The Pros and Cons of Buying a Home Warranty

Once you purchase a new home, it’s important to look after its care. Of course, by this, we do not mean cleaning, although that’s crucial too. We are referring to a backup plan in the case of emergency repairs. A home warranty is a service contract/policy that protects your home and its major elements as they reach maturity or in case of a repair. One thing to remember is that home warranties are very different from homeowner’s insurance. In fact, they’re completely different in their functioning.

How does a home warranty work? Well, it is a bit similar to an insurance policy. However, home warranties consist of a few hundred dollars annually and also has something called a flat service call fee that is quite affordable. This fee is applicable for each repair present.

Now that we know what a home warranty is and how it works, let’s look at whether it is something you should consider or not.

• Pros- 

1. Backup Plan

It’s no doubt that investing in a home warranty each year gives you a sense of peace. This is because you know that there is a backup plan in case, God forbid, any emergency repairs need to be done. Often people worry and stress over fixing parts of their home. With a home warranty, you won’t need to do that. All your fixes are one call away. You also won’t have to worry about any harsh costs.

2. Buyer Benefit

If you’re planning to sell your home in the future, you need to make sure it will remain in the right condition. A home warranty would act as a great plus-point to any buyer. Not only does it prove that you have taken good care of your home and makes a good impression but it all the more improves the chances of your home being sold. Check out New Jersey Home Warranty for more.

3. Easy to Fix

We can’t emphasize it enough, but home warranties ultimately equal to easy repairs. This is because all you have to in the case of a repair problem is call the number provided by the agency or send them an email. They’ll be at your doorstep in no time. Without a warranty, things could be drastically different. You would have to struggle in order to search for nearby repair companies that can actually get the work done. Not to mention how much that will cost you, a lot.

4. Little Goes A Long Way

Like we mentioned earlier, home warranties are paid annually. So basically, you would have to pay around $500 for the warranty. This little by little payment is way better than paying twice the amount for external repair. People who do not invest in warranties have to spend so much more money when in fact they can be saving so much and getting their house repaired well.

• Cons-

1. May Be Wasted

You may not need a home warranty if your house is new. By this, we mean five years or less. Even if you’re good at maintaining your home and its elements, a warranty may seem wasteful over time. Just think of it, you play your usual share of the warranty and a year goes by without any repairs needed. Although this might seem like a good thing, you will probably end up feeling robbed.

2. No Pre-Damages Are Fixed

There could be an issue if you think the warranty company is going to fix pre-damages your home has. For example, previously broken pipes, walls, and appliances are invalid factors for a warranty fix. Home warranties exclusively cover repairs that came into attention while you are living there.

3. Specifics Cost Extra

Items of daily use that are of higher importance may have extra charges. For example, refrigerators and air conditioning units are specifics. This means that although the company may repair these items since they are not included in the contract they will be charged extra for.

4. Maintenance Is All on You

The repairs you need may be covered initially by the agency, but you’re all on your own after that. You will have to look after the items and parts of your house carefully. If not, your claims can even be denied by the warranty company which obviously doesn’t sound good.