Home Warranty Plans

We have one with American Home Shield. We've used them a few times and it's more than paid for itself already. Our plan is $450 a year.

I know some folks say don't buy them- It is a gamble - we always buy the first year we bought a home to protect against the unknown.

For me- it is like life insurance- piece of mind. Over the years- it has probably been break even.

The older a home the more sense it makes

quote:

---

The American Home Shield plans for whole house start at $775/ year. That covers appliances and mechanical.

---

I don't know if it has anything to do with us inheriting the plan from the previous owner. She had it since the house was built in '79.

It's been a good deal for me. New a/c unit. New water heater. Multiple service jobs such as the garbage disposal, furnace, and garage door.

I bought an older home, so it made sense for me. I guess over six years I've given them about 2800 dollars. Say (a guess) seven service jobs ($75 each), so $3325 is how much I've spent. How much is a new a/c unit alone? I think I've made my money back easily.

The issue though is that it's on their time. My a/c went out last June. Completely broken. My wife was due for our first child on June 13th and we didn't have the baby until the 18th. Our a/c was replaced on June 16th and we filed for service on the 2nd.

Even in "emergency" situations, you have to sign up for a time available with the company they give you. For us, the company they gave us said they could come out early the next day. They came out and said the unit needed a new condenser and it would take about a week to get one in. We said that was bullshite and needed one sooner. The company said it was the best they could do.

When we called AHS, AHS said once we agree for a company to do a job, we HAVE to let that same company finish the job or AHS won't cover it. So we waited a week for the condenser and when they installed it, it didn't fix the problem. The whole unit needed to be replaced. That had to be ordered as well, and thus we were again waiting.

So make of all that what you will. I still use AHS if that's any consolation.

quote:

---

I had one for a year on my last house..................the frickers didn't cover anything that I submitted.

---

which company?

We just bought a 14 year old home and got a warranty (Old Republic, $400) because everything is original. Within the first 2 months we got the garbage disposal replaced and a new thermocouple installed on the water heater, all at the same time so we only had to pay 1 service fee ($60). Everything with our claim was very easy. Called at 8 am, the plumbers finished the job by 1 pm the same day.

I am sure we will be needing it again soon.

quote:

---

^ No a/c for over two weeks? In June? With a pregnant wife?

I think the this answers the question about home warranties.

---

It wasn't technically the home warranty's fault. The company they sent us so happened to suck, so that's partially their fault I guess. Never had this issue with any other company.

But without AHS, I would have spent at least $10k by now. So again, $3k or $10k?

I have one with American Home Shield, been trying to get the drain on my dishwasher fixed for a couple weeks now. So far I have been playing phone tag with the repair company to come out to do that job.

Is Old republic a better rated company?

quote:

---

The American Home Shield plans for whole house start at $775/ year.

---

We've owned several homes over a 25 year period. At $775 a year that would be $19,375 we'd have spent. I doubt we've spent $5,000 on repairs and that's in 2014 dollars. I've always self insured and gone with high deductibles for auto and homeowners. It's saved us a lot of money.

One accidentally came with my house. I told them before closing that I didn't want it. They gave me a credit for it. But somehow went through anyway.

It's a POS and a pain to use. The people come by soon enough but they source the cheapest parts possible. This means a dishwasher latch takes weeks to get.

When my ac went out a few weeks ago I didn't bother. Luckily it was no BFD. But there was no way I was waiting on them.

My garage door is jacked up and I might use it for that. It's not a crucial situation and I'm going to replace the whole thing soon enough anyway.

If you're patient, can't fix anything yourself, and don't mind dealing with the worse aka cheapest repair people. I guess it's a good deal.