Homeowners who have just purchased a home or who want the peace of mind that a home maintenance plan will give them can benefit from either a home warranty or a home maintenance plan. Choosing the best plan is important for the homeowner. Each home warranty company has its own collection of plans to choose from with minimal to maximum coverage for the home.
What Is a Home Warranty? What is a Home Maintenance Plan?
A home warranty plan is like an insurance policy that’s renewable every year. When appliances and home systems break down with normal use, the warranty company sends a repair service to the home to repair them, and the homeowner pays a small service charge. The appliance or home system must be listed on the home warranty to be covered and must meet the plan coverage requirements. Every home warranty will list these and the plan exceptions. A home warranty will also pay to replace covered appliances that cannot be repaired.
A home maintenance plan may come from the same company but it is different in that it includes scheduled visits to perform maintenance on appliances to prevent breakdowns. It is like a home warranty plan with maintenance visits built into the plan. This plan may cost more than a basic home warranty plan but could be worth the extra cost. Preventing breakdowns and making appliances last longer is always a good idea.
What Does the Home Warranty Cover?
A home warranty will cover the home systems and appliances that the homeowner and the warranty company agree on in the contract. This can include a few basic appliances or most of the appliances and home systems as listed. The items covered can be the ones on the basic plan plus any additional appliances and systems the homeowner wishes to add.
The home warranty company will send a service representative to inspect all the home appliances and systems to be covered. they may decide not to cover some items due to damage or age. Every home warranty has rules and exceptions that must be met. This means they can turn down coverage for an appliance that is not listed or has not been properly maintained.
Who Needs a Home Warranty?
Not everyone needs a home warranty. People who are purchasing a newly built custom home will receive new appliance warranties, builder’s warranties, and so on for a specified length of time. A home warranty will not add any coverage here.
A family purchasing a home for the first time with limited resources for repairs in the first few years can benefit from at least a basic home warranty. This home warranty will help the family budget for home repairs and save money, guarding against a huge appliance repair bill when the family can least afford it.
Busy people with demanding careers can benefit from inclusive home warranties that take care of everything for them at a minimal cost of the yearly fee plus the service fee when a call is made for repair. This saves them the time it would take to call around to find a repair person every time something went wrong in the home.
Older people with limited mobility and handicapped people may benefit from a home warranty to take care of the appliance and system repairs they are not physically able to handle on their own.
In general, a home warranty is good for first-time homebuyers, busy professionals, older people, and people who want to budget for home repairs in advance. People buying brand new homes, people buying a home knowing they will remodel it right away, and people who feel confident in their DIY skills may pass on home warranties.
A person considering adding a home warranty to their home purchase costs should look at all the appliances and systems in the house and compare probable repair costs with the cost of the home warranty.
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