06/20/2019
Is a Home Warranty worth the cost?
Often times a real estate agent will buy a home warranty for their client as a closing gift, but their money might be better spent on a Home Depot or Lowes gift card.
I purchased a home last fall, and my agent bought me a First American home warranty to cover any unexpected system failures. First American sent a welcome card that stated “You should have a little peace of mind knowing your covered systems and appliances have the protection of a First American home warranty”. That statement couldn’t be further from the truth.
One day my dishwasher suddenly stopped cleaning the dishes. The dishes came out dirty if I ran a regular cycle, or any of the extended time cycles, including cook wear with extra heat and added steam. That cycle took almost three hours. I went online and requested service, and I was scheduled for repair in less than a week. I left dishes that had been through a wash cycle in the dishwasher. The technician that came, was honest and thorough. He tested the unit and turned it on. It sprayed water and drained, so he said it wasn’t a mechanical failure. He said it obviously wasn’t cleaning properly, and most likely needed to be replaced. Being that there were too many variables that could make this happen, tearing the machine down wouldn’t be worth the cost. He took pictures of the dirty dishes and warned me that I was going to have issues with insurance company, because even though it wasn’t cleaning the dishes, it wasn’t a mechanical failure. He was right about everything.
It was a Friday when the technician made his visit, he told me he’d have his report in the following day, and that I should hear back for First American by Tuesday. I followed up on Wednesday and was told that they hadn’t received the report yet. After a week I got an email letting me know that I had a message on their website. When I checked, the message stated the case was closed, because the unit didn’t have a mechanical failure. I called and requested that the case be re-opened. I also simultaneously received a satisfaction survey from First American, where I expressed my dissatisfaction.
As a result of the survey, I was assigned a case advocate that would help me resolve the issue. She had me take several before and after cycle photos over the next few weeks, and then sent out another technician. The second technician witnessed the dirty dishes immediately after the cycle was completed. He cleaned the filter and said that he hoped that it would help the situation, but as far as the home warranty was concerned, the unit did not have a mechanical failure. The consumer advocate informed me that I could have the unit repaired on my own, and send them the invoice, but that they would not replace the unit. After two technicians expressed the same issue, I knew I had wasted a month of my time, simply trying to use my First American home warranty for one of the purposes it was put in place for. I replaced the dishwasher with my own funds.
The First American home warranty cost my agent $800.00. The service call deductible each time you use it is $75.00, which is half or almost the full cost of a visit without a home warranty. First American home warranty will send out technician and charge you $75.00 but they won’t replace an appliance when it doesn’t work properly. In the end, I realized that in my case, if my agent chose to spend money on a gift, which is generous in itself, it's unfortunate that it wasn't spent on something that was actually useful. If you're in a situation where you are offered a home warranty, I would advise thinking twice before moving forward with one.
