When Buying a House Get an HOW

A Homeowner's Warranty (HOW.) The Texas Real Estate Commission believes so strongly that this product reduces litigation that there is actually a paragraph in the contract offer form in Texas to request that the seller provide this for the first year of ownership. The buyer can renew on an annual basis.

A Homeowner's warranty warrants most of the working parts of the house such as the HVAC, waterheater, stove, disposal and some of the electrical and plumbing. You would want to confirm with the company you chose as to what is covered and usually you can add on a refrigerator or pool at an additional expense.

The way it usually works is that when something in the house breaks, the new homeowner calls the warranty company. For a nominal fee referred to as the deductible (about $85), the company sends a repairman out to repair the issue. If it can't be repaired, they are supposed to replace it and all for that deductible fee.

If you Google warranty companies, you will probably find unhappy customers with all of them because people are more likely to take the time to complain than praise. My perspective is that it's better than paying the repair and replacement cost on your own.

So here is my experience: I've used two different companies. One subcontracts to a vendor in your area and arranges for a repairman to come out. The other has on staff repairman and can't necessarily respond as quickly but they are cheaper. I have had a stove, disposal and heat exchanger, which is the heating component of a central air and heat system, replaced. And had the air conditioner repaired several time. When the stove broke, the company tried to repair it but the appliance was so old they couldn't find the part and gave me the option of waiting 6 weeks for them to rebuild a part or accepting half the cost of a new stove and I thought it was a deal that I only had to pay for half a stove. The disposal was no problem. Repairs to Ac was no problem. The heat exhcanger required some code updating which did cost an additional $1200 but the unit which was over $2,000 was covered by the deductible so I was happy to get a new heat exchanger for only $1200 instead of $3,200.

If you are buying a new or newer home, you may not feel the need to renew this service but if you have older appliances, you might consider the risk factor and benefits.

Austin, Texas. Robin Scott, BROKER. Certified Residential Specialist, Accredited Buyer's Representative, Seller's Representative Specialist. 512.589.7988.

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