When purchasing a home, buyers are often offered a home warranty to protect them from potentially expensive repairs. Home warranty is different from homeowners insurance; homeowners insurance covers major incidents including fires, property crimes and any kind of water damage that may affect the homeowners’ personal belongings or the entire property itself. In contrast, a home warranty is a contract between a homeowner and a home warranty company that offers affordable repair and replacement service on a home’s major components including plumbing and electrical systems. This blog will discuss the reasons to buy a home warranty and some of the issues homeowners may encounter with a home warranty.  

Reasons to buy a home warranty: 

A home warranty is beneficial as it can help homeowners save money by reducing repair and replacement costs. Having a home warranty also makes the process of selling your home much easier. A home warranty can attract buyers because it suggests that your appliances are functioning well. Home warranties can also save time because the homeowner will not have to search for or contact an independent contractor if they have any damage or issues at home.  

There are also benefits for property sellers if they offer the buyer a paid-up, one-year home warranty at the time of purchase because this could protect sellers against buyer complaints regarding defects that are discovered after purchasing the property.  

Issues related to home warranties:  

An issue that buyers will encounter is that home warranties do not cover everything, particularly appliances that have not been well maintained. It is unclear what would be considered as ‘well maintained’ and therefore can lead to disagreements between the homeowner and the home warranty companies. Other serious issues include companies accusing homeowners of poor maintenance to reject valid claims.  

Another disadvantage of a home warranty is that none of the home’s components would require repairing over many years. If nothing breaks over an extended period, the homeowner will not benefit from the home warranty at all.  

Furthermore, although home warranties help homeowners by finding contractors on their behalf, a problem is that homeowners would not be able to choose their own contractor or brand of a replacement component. Homeowners are expected to simply accept the contractor that the home warranty company chooses for them even if they are dissatisfied with the work of a particular contractor.  

Conclusion:  

A home warranty can be a great option for property owners who would like to save time and money as they do not have to find an independent contractor and do not have to spend so much for unexpected damage. However, there are some hidden costs that homeowners may encounter when purchasing a home warranty. It is recommended that homeowners do their research about the home warranty company to ensure that they are professional and reliable. 

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