If you’re buying a home, you may have heard about home warranties. But why do you need a home warranty, and is it worth the investment? Here are a few things to consider.
1. Different people = different usage
Imagine this: You’ve been with one family your entire life, when you suddenly have all new roommates. They treat you differently. Their routines aren’t what you’re used to, and you find yourself working harder, straining just to keep up.
When you move into a new home, all your new habits and routines can strain the existing home systems and appliances in the same way. Depending on a unit’s age and maintenance history, it may be able to adjust—or not, at which point repairs or replacement can be costly. A home warranty can help pay for covered failures.
2. Speaking of maintenance history…
How often do you change your furnace filter? How about maintaining your water heater? Do you know how to open a lawn sprinkler system in the spring? Did the previous owners?
Even if you have a perfect home maintenance history, the previous owners might not have. Did they just wait for things to break? Did they hire reputable contractors to fix things?
A home inspection is useful and important, but it won’t catch every problem. If your ‘working’ appliances fail a month or so after closing, can you afford repairs? Or replacement? A home warranty can help protect your budget, especially after you’ve just spent so much on your new home.
3. But I already have homeowners insurance
Homeowners insurance and a home warranty are two different things, but they can work well together. While your homeowners insurance can help when outside forces, like fires or floods, cause damages, it doesn’t provide coverage for breakdowns due to normal wear and tear. This is where a home warranty can come in handy.
4. Peace of mind
Like any big life decision, buying a home comes with a lot of unknowns. Having a home warranty can give you the peace of mind that, when unexpected expenses happen, your budget will have some help.
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