to cut a drain pipe, put in a fitting to make it whole again and charge you for the privilege of paying it because of course they can. Read the contract carefully, it doesn't cover what you think it does.

I've had a home warranty for a few years. It saved me on plumbing and appliance repairs, but service fees add up. It’s worth it if you have older appliances or systems, but it doesn’t cover everything.

search this sub, this topic comes up multiple times per week.

90% of comments are about how bad warranties are -- they often have hidden costs, delay and frustration in dealing with them, weasel fine print that lets them off the hook for costs, repair over replace mentality, then replacements with poor specs or inflated uncharges for the "right" equipment.

About 10% say they got lucky and got a replacement.

The gold standard advice is to put the same money into a repair fund, find reputable local service people who can learn your house and respond quickly, and have quotes for replacing major items like a water heater so you know you don't get screwed when it breaks at 10 PM on a Saturday night.

Warranties make money by bringing in more money than they pay out. So it isnt surprising that companies cut corners and rational people self-insure.

YMMV. I had my fridge, oven, AC unit and washer replaced. Had my microwave repaired. All by Fidelity Home Warranty. Worth it by about 10x the investment. Others have had bad experiences.

In my experience, no. Our hot water heater went out in 2018 during a cold snap. Home warranty sent out a plumber with an F rating on BBB and 1 star on Google reviews who leered at me the whole time and then said he couldn’t fix it. Was still charged $75 for a 15 minute visit. Home warranty then said it wasn’t covered because “it was an act of God” according to the creeps report. Cold weather isn’t an act of God, but whatever. Called my own plumber who installed a new hot water heater within 4 days and didn’t charge me for the initial visit.

A big part of the business model of home warranties is that they pay contractors below market rates, in exchange for the contractor getting the deductible, even if no work is done, and the contractor theoretically gets a stream of business. The reality is that good contractors don't want to work for below market rates, or be tarred with the reputation that they did a crappy/partial job because that is all the warranty would pay for. So in addition to the delays others mentioned, you are less likely to get a competent crew.

I worked as a property manager, and organized hundreds of repairs. Nothing was as much of a pain in the ass as working with home warranties.

I don't think "home warranties" are ever worth it, owning or renting. They have models that look at average outlays and have a pricing model so they turn a profit.

Something like a new appliance costs you and them the same amount of money.

So what pricing advantage do they have on you? They can find the cheapest contractors possible and try to nickel-and-dime fixes to avoid paying out for big-ticket items. That's basically it, as far as I can tell.

If you're a homeowner, it's smart to have a good sense for what things cost and to know some contractors of different types that can fix or replace something (in different trades, and sometimes, at different skill levels and price points). If you're a landlord, it's basically a necessity.

Plus, your time is money, and while having to deal with say, a broken fridge or whatever is part of the job, the thing you don't want to do is deal with it more than once, which happens all too often when a home warranty insists that you replace one part, then another, then another, before finally admitting that the fridge needs to be replaced - plus, putting in a new fridge is likely to help you market the place in the future (somewhat).

The thing about home warranties is that even if something is covered, it will likely be “not covered” until you push back, make the quickest/cheapest fix ever, and have an unacceptable timeline.

Let’s say your water heater breaks, and is “covered”. Do you really want to be dealing with paying the deductible for them to insist that replacing a small part is the right option to fix it, and it will take X weeks to get the cheap part from their preferred vendor, while your tenant is (rightfully) complaining that they don’t have hot water?

I used to have a home warranty. An AC unit failed. They insisted on replacing just the compressor first to “see if it fixed the problem” and that it would be 8 weeks. I ended up having to go around them because I’m not a slumlord.

$600/Yr is more than enough for you to put into savings and take care of all that stuff on your own with better results.

Hate them. Let that crap expire.

They slow the process of repair down to a standstill while selecting only the literal bottom of the barrel shitehawk contractors to fix issues on their terms.

Make friends with some reputable local contractors instead.

They tell you a good sale pitch to get you’re money. But denying any claim after. All that warranty stuff is a scam. .

This is awesome info thank you!

I feel this way about any warranty - it's junk, and just another way to get more money out of you. The legal terms are pages long of caveats and exceptions that are all there to weasel out of any possible claim you might have.

I'll take the manufacturer's warranty that's included, but I won't buy additional coverage. Not for cars, not for appliances, not for houses, electronics, Amazon purchases, anything. Because I've never seen a story of them working successfully.

Home Buyer's warranties are some of the worst stories I've heard. Even if it's covered, they'll do the cheapest solution each time. Which often means they're sending a guy out days after, replacing one part, and you're waiting on it to fail. So you're waiting on a tech, and when he gets there you both know the solution is to replace the whole thing. But they won't approve that. What a waste.

Select Home Warranty is nothing but scam artists. I had the same experience above multiple times. Not worth the frustration.

I needed service on our furnace and am experiencing similar frustrations with Select Home Warranty. After waiting over a week for a technician to be assigned I was told to find my own technician and be reimbursed. The technician said our furnace is 32 years old and near the end of its useful life. Wrote a list of repairs needed but main issue was booster fan. We submitted an estimate for approval and kept getting replies they needed more detail to approve. Saying a booster fan was bad/didnt work wasn’t good enough. Turns out they wanted more detail so they could say it was an electrical issue and not covered under 9.1.2. Really?!! I guess anytime a motor is not working they could say it’s an electrical issue, right? What a scam.

Same experience only with only with our A/C unit. First they said electrical then that it needed maintenance to deny the claim. The worst company I have ever dealt with. Buyer beware

My fridge broke down and the technician told me the parts to fix it are no longer available. Several days later I reveived an e mail from Select that they would order the parts. 2 days after that a representative called and informed me, that they're unable to fix it and offered me $ 200 (two hundred!) to purchase a new refrigerator. So much for their "repair or replace" policy.  I'd never purchase a plan from them again, even so the reviews were good, before I signed up with them for 1 year

• any search of this forum for home warranty always have this as the potential outcome and why we do nto recommend wasting your money.

You are so right! I'm a Realtor and I stopped including them many years ago because they promise to cover X and then don't. The last time I read a home warranty contract there were so many exclusions that it made the entire warranty essentially worthless. Why pay $600 for a year of no coverage or for extremely limited and very frustrating to collect coverage. Consumers are better off keeping the money in their own pocket/savings.

Today, for example, I received another solicitation from a well known home warranty co and they don't even state the claims they covered - they only state the number of claims made over the past 12 months. Not that any of those claims were paid. I'm sure some were but you can't tell from the marketing. Ridiculous.

I got a policy with my home purchase from a (relatively) well regarded company, it was supposed to cover unknown preexisting issues. I waited almost a week for a diagnostic appointment for my air conditioner, I wasted 6 hours waiting for a no show tech, 1 hour on hold with CS to dispatch a new tech a couple days later, 4 hours waiting around for that tech, and then the issue was denied for pre-existing/neglect. I know I could have spent another couple hours arguing on the phone and I would have got it covered, but I got tired of not having working AC and the fix was within my abilities so I just took care of it myself.

A couple things….

Read the fine print.
These companies are essentially blanket insurance for your major appliances and home functions. They will use all the fine print to weasel out of paying for things.

Expect a “lowest cost” solution. If you really need a whole new a/c unit, but the problem is temporarily fixed by replacing one part… they will replace that one part and make you file another claim the next time it breaks down.

Finally… Be prepared to spend a lot of time on the phone. These companies tend to find the small-businesses repair contractors who aren’t always the best communicators or schedulers.

I’ve personally been able to make good use of a home warranty because I knew which of my appliances were short on lifespan, and I read up on what I could get from the warranty company for filing claims.

A 20 year old home might be a good candidate for this, but you have to know your home and appliances well, be ready to fight the warranty company and repair companies, and be confident enough to follow through. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you can be rewarded and even come out ahead.

They're scam artists. Sure they say it covers everything but the fine print details adjustments for age. So if your furnace is 20 years old they'll "cover it" but then they'll give you nearly nothing to replace it. They offered me $200 on a $5,000 furnace.

For my refrigerator I had a $1,100 repair and they got me thanking them for the $400 they gave me. And the process to file a claim, use their preferred repair house, haggle, scream and get paid isn't worth the stress.

Then when you cancel their service they'll send you post cards in the mail that lists your mortgage lender by name and that they'll be notified your insurance is lapsing. It's fear-based marketing. It's repulsive.

Lastly notice all those companies have similar names because they're constantly reorganizing after lawsuits and opening under a new trade name.

I'd say when you buy a home to make sure the seller provides a comprehensive policy (nothing less than $1,000). That way it's not your money. But I would never buy a policy.

Idk anyone who felt they got their moneys worth out of a home warranty. They will only sometimes have a pro to come out and help you fix something. They band aid things and it’s not great in my experience.

People here hate them.

American Home Shield covered the furnace that went out a month into buying my home on a 20 year old unit. They also had the company that did the repair bring the hvac system into compliance and the company that was contracted also pulled and finalized all permits.

Your milage may vary.

Also, do the math: $75x12 =$900. Then any deductible you need to pay. Put the money in a high yield savings account (4%+ return). If you keep the warranty for 5 years and don’t use it, you spent $4,500 on nada, it almost gets harder to cancel the longer you have the plan and don’t use it because you have sunk so much money into it. But if in the first year your furnace breaks down and is replaced with a new unit, your up $4,500 (or whatever the cost of the furnace is - whatever you spent for coverage)…

They can be beneficial but they never "cover everything".

Real estate agents like to "push" these to make them sound like the ever-so-glorious ''cure all" for everything (knowing full well that no one is going to read the fine print with all the exclusions and disclaimers). They entice you to buy the house (they get what they want) and that any problems that come up will be covered.

Is this what happened to you?

People have varying results with home warranties. I've had multiple $1000 incidents that they've covered for my service fee of $75.

Since mine is a sorta positive story, I'll share.

The sellers bought us a home warranty when we bought our house. Within the first couple of months one of our A/Cs broke down and we promptly called the home warranty number to file a claim. It was clear the employees were trying to find the cheapest people possible to do the job (we have many local A/C companies in the area and they hired one 2 hours away from us). This company came to do the job, found out they didn't have the tools necessary to complete it, then canceled the job. After they canceled the job the customer service people would find another cheapo company to come up - rinse and repeat two more times.

Granted our situation was a bit unique because of the location of our A/Cs (on the roof), we called the home warranty company after the 3rd company came out and canceled the job and told them they need to hire a local company. We found a reputable one who deals with our types of houses, they came out fixed the issue and all we had to pay was the deductible and we received a new A/C.

I would have had to pay at least $2,000 if this was done on my own, but with the home warranty all I had to pay was ~$500 deductible. Was it a headache dealing with the home warranty customer service? Yes it was, but definitely worth it for saving at least $1,500.

I would say if offered a home warranty, check the policy first. My seller paid so it wasn’t exactly a loss if the company sucked but my home warranty covered my air conditioning repair when it died the day of closing.

Our agent gave us one as a housewarming gift. Three weeks later the ceiling over the dining room started dripping. I had no idea what to do or what kind of contractor to call.. Called the warranty company, they sent a plumber and crew out who opened the ceiling, replaced a the leaking pipe and then closed up the ceiling and plastered it. The only think they didn't do was paint it, which they warned me about on the phone beforehand. Fidelity National Home Warranty. I would get it again if I got another house.

Ours did have the clause about only covering systems in the house. I called them later about an electric gate we had that was having problems, and they said they only cover things in the house - that if it were a garage door opener in an attached garage they would, but this they wouldn't, and indeed, it was very clearly stated in the policy.

The language appears to mean that the event giving rise to the claim needs to occur within the 1-year period, but can be reported up to 30 days after the end of the 1-year period. So if the claim first occurred the day after the 1-year period, the warranty would not apply. Did your claim first arise during the 1-year period or did it first arise sometime during the 15 days after the 1-year period?