My experience with home warranties

My experience with home warranties

• 8.12.2024

I realized this summer during the big heat wave that we had that my air conditioning was broken. I shared a little about that on Instagram and how it was OK because my home warranty would probably cover it (it did! He replaced three parts and the thermostat, and it cost me the $85 visit fee/deductible). I got some questions and figured I should share a little more about my experiences over the past 10+ years with home warranties.

My experience with home warranties

When we bought our first home which was new construction, we had a home warranty for a year that came with it, and something went slightly wrong with a plumbing thing or whatever and I think we used it once. Then when we bought our next home, a 1990s fixer-upper, as a super cheap sale with no buyer benefits, but I bought my own home warranty. I use it when our furnace broke, and I think a couple other things too.

This house was a major fixer-upper, so I knew I would want a home warranty. I did some research and chose 2-10 and a medium to low coverage plan. I pay $70.45 per month and have an $85 deductible when I file a claim on something that’s broken. Most systems have an upper limit of coverage but I haven’t hit it yet.

Of course it doesn’t cover something that’s already broken when you buy the home warranty, so it’s not a solution if you already need a repair. I can totally see how a home warranty could be a frustrating system if you kept paying into it but never used it. But honestly, it has way more than paid off for me, plus I love the convenience of just filing a claim online and having the home warranty, find a contractor that can do the work!

This is totally not sponsored by the way. I use 2-10 but one of the plumbers who was here once said that that one was kind of difficult to work with compared to a couple others, so he recommended Fidelity National Home Warranty and AHS (American Home Shield). Do your research, although it can be overwhelming, sorry… But at least that narrows it down to a few.

Here are the ways I’ve used my home warranty at 1937 home the past several years!

• Plumbing: Basement bathroom sink leaking
• Central Air Conditioning: Broken!
• Dishwasher: Leaking
• Snaking: Upstairs bathroom sink not draining
• Electrical: Front porch outlet didn't work
• Plumbing: Hose bib leaking

On a couple of those the issue happened again and they sent someone out again without another deductible payment. I think there were a couple others, too... my washing machine appeared broken and I filed a claim but when the guy came out it worked again. Also my oven/range broke before I had the warranty and I had to pay $300-400 to have it fixed!!, so now I don't trust it cause it still gives me error messages sometimes and I'm glad I have the warranty.

Hope this was helpful!