Things You Need to Know About A Home Warranty

If you’re purchasing your first home, you’ve likely heard about home warranties during your research process. With so many other new components to learn along the way, you may think that it’s best to wait until after you’re situated in your new home to get a warranty. This isn’t the case. It’s time to learn about what this warranty is and why you need it as soon as you buy your new home.

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What Is A Home Warranty?

One of the biggest confusions that new homeowners have is understanding the difference between homeowner’s insurance and a home warranty. Think of your homeowner’s insurance as a form of protection for instances that are unexpected, such as fires. Insurance covers the main structure of your home when an unforeseen event happens.

A home warranty is more for the major systems and appliances within your home. It’s there for times when regular wear and tear of these systems and appliances cause them to malfunction or fail. Common components covered under a home warranty plan include:

• Heating And Cooling Systems
• Electrical System
• Plumbing System
• Washer / Dryer
• Dishwasher
• Fridge / Freezer

How To Get A Home Warranty?

You’ve probably realized by now just how beneficial a warranty can be for your home. The next step is determining where you can purchase a home warranty from so that you can get your items covered. Here are three main ways you can obtain a warranty for your home.

Sold With The House

Home warranties don’t typically stick with the homeowner. Rather, they are transferred to the new owner of a home that is covered. So, if you’re purchasing a house on the market, see if there is an existing home warranty that comes along with the real estate. You’ll need to get the specifics about the warranty program from the existing owners and you’ll want to call the warranty provider to let them know of the transfer.

Buy When You Close

Home warranties can be found from many different companies. The easiest way to find a great warranty company is to head online. Pay attention to what the coverage is and each item’s cap limit so you have a fair idea of what you’ll be expected to pay out of pocket when problems occur. Most home warranty companies will offer a discounted rate for people who get a warranty program within 30 days of closing on their new home.

Purchase At Any Time

You can purchase a home warranty program at any time. Again, there’s a long list of available providers on the internet that you can check out and compare. Realize that when you purchase a home warranty program after 30 days of closing on a new home, it’s likely going to be more expensive.

Understanding Your Home Warranty

Before you decide on which home warranty you want to purchase for your new home, there are some necessary factors you should understand. These will help you to better compare the home warranty programs to see which one will best fit your needs. Here are the factors you’ll want to determine with each warranty you look at.

What’s Covered

There are various home warranties in Ohio and each has their own description of items that are covered. Most programs will cover the basic systems in your home and appliances. However, if you have extra above what the normal homeowner doesn’t, you may want to see if there is extra coverage you can purchase.

Cap Limits

Each item on your list that is covered under the home warranty program will have a cap limit. This is the maximum amount of money the warranty company will pay you for that item. Ensure that the cap limits make sense for each item. You don’t want to have a very low cap limit on something that you know is going to cost you a bundle to purchase.

Understanding what a home warranty is and how it can benefit you is a must. New homeowners tend to have many things thrown at them throughout the purchase process. This can sometimes leave the thought of getting a home warranty escape. However, don’t let that happen to you.