Any of you ever had a good experience with a home warranty company?

[Guest]

When I purchased my home, it came with a home warranty, apparently paid for by the seller, with the company First American. I have had horrid experiences with another home warranty company, American Home Shield, so I decided never to use one again. Basically, the home warranty company would refer you to a shoddy repair company whose only business was from these home warranty companies, and whose job it was to harass the customer and not do the job. They wouldn't return calls, didn't come during promised time windows, then do the job incorrectly, etc. Another time when a spring on my garage door snapped, they had, after multiple calls, no-shows, etc., a company came over and tried to charge me $100 to tell me that a broken spring wasn't covered (they said it was part of the "lifting mechanism" which the contract said it didn't cover-what's a garage door coverage for if they won't cover the "lifting mechanism")?

Anyway, when I called First American, last week, due to the igniter on one of the ovens in my new house not working, they referred me to another one of those shoddy companies, hinting that they might send someone over to charge me to tell me it wasn't covered. The company never called, and it has hundreds of 1-star reviews on Yelp, clearly just a front for the insurance company to harass the "insured." I don't understand the logic behind these companies. Who would ever want to pay them any premiums with service like that (and I had to go on hold for 40 minutes)? Any of you with different experiences? This is the repair company that First America wanted me to deal with. I already paid some dude $300 to fix the problem. It took him about the amount of time I spent on hold with First American.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/all-valley-appliance-canoga-park

Edited February 2, 2021 by Unicorn

[HotWhiteThirties]

The value of the home warranty company has the most to do with the effectiveness of the sales rep for the warranties in that area. Old Republic, American Home Shield, and First American are some of the larger players, but they are dependent upon local service providers. If the local sales rep is high quality, proactive, and involved, they will recruit and attract higher quality providers and provide support and interface with title companies and real estate brokerages for referrals. I’ve had warranties with all 3 companies and the difference maker has had more to do with the abilities and proactiveness of the local sales rep as to whether I received remedies or better service. Perhaps you don’t know who that rep is, or bought it online, but if you got it through recommendation of a title company or brokerage, it would be a good idea to find that information out and register the concern. Often they are looking to add service providers to their list and will interview suggestions you provide. On occasion, I’ve known them to reimburse out of pocket expenditures when pressed on the matter if the technicians they sent were ineffective. They want to see you renew the warranty annually as you can imagine. I have a First American policy and it has worked well for the most part with some exceptions.

 

EDIT/Caveat: as a result, obviously, if the sales rep sucks or relocates and is replaced by an inferior rep, then it’s going increase the likelihood that you will be dissatisfied. I know it seems like it should not depend that much on a single personality, but those sales reps who have clout can push stuff through and get stuff done and/or escalate a claim. The person answering the claim number or online submission is just following protocols which are designed to reduce paying claims, as is the case with most insurance.

Edited February 1, 2021 by HotWhiteThirties

[dbar123]

Learn to fix this stuff yourself. An igniter is a $35 part that takes about 15 minutes to install. I always keep a spare on hand. Replacing a garage door spring isn’t a big deal either. YouTube is loaded with videos that show you how to do this stuff

[Guest]

Never. My recollection is that the ones I’ve had replace things that are not repairable but don’t repair things that are merely broken. But hey, the seller pays for it so it’s worst case/downside coverage at no cost to the buyer.

[+ azdr0710]

High deductibles, can't choose the contractor, good chance of shoddy or inappropriate work. These home warranties are just feel-good plums offered by the seller, often because the realtor doesn't want to lose the deal. You'll also get high-pressure calls for years to come to extend the warranty.

[Frequentflier]

I've used AHS (see link below) for nearly 10 years on my rental properties and my home. I've had many service calls over the years. I recommend it.

 

https://www.ahs.com/

[Guest]

I've used AHS (see link below) for nearly 10 years on my rental properties and my home. I've had many service calls over the years. I recommend it.

 

https://www.ahs.com/

That was the company I had when the garage repairman came over and demanded $100 just to tell me that the spring wasn't covered. I told him that he could have and should have told me that over the phone if that were the case, and I refused to pay him. I also told AHS to cancel my policy and refund what was left, and I promised to never use them again. I also told the sellers that they could try to get any money back from 1st American if they could, because I'd never call the home warranty company again. Complete money down the toilet as far as I'm concerned.

[TJnDB]

I seem to be one of the fortunate ones with American Home Shield. I've used their service for many years on my house and a rental property. I, too, was concerned with their local trade providers with low Yelp ratings. However, they have serviced my pool, microwave, plumbing, washer, etc with virtually no issues. I hope the trend continues with me. I can also say, read the contract of what is covered as there is "fine print". The reps on the phone are spotty, you might get a good one but more times than not a rep that needs better training.

[Mjonis]

There's lots of ways the companies try to get out of it. Basically it seems they like to take their sweet time (thus forcing you to pay for it yourself, which they will not reimburse you for). Seriously, how long can someone go without hot water, furnace, etc.?

 

Try repairclinic.com They have some neat videos, etc. I used them to fix my old Sears (whirlpool) washer (some part, can't remember wore out and it was fairly easy to fix). Also did my Sears (LG - ugh) dryer - total PITA to fix, but that's because there's no real good videos on how to take the damn thing apart (mine has the steam unit thingy in it), but figured it out. Now I'm an expert--haha. And my Sears (Whirlpool) dishwasher. (The video looked WAY easier than in reality, I found out). But $50 plus about 2 hours of my time was cheaper than the $300+ for local repair guy (who is good, BTW, just that they charge like $85 to come out, figure out what they need, upcharge for the part and another $85 to come back plus whatever labor).

 

However, not everyone is comfortable doing things like that, in which case I would advise Angie's list or something to find local repair place or ask for references.

 

I don't do furnace/AC stuff and pay through the nose for a maintenance contract (well not quite that much) but I also have two units (addition to house). They also do plumbing and got the lovely job of cleaning out my sewer line (no, he was NOT a hot plumber and it was NOT that line). Five, 5-gallon buckets of tree roots later, I had nice flowing lines again. haha House smelled terrible for a few days. (Febreeze is very wonderful)

[+ tassojunior]

I've had several rentals for years and for them and my own place I have (for 40 years) used Sears maintenance agreements off and on. They're not cheap but are good repairs. After many years I discovered Best Buy warranties are serviced by the same repair company, in the DC area at least, and they are a small portion of the Sears price. So, by all means, if you can get a Best Buy repair warranty on a home appliance get it ! It's usually a limit of 3 years though.

 

The "thing" with the Sears warranties is they will sell them on almost any appliance you have and they become effective fairly soon. It used to be same day but after they realized how many service calls they got later in the same day they sold a warranty they put in a waiting period. For many years if something broke I would call and get a warranty and then hang up and call in a service appointment. Now they have a 30-day waiting period. Their "Whole House Warranty" is outrageously expensive and they have to try and upsell that fyi. Also if Sears goes out of business the warranties may be affected.

 

Memorized the Sears warranty# many years ago- 1-800-4MYHOME.

[Guest]

...they have serviced my pool, microwave, plumbing, washer, etc with virtually no issues...

I'm really surprised to hear that. How long do you have to stay on hold when you call for service? How long until you can get someone to actually come in? Do they actually fix it the first time they come in?

[+ melrosesouth]

AHS has been horribly incompetent...often don't know the problem. One pool "service tech" emptied my pool by opening a valve and told me heater was not covered (even though it was not having problems.) When I called his company, the owner said that was one side of the story. AHS never got back to me about the complaint. Had my pool company fix what they already told me was gone. The basic issue is they make you wait, say its not covered and look for loopholes. I have tried Choice once and they were very responsive...only one experience though.

[Tommygunzz]

We got an AHS warranty when we purchased our home in 1988. For years, it "paid for itself" by providing repair and replacements on everything from washers and dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, pool equipment, AC and furnace repairs, etc. Our yearly premium was around $800 and covered the house, pool equipment and garage.

 

But, when we needed it most, they stiffed us. We have two furnaces and two AC units in our 2700SF home in Texas. (That's not unusual for down here.) When one of the furnaces was acting up, we called in for a repair. The technician told us that he turned off the gas to BOTH units because it was a fire hazard because we had not maintained the units with regular service calls. I pointed out that both units had been inspected BY THEM in the previous year. No matter. The tech called it in to AHS and told them it was because of neglect and AHS denied the claim for replacements. (Dirty coils.)

 

We had to replace both AC and furnaces to the tune of about $16K. We appealed the decision for years with AHS, and even had them re-open the case after several years when AHS was being sued in a class action lawsuit for denying pricey claims like ours. Once again we were denied, and that was the end of our relationship with AHS.

[Tommygunzz]

We got an AHS warranty when we purchased our home in 1988. For years, it "paid for itself" by providing repair and replacements on everything from washers and dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, pool equipment, AC and furnace repairs, etc. Our yearly premium was around $800 and covered the house, pool equipment and garage.

 

But, when we needed it most, they stiffed us. We have two furnaces and two AC units in our 2700SF home in Texas. (That's not unusual for down here.) When one of the furnaces was acting up, we called in for a repair. The technician told us that he turned off the gas to BOTH units because it was a fire hazard because we had not maintained the units with regular service calls. I pointed out that both units had been inspected BY THEM in the previous year. No matter. The tech called it in to AHS and told them it was because of neglect and AHS denied the claim for replacements. (Dirty coils.)

 

We had to replace both AC and furnaces to the tune of about $16K. We appealed the decision for years with AHS, and even had them re-open the case after several years when AHS was being sued in a class action lawsuit for denying pricey claims like ours. Once again we were denied, and that was the end of our relationship with AHS.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I've never had a home warranty and I've never regretted it.

[TJnDB]

I'm really surprised to hear that. How long do you have to stay on hold when you call for service? How long until you can get someone to actually come in? Do they actually fix it the first time they come in?

Stay on hold - usually not long or I use their online system to report a problem. How long - It varies, 1 day to 4 days. Fix it first time - It depends, my washer pump was replaced the same day, my AC contactor the same day, the Microwave was a week since they needed to order the part. I do seem to be one of the lucky ones. Years ago they sent an incompetent Pool repair person, I complained and they sent another company

[TJnDB]

I'm really surprised to hear that. How long do you have to stay on hold when you call for service? How long until you can get someone to actually come in? Do they actually fix it the first time they come in?

Stay on hold - usually not long or I use their online system to report a problem. How long - It varies, 1 day to 4 days. Fix it first time - It depends, my washer pump was replaced the same day, my AC contactor the same day, the Microwave was a week since they needed to order the part. I do seem to be one of the lucky ones. Years ago they sent an incompetent Pool repair person, I complained and they sent another company

[rvwnsd]

My experiences with both First American and American Home Shield were very positive, save for one incident. The repair person claimed that my dryer was working when, in fact, it wasn't then switched his story to say the repair was not covered. I called AHS, explained what happened, and they sent a different technician. As soon as he opened the door and smelled the residual burnt metal smell from when the capacitor went out he knew what the problem was. He ordered the part, it arrived in a few days, and he returned to fix the problem. Note that I only paid one deductible.

 

I think the experiences vary by region. In San Diego, most of the repair people were independent contractors. One of the guys (plumber sent to fix my dishwasher) became my plumber.

[Luv2play]

I've never had a home warranty and I've never regretted it.

In 45 years of owning houses or condos, I’ve never had a warranty program either. I go for the best furnaces that have 10 year warranties and have only had two furnaces in all that time which were new when I bought each house, without any issues. I buy the cheapest appliances and when they cause a real problem, I get a new one. Some of these have lasted forever and two or three only lasted 5 or 6 years. Throwing out a $600 6 year old clothes dryer doesn’t cause me any loss of sleep.

 

As a result I have never had to deal with a repairman.

[OCClient]

No

[Deadlift1]

My home came with a home warranty and original appliances. Within the first year I had problems with each appliance. I called and paid $100 for them to service them. DW smoked. Self cleaning oven broke. Refrigerator froze items. I received a check for a new DW and Range and 500 towards a new fridge.

[Deadlift1]

My home came with a home warranty and original appliances. Within the first year I had problems with each appliance. I called and paid $100 for them to service them. DW smoked. Self cleaning oven broke. Refrigerator froze items. I received a check for a new DW and Range and 500 towards a new fridge.

[Guest]

... DW smoked....

Which company? Not 1st American or AHS?

[Guest]

... DW smoked....

Which company? Not 1st American or AHS?

[Deadlift1]

I'm sorry but I don't remember. I think they were located in South Florida. I was very skeptical with the $100 service fee. I called about all three at one time 2 weeks before it expired. they said one fee for all appliances. They owned 2 companies AHS sounds familiar. The repairman who came out was very cool.