When you purchase a new home, you may be offered a home warranty from the sellers or you may
choose to purchase one yourself. If you’re in the process of buying a home or researching warranty companies, we want to shed some light on the topic for you. As a residential & commercial HVAC company, we’ve had the opportunity of working with homeowners both with and without home warranties, and we’ve gleaned a lot of knowledge and insight through those interactions. Let’s look at the pros and cons of utilizing a home warranty company, and then dive into our recommendations on the matter.

Pros

• Peace of Mind – Knowing you won’t have to drain your savings for a home repair is comforting. There’s no debating that. Home warranty companies can give you peace of mind when you’re rebuilding a savings account and don’t have a lot saved, or when you’re simply new homeowners with a lot of expenses.
• Convenience – If you have an issue in your home, you have to research reputable companies, contact them for an appointment, and then wait for them to give you an estimate. While this doesn’t have to take terribly long, sometimes it does. A home warranty company will bypass the research and contact pre-determined vendors for each aspect of your home, making it more convenient for you to call only one company.
• Cost Savings – While you won’t always save with a home warranty, you definitely can. This pro is up for debate, however, as sometimes a service call fee will be far more than the repair itself. Though if you get an entire appliance replaced for the cost of a service fee, which would offer definite cost savings. This rarely happens, however.

Cons

• Service Call Fees – The dreaded service call fee can be quite frustrating. While many vendors and service companies have service fees as well, a home warranty company may charge $100 or $200, which is substantially more than most repair companies. Additionally, you may need multiple service calls to remedy a problem, which quickly racks up your spending and decreases your savings.
• Wait Times – While it can be nice to make only one phone call, which also means that your service request gets put into a system of multiple requests that goes through several people. This can significantly delay your issue getting taken care of, and it can often lead to a much longer wait than needed to get a problem in your home tended to and fixed.
• Coverage – Home warranties don’t cover everything. While each policy will be a little different, many don’t cover “pre-existing conditions,” which are common when buying a home from someone else. They may not cover animal infestations, recalled products, or systems that weren’t properly maintained prior to you owning them.
• Fine Print – The fine print of home warranty companies might just be the nail in the coffin. While coverage plays a role in this, so do a number of other factors. Sometimes warranty companies will insist on inspecting appliances and systems in the home to determine what is acceptable for them to cover.

Sometimes, only standard coverages will apply, which can leave out other important things like a pool pump. If something is outdated and no longer “up to code,” warranty companies may only cover the base cost of a new system or product, leaving you to cover the very expensive bill that makes up the difference.

The E Dennis Difference
Here at E Dennis, let us be totally honest with you: we’re not a huge fan of home warranty companies. They rarely take into consideration the people on the other end of the call and their needs and don’t typically keep the customers’ best interests at the forefront. Additionally, home warranty companies don’t generally pay enough to actually cover the full cost of a repair or replacement, leaving you a bill you didn’t anticipate. Generally speaking, it is a better idea to go right to the repair company yourself. This allows you to choose the company you wish to use and get the best deals that they offer. If you’re in need of HVAC service, repair, or installation, give E Dennis a call and you’ll see the difference that quality customer service can make.