Comments on: Home warranty buyers guide

By: Si Deals

Si Deals — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:09:39 +0000

People write reviews when things go wrong, and I am no different. Hope it will help somebody decide the right company. All home warranty companies seem to have no regulation in how they do service. BBB is not enough!

My experience with First American has not been very pleasant. Once for plumbing – a leak in the ceiling, they said the leak was in the shower and they do not cover. After a few weeks, when the leak worsened, we called an outside company and the leak was because of a different plumbing issue and we had to pay for plumbing as well repainting the ceiling. These companies do not take any responsibility if the contractor that they send is wrong.

My second experience was with my AC unit. They asked to get an invoice from an outside AC company to even decide if they should send their contractor, and when I got one (paid out of pocket), they said the invoice was missing some information and I was asked to get a detailed invoice again( pay again to some outside ac company).

You decide if you want to put your hard earned money with them.

By: Miller Cramer

Miller Cramer — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 23:39:31 +0000

Prior to today, I would have recommended a Home Warranty. I’ve had a policy with Nations Residential Home Warranty for over 8 years. After today…save your money. Seriously…save the money you would pay the home warranty company and deposit it in a savings account. In the long run, you’ll come out ahead and with less grief. In 110-degree heat my a/c broke. Called on a Sunday morning, was told their a/c provider would call Monday. Talked to a/c provider on Monday, set up repair time for Tuesday afternoon. Repair took 1.5 hours to change fan motor, then 2 minutes to fuse the fan motor to the fan due to a warped fan housing. Now I’m told it will take 3-5 days to replace the warped fan housing. So right now we’re at 3 days with a/c (did I see the temperatures are 110?) and 3-5 more days to repair the problem…again. When I called the Home Warranty company to request assistance to accelerate the repair of the a/c, they reiterated that the repair would take 3-5 more days and that the Home Warranty company was not an emergency service. I can’t stress strongly enough: save the money you would pay a Home Warranty company — put it in a savings account. In the long run…less grief…more peace of mind.

By: FirstTimeHomebuyer

FirstTimeHomebuyer — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:54:42 +0000

I was reading through other reviews & it reminded of another thing about my experience w First American and the WH. The initial plumber that came to diagnose the problem, misreported the problem and diagnosis. It took several discussions with both the plumbing company CSRs and educating First American CSR on the real problem which was covered. Shouldn’t have to be this way, but sometimes I guess it just is.

By: FirstTimeHomebuyer

FirstTimeHomebuyer — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 06:43:15 +0000

Our realtor suggested First American (FA) when we bought our first home ever. We had our water heater (WH) replaced after long multiple debates with multiple customer service reps (CSRs)and their supervisor and w the help of our real estate agent’s contact. I did a little research and my state required codes for water heaters installation that were enacted since the previous water heater was installed (these are found in the plumbing codes and civil codes) such as required bracing and in some areas drain pans which keep accidental flooding if something blows that drains to the outside of the house if your WH is inside the main house. CSR first denied that the pan, parts and bracing for WH were covered and my initial estimate for replacement was $500 (outrageous…what’s the point of insurance at this price?) So after educating the CSRs on legal codes (which upgrades due to codes was covered) they agreed to some of these being covered. Then I checked my City’s website and found that my City requires a water heater installation permit and inspection, which the CSR rep told me that I didn’t really have to get. I scheduled the City Inspector and he found things that needed to be fixed for my City. I sent the City write up to FA along w/ receipt for the permit and they resent the plumber to fix to City requirement and reimbursed me for permit fee that I paid for separately. Both times the plumber came around 4pm and stayed until 8pm after it was dark it was very inconvenient. It was a long and arduous task to get my out of pocket costs down to a third of the costs, but it was very time consuming, frustrating and full of written documentation. FA & the plumber refused to tell me the warranty on the replacement WH, so we’ll see. One tip is if this warranty came within the first year of purchase, maybe your realtor can help talk to the warranty company through any contacts they have as they probably have an ongoing business relationship with the company they are recommending to their buyers. Kind of long, but hope it helps others.

By: jackie

jackie — Tue, 24 May 2011 17:00:08 +0000

First American. Whoops, now I really appreciate AHS. First American was given to me with my home purchase. Had a flood in the kitchen. FA sent plumber, who said it had been piped wrong. FA then said it was not covered because of this. Same with shower leak. They’d pay for the the $20 diverter that was causing a leak but not the $200 worth of service required to actually reach the diverter. The piping passed my home inspector’s test. I probably won’t waste the 75 fee on this fake warranty again.

By: AttaBoy

AttaBoy — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 19:35:13 +0000

Some good comments here. It is easy to point fingers when it doesn’t go our way. My comment about home warranties is related to understanding their purpose and scope wrapped inside cost. I would guess that home warranty companies would love to charge more money in order to cover more items, but the market will not let them. There is a reason they are $350 for basic coverage. The general public doesn’t want to pay more for them. Therefore you are going to get as much as the $350 will let the warranty company cover and still stay in business. There are always limitations in life. Look around your house. Do you see any item that is guaranteed? If your answer is yes, please let me know as I would like to get one. Anyway, typically we get just enough info to buy something, but not enough to know it inside and out. We don’t have time. Everything is instant gratification and immediate. The other thing to keep in mind is facts. Negativity is spread much faster than Positivity (new word?). Take this post for example. More negative. What you need to keep in mind is the fact that there are several people who get treated fine by their warranty company and don’t have time to write about it. They are generally in the majority. So my suggestion is to think a little before acting, call a rep from the company to get a better understanding and then go for it. More often than not, home warranty company’s do what they are in business to do. Some do it better than others more consistently.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:00:55 +0000

I have made 4 claims now with One Guard and they have really been the best warranty company I have ever dealt with. They have fixed our oven, replaced our disposal, done maintance on our AC and now are replacing the oven since something else broke on it. I did have one rep get pissy with me when I asked why it was going to take 3 days to get someone to look at our oven. that sucked but I think I just got a bad rep, all the others have been great. From all the techs I have asked and my mom is a realtor as well, only heard great things about One Guard. So, guess it is a crapshoot

By: BD

BD — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:55:27 +0000

PLEASE AVOID ON GUARD AT ALL COSTS!!!! DO NOT USE ONE GUARD.

Have had issues with the AC unit over 7 times in the last year and a half. Their contractors are bad, One Guard’s customer service is horrible. Filed a complaint with BBB. This company is a rip off, take your money somewhere else!!!

By: Dave Cline

Dave Cline — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:58:28 +0000

I see a lot of complaints about home warranty coverage. As a mechanical contractor with over 30 years of experience I would offer this bit of information for you to consider. Looking at normal service calls (cash customers); here is what we have found to be true. The majority of service repair calls involve maintenance issues. The lacks of maintenance issues include dirty condenser coils, dirty evaporator coils, clogged condensate drain lines and dirty condenser coils. Any of these maintenance issues can cause the system to not operate correctly. Sometimes maintenance is the only issue we find, other times the lack of maintenance caused another system failure. In the former we just need to do the proper maintenance to correct the problem. In the latter, we have to perform the proper maintenance and then correct the problem the lack of maintenance caused. My understanding of most but not all home warranty coverage is limited to normal wear and tear failures. This means that maintenance is not covered, and some system failures attributed to the maintenance problem would also not be covered. I also understand that any preexisting conditions would not be covered. This to me means any maintenance issue, any improper installation, any part failure, any improper equipment sizing basically any problem that existed prior to the policy being taken out. My experience with EMP inspections, which one would think should cover these issues, is as follows. EMP inspectors in general are not licensed mechanical, electrical or plumbing contractors. This means that limits of what they are allowed to do or can do is limited. EMP inspectors are not allowed to remove equipment panels; they do not carry refrigerant gauges that are attached to the system or electrical equipment to determine any electrical supply or control issues with the equipment. We have been on numerous service calls involving a home which has just been sold, where an EMP inspection was done, but a have a mechanical failure. We have found parts missing, low refrigerant charges indicating leaks, rust and corrosion issues etc. EMP inspections with the mechanical equipment fall far short of insuring there are not any electrical or mechanical issues with the equipment. Only an inspection by a licensed mechanical contractor can come close to insuring the equipment is in good working order or if repairs and or maintenance would be needed. In addition EMP inspectors in general get hired by a real estate agent. This real estate agent makes money by selling the home and any costly repairs to the mechanical equipment may stop the sell of the home. EMP inspectors know that finding too many problems or an expensive problem may cause problems for the real estate agent who hired them and repeating this for several homes could mean the agent would find another inspection company to hire the work out to. One last item is the contractor requiring the owner to be present, not a young child, neighbor, friend, or the renter. The service technician can find a problem that would require the removal of some sheet rock or some other issue that could cause damage in order to gain access to the equipment. This would need the approval of the homeowner not the approval of a child, friend or neighbor. In addition, since only normal wear and tear issues is covered, the technician may find a problem that is not covered by the home warranty and would need approval of the additional charges. This approval cannot come from a child, friend or neighbor, but only from the homeowner.

By: Kate Wagstaff

Kate Wagstaff — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:09:00 +0000

FIRST AMERICAN HOME WARRANTY I purchase the ‘spa’ package on my home warranty. All of the things listed as covered: timing, switches, relays, above ground electrical are indeed not covered at all because of my in-ground installation, they combine together and form a “control management system” which is not covered under their limits of liability for “electronic system management”. So the controls for my spa don’t work, it is accessible, it is due to normal wear and tear, and since they are located 3 feet away from the actual in ground spa they are totally not coverred at all. There is nothing else to cover in my opinion, its just a spa, not a rocket jet, it has a button, it turns it on, its broke and they don’t cover that. Basically the limits of liability that claim to not cover electronic, computerized, pneumatic and manual system management means that overturns all of the warranty and they don’t have to pay for anything electronic, computerized, pneumatic, or manual. Is there anything else?