About Home Warranties

What are home warranties and what do they cover? This is a question that a buyer or a seller of a house may ask the real estate agent. A home warranty does not cost too much in the USA and it can cost $200 to $ 400 a year a real estate agent may put in as a gift to the buyer for the first year. What generally is covered in a home warranty are heating systems, plumbing, central air conditioning, electrical systems, garbage disposal, telephone wiring, cooking range and oven, water heater, ductwork, dishwashers, doorbells. What happens is that if one of the systems that are covered in the warranty breaks down the home owner will call the real estate agent who has got the home warranty who in turn will get in touch with the warranty company who will send a technician to fix the problem. What are not covered in the warranty unless they are specifically asked for are lawn sprinklers, spas, Jacuzzi, pools, garage door openers and refrigerators.

On average any house in USA has at least two mechanical failures each year so some home owners prefer to get a home warranty as they feel that it is simpler to do this. In case of any failure the home owner calls up the warranty company or if the real estate owner has got the warranty then the call is made to the real estate owner who will then get the technician or the electrician to fix the problem. The technician will call the home owner and fix a time and go over and fix the problem. Disputes arise when the technician cannot fix the problem or the work done does not meet the home owner’s satisfaction. The only way to resolve this dispute is to keep calling the home warranty company or the real estate agent and keep calling them till the problem is fixed.

Some real estate owners will get a home warranty for a year and ask the seller to pay for it. They do this to ensure that no claims or disputes arise in case anything should breakdown in the first year after the sale.

Home warranties only cover mechanical and electrical systems they are not home insurances or warranties that a home builder may give. So a home warranty should not be mistaken as any kind of insurance. It is simply paying an annual charge that in case anything breaks down one only has to call one person or company to get it fixed and does not have to call different people to get a fault fixed.

There are several home warranty providers in the USA and where as some home owners have warranties others don’t as they have their own network of technicians and handymen that they call when they need anything to be fixed. All the warranty companies offer different plans and rates and what will they cover and what is not covered. If a home owner wants more items to be covered he will have to pay additional charges for it. Almost every state in USA have companies that offer home warranties like; old republic home warranty, First American home warranty, aon home warranty, ahs home warranty and fidelity home warranty. Home and rural appliances warranty is a term used by manufacturers to state that their appliances will work in both urban and in rural conditions.

For newly constructed houses or estates the builders offer the home warranty for a fixed period of time and may make it as a part of the sale of the house. This is done to attract buyers. Getting a home warranty or not is up to the owner of the house and they have to look at their convenience and if they think that they don’t need a home warranty they won’t take one whereas others feel more comfortable with a home warranty.