A home warranty in our area costs about $500. The warranty will cover all your major appliances and heating and ac systems, water heater, etc. The last home owners warranty that the sellers purchased for the home that we live in had a $50 deductible for a service call. If the service call couldn't repair the problem then supposedly the appliance etc would be replaced. We honestly never used the home warranty on any of the homes we've ever purchased, but I've heard other people say the warranty's are rip offs, I don't know how true that is. If the purchaser's are asking for one I'd give them one, you don't want to lose a sale over a $500 warranty.

Our realtor insisted we offer one with the deal. I think it cost $450 or close to it. A lady I work with has actually used hers and says it's a good thing to have.

Thanks!

We offered an American Home Shield warranty when we sold our home. If you put it in place now it will even cover items that break down before the sale closes. Our buyers where concerned about the pool, so we added on pool and spa coverage rather than have the pool inspected.

Thanks so much Terriks - that looks like a great plan & reasonable for our area.

Our buyers asked for one, but then we retracted it during negotiations because we were selling at the lowest price we would consider with them.

The sellers gave us one on this house. It was worthless to us. We had two problems in the first six months. The first problem was a heater and air conditioner that both ran at the same time. We paid the $55 deductible to have a company come out. They correctly diagnosed the problem, but said that the company that installed the new air conditioner previous to our purchase did not install the correct thermostat and so the problem was not covered under the warranty. The other company said it wasn't a part of the original deal and so we ended up paying to get a new thermastat installed.

On my second call, we had leak in our front yard. Because the leak was outside the house, we were not covered.

I'd offer it if it will sell the house. Otherwise, it isn't worth the money.

The low price is an indicator that not a lot of claims are being paid.
If the buyer wants it to complete the sale it might be worth it.
You can always counter with a $500 higher price.

Would you be asking if this was the make or break part of the deal? It's worth it for their peace of mind and getting the deal done.

We were given American home shield and we've renewed it two years in a row. We've had a few calls and never had any problems.

My view on home warranties is about the same as my view on home inspections- both are so cheap and utterly necessary that you'd be a fool not to get them but in the end they both turn out to be worthless. It's a catch-22 of sorts- if you skip either you'd feel like a fool if something went wrong, but when something does go wrong you find out they are no good anyway.

Can you tell that my recent inspection missed several things that my American Shield warranty has failed to cover? A new heat pump is not an insignificant cost in the very first month of owning a home. The inspection pronounced it "working" and the warranty failed to cover it because it wasn't well "maintained". They can gobbledygook their way out of anything.

If I had it to do over again I'd skip the inspection and the warranty as they have both proven to be utterly useless.

cearbhaill - isn't that something you could argue back at them? You weren't living in the house and if it says it's covered, it sounds like they're back pedalling. I wonder if anyone has successfully fought a decision by AHS and won.

Our sellers offered a home warranty as part of the sale to whoever bought the house, not just to us specifically. I can't recall the company, but know it's not AHS. We know they paid $360 for the one-year policy, and we would have to pay a $100 deductible, though I'm not sure what that applies to (service call?). (We just closed on Friday and are awaiting detailed info in the mail from the warranty company.) The water heater and AC unit in the home are both old, but functional. We're sure that's why they offered the warranty...cheaper to buy the policy than to replace these major mechanicals. I've known several people who have used home warranties to buy new mechanicals and kitchen appliances. We are in eastern Iowa.

terrig, Most home warranties don't cover AC unless an extra fee is paid. You might want to check the policy and see if they added AC coverage. If not, you can probably add it for about $70.

Terriks...Thanks for the tip. I'll check into that once we get the packet from the warranty company. In the meantime, DH and I are already preparing to set $ aside to pay for new mechanicals.

"I wonder if anyone has successfully fought a decision by AHS and won."

We have. Your best friend here could be your real estate agent if he/she sells alot of them. AHS wants them to market the warranties. If you have a legit gripe, it is worth a shot.

Our furnace was so screwed up by the service company that fixed it they cut us a check to have someone we chose redo it. All we did was contact our agent and she interceded. She informed them that she didn't wish to sell them if they weren't worth having.

On the other hand, we have sometimes felt that it is a necessary PIA. They send questionable contractors at times. We have had to refuse to allow certain contractors to come back. We had a 20-year old house that frequently had problems.