Home warranties are a bit of a mystery to many of people. One thing is for sure, when purchasing or selling your home the subject will come up. There are a variety of home warranty companies offering the traditional one year home warranty. The basic coverages start around $250. For add-ons such as a pool, washer/dryer, refrigerator, etc, the cost can go as high as $500 or $600. Home warranties have become so popular that they have found their way on to our local purchase contract as an option for buyers and sellers.
Most agents will insist that a home warranty is purchased by either the buyer or seller during the course of the transaction. In the event that something completely unexpected goes wrong right after the transaction closes, the home warranty will be in place to address the issue.
Michelle Bologna from Fidelity Home Warranty & Disclosure Source, was kind enough to spend some time on this week’s podcast and discuss all you need to know about home warranties. Please click on the podcast below to hear the full interview:
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When we were buying our first California home, our agent made a big deal of how he was giving us a home warranty as a gift since we had used him as our agent. We found out later that this is standard procedure… not really a gift at all. Interestingly, he did not get the warranty that included coverage on washer, dryer, or air conditioner – I guess he didn’t want to spring for the extra $40 it would have cost. We ended up needing repairs on 2 of them in the first year.
Thanks again, it was a lovely “gift.” We’ll be sure to think of it the next time we need an agent.