I’m considering offering a warranty on a property that I’m rehabbing. Can anyone give me feedback as to what to look out for when shopping for warranties? Do these types of warranties cover replacing big ticket items such as water heaters, furnaces, & appliances? Are there any landlords who have used these for rental properties and what has your experience with these been like?
We offer a home warranty on our rehab properties once we sell them. Costs around $400 and covers major issues like plumbing, HVAC, etc. It’s more for the peace of mind for prospective buyers. :beer
I’ve also used them on rehabs to give buyer piece of mind. I do not use them on rentals as they have a ton of exclusions and sometimes they are slow to get people to come out and fix stuff. Also, if you live in a very small town or outside of metro area, ask some questions about how close their nearest plumber (for example) is. I had bad experience related getting service for a claim on a home that was on the outskirts of a large metro area.
You mean home service contracts? Just remember not to call them warranties because you’re not warranting anything. You’re just providing a service contract through a third party. I think they’re kind of useless and did not like the companies. I never had a good experience and they keep raising their “processing” fees. The companies they contract out to could care less and almost made me lose tenants.
That said, buyers value them. I’d offer them as a concession and not up front. It can be used as bargaining when you’re negotiating, so just keep it in your back pocket until it can be useful. They can even be used as “closing gifts” instead of just thrown on the table before you even have an offer.