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Side rant: > 4) Don’t get a home warranty. Sellers are basically obligated to provide them, because it's what everybody does. They serve to lubricate a deal w

Side rant: > 4) Don’t get a home warranty. Sellers are basically obligated to provide them, because it's what everybody does. They serve to lubricate a deal with a checkbox, while releasing the seller from some obligations. I'm pretty sure selling RE agents get a percentage on referrals (in US). I sold a house without an agent and phoned one of these companies to simply buy a warranty to hand to my house buyer. They were baffled how to do this without my agent id number until some manager said just sell it to him. The whole thing is a reception line of parasites waiting for some homebuyer blood.

chrisjc 4y ago
And if you're on the other end as the buyer and actually need to use the warranty, good luck. One of the worst experiences I've ever had, and it was supposed to be "one of the best home warranty companies out there".
astura 4y ago
This must be a highly regional thing because nobody offered to sell me a home warranty when I bought my house.
- mherdeg 4y ago
  Yeah, I think home sale practices vary widely by market. A couple of years ago a family friend in Florida says "Oh yes, we never make an offer until the second showing." Ha ha ha.
- zippergz 4y ago
  In my experience (in several US states) it has never been "offered to sell me." It has been "the seller is including a home warranty [whether you want it or not]." One time I tried turning it down, and was basically told "well, we'd have to go back to the drawing board on the offer if you do that. Just take it. Everyone takes it." And similarly when selling a house "I don't want to include a home warranty" was met with "all other sellers include it, so if you don't, you're going to look bad." For the cost of these warranties I can't imagine that the agents are getting that much of a kickback, especially compared to the commission they make on the sale, but something is clearly going on.
  - astura 4y ago
    Well my house didn't come with a home warranty either nor did anyone involved in the transaction recommend one or even mention it either way. I was under the impression they were a very niche product.
  - snowwrestler 4y ago
    Well just to put in some more anecdotes, I sold a home in December and did not offer a home warranty. My agent did not care and the home sold quickly without one. And several friends and family have purchased real estate in the last few months; again no home warranty offered or expected in those transactions.
    - snapetom 4y ago
      I think the market has a lot to do with it. I've bought properties in buyer's markets (recession '08 and '14) and it was barely even mentioned that there was a home warranty included. I got the sense from my agents that it was standard. I've been shopping since September last year and watched the market shift as low interest rates stopped recently. There was a seasonal dip in December 2021, but it was still about 20% higher than even highs of previous years as people scrambled to get good loans before they ended. It was definitely a seller's market. My agent said many winning deals were waiving financing contingencies and even inspection contingencies to sweeten the offer. Home warranties would have been one of the first things dropped.
codingdave 4y ago
Yet we did get a warranty on our recent home purchase, and it paid for itself 3 times over. But this was a very specific situation - the home had been built over 20 years ago and had all the original appliances, furnace, water heater, etc. It was a ticking time bomb to have to replace those things. So we got the warranty and pushed the warranty every time the slightest thing went wrong, and replaced half of the various appliance and systems with some reimbursements from the warranty. Not total reimbursements, and I don't recommend the warranties unless you likewise have a complete set of appliances past their expected lifetimes. But like anything else, use a tool in the right place, in the right way, and it serves its purpose.
thedanbob 4y ago
Home warranty companies are the worst. After the year warranty that came with my first house expired I (foolishly) maintained the contract for a while longer. I later sold the house, including 6 months or a year of that same warranty contract. After that pre-paid time period was up they started charging my credit card again rather than the new owners. I called multiple times but was unable to get anyone to remove my card details from the contract. Thankfully, since it was a credit card I was just able to do a few chargebacks and that solved the problem.
- snapetom 4y ago
  Author here. As an aside, shortly before I filed, I told one of the customer service reps to cancel my contract. They said a manager would call me (I assume a retention specialist) but they never did. Coincidentally, my credit card expired and I just figured I'd cancel the contract that way. For months I got emails and eventually calls from them telling me my credit card expired. I'm like, "I just had to file an arbitration case against you fuckers. Can't you read my account notes?" But after dealing with those reps, I concluded that no, they can't read my account notes.
asciimov 4y ago
Used to be a thing, it's such a sellers market right now that in my area (Texas) the sellers aren't including it anymore.

chrisjc 4y ago

And if you're on the other end as the buyer and actually need to use the warranty, good luck. One of the worst experiences I've ever had, and it was supposed to be "one of the best home warranty companies out there".

astura 4y ago

This must be a highly regional thing because nobody offered to sell me a home warranty when I bought my house.

mherdeg 4y ago
Yeah, I think home sale practices vary widely by market. A couple of years ago a family friend in Florida says "Oh yes, we never make an offer until the second showing." Ha ha ha.
zippergz 4y ago
In my experience (in several US states) it has never been "offered to sell me." It has been "the seller is including a home warranty [whether you want it or not]." One time I tried turning it down, and was basically told "well, we'd have to go back to the drawing board on the offer if you do that. Just take it. Everyone takes it." And similarly when selling a house "I don't want to include a home warranty" was met with "all other sellers include it, so if you don't, you're going to look bad." For the cost of these warranties I can't imagine that the agents are getting that much of a kickback, especially compared to the commission they make on the sale, but something is clearly going on.
- astura 4y ago
  Well my house didn't come with a home warranty either nor did anyone involved in the transaction recommend one or even mention it either way. I was under the impression they were a very niche product.
- snowwrestler 4y ago
  Well just to put in some more anecdotes, I sold a home in December and did not offer a home warranty. My agent did not care and the home sold quickly without one. And several friends and family have purchased real estate in the last few months; again no home warranty offered or expected in those transactions.
  - snapetom 4y ago
    I think the market has a lot to do with it. I've bought properties in buyer's markets (recession '08 and '14) and it was barely even mentioned that there was a home warranty included. I got the sense from my agents that it was standard. I've been shopping since September last year and watched the market shift as low interest rates stopped recently. There was a seasonal dip in December 2021, but it was still about 20% higher than even highs of previous years as people scrambled to get good loans before they ended. It was definitely a seller's market. My agent said many winning deals were waiving financing contingencies and even inspection contingencies to sweeten the offer. Home warranties would have been one of the first things dropped.

codingdave 4y ago

Yet we did get a warranty on our recent home purchase, and it paid for itself 3 times over. But this was a very specific situation - the home had been built over 20 years ago and had all the original appliances, furnace, water heater, etc. It was a ticking time bomb to have to replace those things. So we got the warranty and pushed the warranty every time the slightest thing went wrong, and replaced half of the various appliance and systems with some reimbursements from the warranty. Not total reimbursements, and I don't recommend the warranties unless you likewise have a complete set of appliances past their expected lifetimes. But like anything else, use a tool in the right place, in the right way, and it serves its purpose.

thedanbob 4y ago

Home warranty companies are the worst. After the year warranty that came with my first house expired I (foolishly) maintained the contract for a while longer. I later sold the house, including 6 months or a year of that same warranty contract. After that pre-paid time period was up they started charging my credit card again rather than the new owners. I called multiple times but was unable to get anyone to remove my card details from the contract. Thankfully, since it was a credit card I was just able to do a few chargebacks and that solved the problem.

snapetom 4y ago
Author here. As an aside, shortly before I filed, I told one of the customer service reps to cancel my contract. They said a manager would call me (I assume a retention specialist) but they never did. Coincidentally, my credit card expired and I just figured I'd cancel the contract that way. For months I got emails and eventually calls from them telling me my credit card expired. I'm like, "I just had to file an arbitration case against you fuckers. Can't you read my account notes?" But after dealing with those reps, I concluded that no, they can't read my account notes.

asciimov 4y ago

Used to be a thing, it's such a sellers market right now that in my area (Texas) the sellers aren't including it anymore.