Home Warranty plans- Old Republic and others

[mvbird]

We bought our house near Lake Sumter Landing in 2017 and the sellers bought an Old Republic Home Protection plan for us. At the time it was being sold by real estate agents at low cost. It is/was a good way for sellers to prevent complaints that something broke soon after the sale that may not have been disclosed.

We've kept up with the policy because our house is now about 18 years old and the big $ repairs.. A/C and HVAC and roof (not sure roof is covered) may come up soon.

After the first year the price jumped and currently we are paying $560/year. Trade calls (repair visits) still cost $100. We've seen other home warranty companies advertised and wonder if a change from Old Republic ought to be made.

Would like to hear pros and cons about Old Republic and home warranty plans in general... do they pay out when you need them to? What about Broward Factory Service, silver, gold or home warranty?

[retiredguy123]

In my opinion, home warranties are a waste of money. There is a huge profit margin for the warranty company. Also, you give up control of who does the repairs, how fast they are done, and the decision about whether or not something needs to be repaired or replaced. Often, it makes more sense to replace something instead of repairing it, but, with a warranty, you don't have that choice. And, you will never get a first rate contractor because good, reliable contractors do not need to share their income with a warranty company. Suppose your HVAC system fails on a weekend in July, and the warranty company will not send someone to your house for several days? If you are paying out of pocket, you can usually get it fixed the same day. And, do you really want someone to repair an 18 year old HVAC system when it makes more sense to replace it? These are some of the reasons that I think it is better to pay for your repairs out of pocket. You will get better and faster service and will save money in the long run.

[Stu from NYC]

In my opinion, home warranties are a waste of money. There is a huge profit margin for the warranty company. Also, you give up control of who does the repairs, how fast they are done, and the decision about whether or not something needs to be repaired or replaced. Often, it makes more sense to replace something instead of repairing it, but, with a warranty, you don't have that choice. And, you will never get a first rate contractor because good, reliable contractors do not need to share their income with a warranty company. Suppose your HVAC system fails on a weekend in July, and the warranty company will not send someone to your house for several days? If you are paying out of pocket, you can usually get it fixed the same day. And, do you really want someone to repair an 18 year old HVAC system when it makes more sense to replace it? These are some of the reasons that I think it is better to pay for your repairs out of pocket. You will get better and faster service and will save money in the long run.

Agreed

Home warranty plan are a form of insurance and an expensive one at that.

To me insure home or car or life.

[retiredguy123]

Agreed

Home warranty plan are a form of insurance and an expensive one at that.

To me insure home or car or life.
No insurance on my life. When I die, I want it to be a "real" tragedy.

[dougjb]

I took a home warranty policy for a number of years. It was great when I needed tiny things done, such as a replacement disposal. I must have saved a hundred bucks after I paid the service call fee. But, after years of paying when I had my heat pump go out (up north) repeatedly, all the warranty company would do would be to pay for the service man to come out and refill the freon (that is how old the unit was). I had to pay for the freon (ouch that was expensive). When the indoor unit went out, they agreed to have it replaced....but not the leaking outside unit. That made no sense to me. But, it was their rule. I asked the repairman to give me an estimate for the replacement of both units. They said 7,000. When I shopped it around, I got it done for 4,000. Oh, the warranty company paid me 500 bucks for the inside unit but that was it. So, all in all, I laid out thousands of dollars for the warranty coverage and got very little. I will NEVER NEVER NEVER buy another home warranty. They are scam artists.

[Stu from NYC]

No insurance on my life. When I die, I want it to be a "real" tragedy.

Remember the old Alan King line. Goes something like this.

No insurance want to be sure the people around me are very unhappy.

[alan157]

I use Broward Factory Service (352)307-5100 located out of Summerfield FL. The cost may be less annually and there is $0 cost when they do a service call. The $0 co-pay is what sets them apart from most other plans and response time is quick.

[MandoMan]

In my opinion, home warranties are a waste of money. There is a huge profit margin for the warranty company. Also, you give up control of who does the repairs, how fast they are done, and the decision about whether or not something needs to be repaired or replaced. Often, it makes more sense to replace something instead of repairing it, but, with a warranty, you don't have that choice. And, you will never get a first rate contractor because good, reliable contractors do not need to share their income with a warranty company. Suppose your HVAC system fails on a weekend in July, and the warranty company will not send someone to your house for several days? If you are paying out of pocket, you can usually get it fixed the same day. And, do you really want someone to repair an 18 year old HVAC system when it makes more sense to replace it? These are some of the reasons that I think it is better to pay for your repairs out of pocket. You will get better and faster service and will save money in the long run.

While I agree with you in general and would not buy a policy myself, I had a wealthy friend a decade ago who paid a sizable fee every year to an HVAC and plumbing company in New Jersey that promised priority response and repair. They showed up for an inspection and furnace cleaning every year, but that wasn’t worth the money. Then a flood came, her power went out, the battery back-up in her sump pump failed, and she got a foot of water in her basement. At a time when lots of people would have needed help, three or for truckloads of repair people showed up at her house within the hour, and they replaced the entire heater and lots of other stuff with no extra charge. Not quite the same thing, but it was nice to have priority service. The next week she had them install a whole-house Generac generator.

[Rwirish]

When an expensive item needs to be replaced they replace it with a much lower end model often an off brand.

Had a home warranty before, never again.

[tjboxer79]

I have a plan with Doc's. No plan will replace your AC, or roof. Many people have gotten new roofs from home insurance claims. Might be better to save your money and buy a new washer/dryer on your own when the time comes. For AC I use a guy outside of the Villages...Vince's Aire Care.

[Scorpyo]

No insurance on my life. When I die, I want it to be a "real" tragedy.
Didn’t you, at least, get an extended warranty?

[Ksarracco]

Love our warranty company. Replaced disposal twice. Fixed washing machine twice. Replaced AC. The only draw-back is we didn’t choose the replacement units. The service man were great. .on time. .

[noslices1]

You would be better off to put $600.00 in a dedicated savings account every year and if something needs fixing or replaced use that money.

[prettyw102@aol.com]

Our first house came with an Old Republic warranty. We had to pay $100 for a service call. We had 3 waste of time service calls on our old dishwasher until they finally replaced it. We bought a warranty from Broward Factory Service for our second home. Know them from our South FL days. No service call fee and they have been great.

[Dlbonivich]

As a Realtor in The Villages I give a a Broward Factory Warrenty to all my buyers. It costs a little more for me than a national brand, but they are top of the line. Andrea Bonivich, Sellstate Superior Realty

[rphil11ort]

I use Broward Factory Service (352)307-5100 located out of Summerfield FL. The cost may be less annually and there is $0 cost when they do a service call. The $0 co-pay is what sets them apart from most other plans and response time is quick.

I also have Broward. Just bought just under 1 year ago. The sellers bought the policy because of a leak in the Freon system . Well everything was fine but my icemaker kept on jamming. they wouldn't cover it because it was a factory defect and it was.
Next my air conditioning stopped working. they came defrosted the system topped off the Freon and within 3 weeks had to come back. turns out the piping to the air handler , that ran under the garage floor had to be replaced at my cost,$1600. it does state in the contract that they don't repair plumbing. they then 2 months ago had to come back and replaced something else ' no charge. All in all always right there when needed, no service charges and good service. I would renew again. The next thing to go is the Air conditioner and that should be covered

[newgirl]

They are great for folks that flip homes and first time homeowners.

[PinSeeker53]

I'm not a fan of the home warranty. I had used them on rental propertiesand they had paid off. When i moved down here and got one through American Home Shield, I had to call the company 3 times before they FINALLY sent someone out to look at my garage door, and then still had to pay a large chunk after the contracted-company no-showed to my house for their appointment. Next, my water heater went out, and they wouldn't replace electric water heaters (my fault for not reading the fine print, but it was never expressed to me either). In my opinion, having a small "rainy day fund" is honestly better off. And you can choose who comes out and when it gets done.