3 Things to Note When it Comes to Your Home Warranty
When purchasing a brand new home, one of the biggest benefits is that it comes with a home warranty from the builder. While this may not seem like a huge advantage, it can be incredibly valuable, especially when you factor in the potential dollar amount you would be coming out of pocket on, even with small fixes, over time.
The good news? Even if you’ve purchased a home that’s been around for years, you always have the option of purchasing your own supplemental home warranty from a private company.
But, every home warranty has its own specific language, coverage, and details. This makes it incredibly important to know exactly what your home warranty will fix in the event that it’s needed, and how to exercise your warranty when the time comes.
Typically, you can count on your home warranty to cover things like your:
● Appliances
● HVAC parts
● Electric systems
● Hot water heater
And often, much more.
A good realtor will know all of the ins and outs of a typical home warranty, and will be able to sit down and discuss the details of yours with you. More than likely, there are a few things that your realtor will flag for you when going through the details of your home warranty.
These are details that are absolutely worth noting:
What it covers and what it doesn’t
Again, it’s important to reiterate: not all warranties are built the same. It’s crucial to look through exactly what is and isn’t covered for a number of reasons. First, so that you’re not surprised when you’re responsible for the financial cost of a particular home issue. Second, so that, if needed, you can put aside a specific amount of money to cover you in the case that an expensive, uncovered item breaks.
It’s important to note that typically, if you’ve reported an issue and a contractor is sent out to take a look, if your issue is not covered by your warranty, you’re still assessed a fee for the contractor coming out. Avoiding these fees is yet another reason to have an idea of what is and isn’t covered.
What to do if you need to utilize your warranty
Let’s say something does go wrong, and you need to utilize your warranty. Make sure you understand how to go about exercising your warranty, who to speak with, and the time period it will take to get things fixed.
Typically, using your home warranty will look like this:
● You realize something is broken and call the warranty company (or number listed on your warranty) to report the issue
● A contractor is sent out to take a look at the issue
● The contractor tells either the warranty company or builder the scope of the problem
● If you’re covered, the builder or warranty company come out again or pay someone to fix the issue
● If you’re not covered, you can expect an outside warranty company (i.e. not a builder) to assess a fee for coming out to take a look
When your home warranty starts and when it ends
If you’re working with a top-notch realtor that’s been with you from the time you purchased your new home (or that knows about your home warranty purchase), they’ll likely give you a forewarning of when your home warranty is up. This is especially true in the case of a new build. Typically, the reason for this is so you can schedule a home inspector to come out to your property, take a look, and compile a list of items that are broken or need attention. This can help you to ensure that all of the items on your “bumper to bumper” warranty are fixed, and that you can save any out of pocket expenses.
Although warranties are certainly additional time and paperwork, especially after purchasing a home, it’s important to understand what they can do for you and, if you have one, how to utilize them to maximize your investment. By understanding what’s in your warranty, you’ll make it easy to save time down the road, money and more, to maximize the additional coverage you either got with your new build or purchased.
