How to Pick a Home Warranty Company

How do you go about choosing the best home warranty company, and why would you want one? Home warranties can be beneficial in some circumstances. And to some people, the very fact that they have this kind of protection provides some psychological relief. Home warranties can really become beneficial when you’re purchasing a home are a little tired and future improvements are expected.

One perfect example of this is when you are buying a fixer-upper home that either needs immediate attention or will in the not too distant future.

However, this coverage will only be beneficial if you get it from a reliable provider. Out of 181 home warranty companies in America, you can trust only a handful. Therefore, you need to learn how to identify the best of these businesses.

Who Needs a Home Warranty?

A home warranty is a type of protection similar to an extended warranty offered for appliances. However, unlike those plans, a home warranty policy covers multiple appliances and critical home systems (plumbing, heating, electricity, etc.) A warranty could be a preventative measure for avoiding some of the most common home inspection deal breakers that real estate agents cringe over.

This policy makes the most sense for those who have new appliances that will be expensive to repair. As the coverage offered by a home warranty often exceeds the regular manufacturer’s warranty, you can benefit from buying this plan right after you upgrade your home systems and appliances.

A home warranty will also be helpful if you plan to sell your house. Properties with this type of coverage usually sell faster by 11 days and at a higher price. But the vital thing to remember is that your prospective buyers understand that not all home warranties are equal as well. Therefore, it’s essential to buy a plan that offers real value.

The majority of home warranty plans are similar in coverage and prices. Therefore, the main difference lies in the providers, and that’s what you should focus on when choosing a plan for your home. Researching the top-rated home warranty companies of 2019 would be an excellent place to start. And this is what you should consider when choosing the best one among them. Home warranties have become far more popular in many states, including Massachusetts.

4 Tips on How to Choose the Best Home Warranty Company

1.      Research the company’s reputation and credibility

What does a simple Google search tell you about this company? How long has it been on the market? Was it involved in any significant legal scandals? Is it even a legitimate and lawful business?

You need to find answers to all these questions when researching every home warranty provider you consider. This will allow you to assess the company’s credibility level. This is a good indicator of how much you can trust this business as top providers are highly professional and have nothing to hide.

2.      Study client reviews

Another essential thing to do when researching home warranty providers is to surf through popular consumer platforms, like Google Review and Yelp. Look for customer opinions and reviews of home warranty businesses. Also, you should study independent professional reviews of these services.

Both are necessary to give you a better idea of how reliable the company is. However, never forget that all reviews should be taken with a pinch of salt. So, use them to build a fuller picture of the company, but don’t base your decision on reviews only.

3.      Read through the Terms and Conditions

One of the best indicators of a home warranty provider’s trustworthiness level is its contract. Read the entire thing and take your time deciphering every sentence so you can understand precisely what it means. Pay special attention to Terms and Conditions, as that section is usually the trickiest. Never skip the fine print!

The terms and conditions of a home warranty plan must be reasonable and somewhat flexible. This means that companies that only give you a few hours to file a claim and have multiple other restrictions aren’t the best.

Note that these terms will never be “perfect” or even “really good” because home warranty providers make money by minimizing their payments. It’s simple business, and you can’t really blame the provider for this. But as a customer, you definitely can expect to get the money you are due when one of the covered items breaks down. And you need to be able to do this after a straightforward claim filing process.

If the contract’s terms and conditions do not allow for that, you should keep looking for a better company.

4.      Assess the professionalism of salespeople

Advertising your product with all your might is natural and not something you should judge home warranty companies for. For example, when selling your property, you would want to have the best real estate marketing plan for selling a home. Home warranty providers are trying to do the same thing.

However, some of them go way overboard with this. And it’s not only the situations where their advertisements are misleading (for which people have sued and won). The main problem, in this case, is the salespeople’s home warranty providers employ.

These people can get so annoying and pushy that they’ll give old car dealers a run for their money. This kind of behavior is a red flag because it usually means that the company doesn’t offer anything of real value. This is a trick often used to distract you from studying the contract terms too carefully. And getting out of this contract usually costs you money. So, even if you come to your senses later, you’ll have to pay to the untrustworthy provider. This won’t be too much, but it’s more than they deserve.

5.      Study the coverage in detail

Take your time reading the plan coverage thoroughly so you can understand what exactly is included. Quite often, these plans will exclude breakdowns of the “weakest” or most expensive parts. They also have some limitations on the kinds and causes of failures the company will pay for. The situation often gets even shadier with maintenance.

In the meantime, do some research on the appliances and systems you want to cover with this plan. What are the most common issues with those? How much will they cost to repair?

Compare with the plan coverage. Will, the company pay for what you really need?

Choosing the Best Home Warranty Company: Final Thoughts

Home warranty plans might be similar, but the companies offering them aren’t. Therefore, you need to research the providers, paying a lot of attention to their background and reviews. It’s not imperative to choose the oldest companies in the industry, but you need to be sure that the provider you pick has the best reputation.

Other Valuable Real Estate Resources

• How does rent to own work – see a detailed explanation of how you can rent to own a house. Learn some of the essential considerations, both as a tenant and a homeowner. There are certainly pros and cons for both parties in a rent to own arrangement.
• What to know about renting to a tenant with lousy credit – are you considering renting your property to someone who does not have a great credit history? See what you need to know when renting in this situation.
• Things you should know about Millennial house buying trends – see a detailed accounting of what many first-time home buyers are looking for in their first purchase. Learn about what is hot in the real estate market at the current time.

Use these additional real estate articles to make informed decisions when buying, renting or selling a property.

About the author: The above article on tips for finding a home warranty company you can trust was written by Jane Koval. Jane is a freelance writer that has interests ranging from the latest e-Commerce trends to traditional folk culture and adventurous traveling. She always stays open to new ideas and expertise to make her writings handy and captivating for the readers.