I'm going to be renting out my home and friends have recommended that
I look into purchasing a home warranty. The price varies by about
$100 between the low and the high for the following companies:

- Service One
- American Home Shield
- American Home Guardian
- Fidelity National Home Warranty

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad with the above companies or
do you have a company you'd recommend? I'm in Phoenix, Arizona and
I'm planning on having the warranty cover the pool as well.

wrote in message
...
I'm going to be renting out my home and friends have recommended that
I look into purchasing a home warranty. The price varies by about
$100 between the low and the high for the following companies:

- Service One
- American Home Shield
- American Home Guardian
- Fidelity National Home Warranty

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad with the above companies or
do you have a company you'd recommend? I'm in Phoenix, Arizona and
I'm planning on having the warranty cover the pool as well.



Do these warranties cover damage due to careless behavior? And, have you
spoken to your insurance agent about other ways to protect the home?

wrote in message
- Service One
- American Home Shield
- American Home Guardian
- Fidelity National Home Warranty

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad with the above companies or
do you have a company you'd recommend? I'm in Phoenix, Arizona and
I'm planning on having the warranty cover the pool as well.


This is a subject that comes up frequently here. Most are bordering on
fraud and don't to much to help the homeowner. When you good AC unit dies,
they will replace it with the cheapest one available.

Put the money into a savings or stock account and you'll come out way ahead.
Warranty companies are in business to make a profit. A portion of every
dollar goes into their pockets, not repairs.

If you still want to go ahead, be sure to read very carefully what is and is
not covered.

On Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:30:30 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

I'm going to be renting out my home and friends have recommended that
I look into purchasing a home warranty. The price varies by about
$100 between the low and the high for the following companies:

- Service One
- American Home Shield
- American Home Guardian
- Fidelity National Home Warranty

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad with the above companies or
do you have a company you'd recommend? I'm in Phoenix, Arizona and
I'm planning on having the warranty cover the pool as well.


Your best bet is doing a thorough investigation on your tenant. Raise
the rent $50, then give a $50 discount for paying by the 1st of the
month. Worked well for me.

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
t...

wrote in message
- Service One
- American Home Shield
- American Home Guardian
- Fidelity National Home Warranty

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad with the above companies or
do you have a company you'd recommend? I'm in Phoenix, Arizona and
I'm planning on having the warranty cover the pool as well.


This is a subject that comes up frequently here. Most are bordering on
fraud and don't to much to help the homeowner. When you good AC unit
dies, they will replace it with the cheapest one available.

Put the money into a savings or stock account and you'll come out way
ahead. Warranty companies are in business to make a profit. A portion of
every dollar goes into their pockets, not repairs.

If you still want to go ahead, be sure to read very carefully what is and
is not covered.

I wouldn't go as far as fraud. Maybe poor investment. I like it when the
seller uses a Homeowner's Warranty.

AHS actually has reasonable prices and they do pay on claims relatively
quickly.

As far as replacement. AHS doesn't replace unless it has to. For example:
They offered to fix my 20 y/o dishwasher or pay me the cost to fix it. The
cost to fix was $275 and to replace was $350 so I made up the $75. AHS got
the check to me right away. :-) Helps to have a fax machine to get the
receipts to them right away. AHS has good customer service if you cooperate
with them and you're not expecting miracles.

As-far-as pools: Most of the stuff that is covered is pretty easy to fix on
your own. You might want to pass on the pool if you are handy with tools.

After careful consideration I passed on the AHS warranty for my house this
year. But, it may be worth it for the peace-of-mind for some.

Jim

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:56:51 GMT, "jthread" wrote:
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
et...
This is a subject that comes up frequently here. Most are bordering on
fraud and don't to much to help the homeowner. When you good AC unit
dies, they will replace it with the cheapest one available.

Put the money into a savings or stock account and you'll come out way
ahead. Warranty companies are in business to make a profit. A portion of
every dollar goes into their pockets, not repairs.
[cut]
I wouldn't go as far as fraud. Maybe poor investment. I like it when the
seller uses a Homeowner's Warranty.

So did I, when I bought this house, but then when the time came for
repairs that might have been covered under this warranty, I realized
that with the $90 deductible and the fact that I had to use AHS's
selected people, the chance that I'd be left with an unsatisfactory
job at a price more than I wanted to pay was really high. So, now I'm
quite disappointed that I let the seller pay $400 for a warranty that
I never actually used. It was a ripoff, as I have mentioned many times
here, and Mr. Pawlowski is right in his observations. Just do the
fiscally smart thing and save your own money for possible repairs.

If I ever find another house that has one of these such warranties on
it as a selling point, I'm going to tell the seller to credit me the
purchase price for it so I can at least invest that money myself.

"KLS" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:56:51 GMT, "jthread" wrote:
"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message
. net...
This is a subject that comes up frequently here. Most are bordering on
fraud and don't to much to help the homeowner. When you good AC unit
dies, they will replace it with the cheapest one available.

Put the money into a savings or stock account and you'll come out way
ahead. Warranty companies are in business to make a profit. A portion
of
every dollar goes into their pockets, not repairs.
[cut]
I wouldn't go as far as fraud. Maybe poor investment. I like it when the
seller uses a Homeowner's Warranty.

So did I, when I bought this house, but then when the time came for
repairs that might have been covered under this warranty, I realized
that with the $90 deductible and the fact that I had to use AHS's
selected people, the chance that I'd be left with an unsatisfactory
job at a price more than I wanted to pay was really high. So, now I'm
quite disappointed that I let the seller pay $400 for a warranty that
I never actually used. It was a ripoff, as I have mentioned many times
here, and Mr. Pawlowski is right in his observations. Just do the
fiscally smart thing and save your own money for possible repairs.

If I ever find another house that has one of these such warranties on
it as a selling point, I'm going to tell the seller to credit me the
purchase price for it so I can at least invest that money myself.

I think putting the money in the bank is a good investment.

But, you don't have to use the repair services they send. You can request
other repair services. But they have to have a contract with AHS. BTW: they
have a lot of companies under contract. I've talked to the service people
and they say AHS is a good company to work with because they pay.

Look. It's like any insurance policy. They are trying to pay you as little
as possible. Duh.

My father was an insurance adjuster for 30 years with State Farm. I'm used
to dealing with insurance companies. They are going to screw you if you let
them but that's what they are in business for. To keep money for their
investors.

AHS has a $55 fee (used to be $50) that has to be paid to for each repair
service call. This keeps the nuisance claims down. If, for example, you have
2 plumbing problems, have them fix both at the same time if possible. A good
idea is to wait until the contract is almost up and do all your service
calls at once so you can put as many calls as you can on one service call.
I've had AHS for two of the homes I bought and I used them both times no
problem. I didn't get rich using them but ah..sucks.

I had a homeowners ins. policy from a company called "Blue Review" in
Albuquerque NM that fought with me tooth and nail because my roof leaked. A
nasty letter threatening to sue and I got a new roof. Like I said. AHS is
fine if you don't expect miracles. But if you think the repair service genie
is going to come out of a bottle and fix all your problems you better put
the money in the bank.

Jim

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:03:32 GMT, "jthread" wrote:

But, you don't have to use the repair services they send. You can request
other repair services. But they have to have a contract with AHS. BTW: they
have a lot of companies under contract.

And none of the companies that were available to me at the time I was
investigating this were acceptable because they had very mixed
reviews. Of course they liked AHS because AHS paid, but did their
customers feel the same way? I think not, and I say this from the
position of having a "stable" of contractors for very specific fields
who are so good at what they do that they don't need to contract out
with companies like AHS. These are the contractors I want working on
my house, not people who would take an AHS or a Home Depot or a Lowe's
installation contract, no insult to them since they need work as well.
I realize that some locales may be much more limited in the
availability of the kind of contractors I value, but I'm all set where
I live.

[cut about father being an insurance adjuster, etc.]

AHS has a $55 fee (used to be $50) that has to be paid to for each repair
service call.

In my area, it was $90. I'm not kidding. And it wasn't worth it.

I'm all for insurance, especially home and automobile, but I'm *NOT*
for home warranties or pet insurance. Both are ripoffs.

On Nov 27, 10:30�pm, " wrote:
I'm going to be renting out my home and friends have recommended that
I look into purchasing a home warranty. �The price varies by about
$100 between the low and the high for the following companies:

- Service One
- American Home Shield
- American Home Guardian
- Fidelity National Home Warranty

Has anyone had any experience, good or bad with the above companies or
do you have a company you'd recommend? �I'm in Phoenix, Arizona and
I'm planning on having the warranty cover the pool as well.

when your a landlord you must accept things breaking and costing you
money. might as well suck it up and get used to it, or dont rent at
all.

you are creating a business and no business is always profitable,
money will be lost at times for a wide vaariety of reasons

"KLS" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:03:32 GMT, "jthread" wrote:

But, you don't have to use the repair services they send. You can request
other repair services. But they have to have a contract with AHS. BTW:
they
have a lot of companies under contract.

And none of the companies that were available to me at the time I was
investigating this were acceptable because they had very mixed
reviews. Of course they liked AHS because AHS paid, but did their
customers feel the same way? I think not, and I say this from the
position of having a "stable" of contractors for very specific fields
who are so good at what they do that they don't need to contract out
with companies like AHS. These are the contractors I want working on
my house, not people who would take an AHS or a Home Depot or a Lowe's
installation contract, no insult to them since they need work as well.
I realize that some locales may be much more limited in the
availability of the kind of contractors I value, but I'm all set where
I live.


I don't really understand your point. You have contractors already lined up?
I don't think many people do.


AHS has a $55 fee (used to be $50) that has to be paid to for each repair
service call.

In my area, it was $90. I'm not kidding. And it wasn't worth it.

Maybe different in different states. I agree: $90 is too much.

I'm all for insurance, especially home and automobile, but I'm *NOT*
for home warranties or pet insurance. Both are ripoffs.

I passed on renewing my AHS contract but under certain circumstances it
could be an asset. It's a gamble. That $90 service fee would of made it a
lot easier of a decision.

Jim

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:02:12 -0500, "bob kater"
wrote Re Home Warranty Purchase:

I have AHS water heater replaced 25 dollars
Fan motor on my AC unit variable speed (blower)25 dollars six trips to get
the correct motor ended up rewiring the unit, installing relays and another
new motor, original variable speed was over 400 dollars.
twice more to repair the thing at 25 dollars. Mine covers appliances and
indoor wiring. I am slightly ahead in dollars.

It looks like you did most of the work.

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 03:18:16 GMT, "jthread" wrote:

"KLS" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:03:32 GMT, "jthread" wrote:

But, you don't have to use the repair services they send. You can request
other repair services. But they have to have a contract with AHS. BTW:
they
have a lot of companies under contract.

And none of the companies that were available to me at the time I was
investigating this were acceptable because they had very mixed
reviews. Of course they liked AHS because AHS paid, but did their
customers feel the same way? I think not, and I say this from the
position of having a "stable" of contractors for very specific fields
who are so good at what they do that they don't need to contract out
with companies like AHS. These are the contractors I want working on
my house, not people who would take an AHS or a Home Depot or a Lowe's
installation contract, no insult to them since they need work as well.
I realize that some locales may be much more limited in the
availability of the kind of contractors I value, but I'm all set where
I live.

I don't really understand your point. You have contractors already lined up?
I don't think many people do.

Yes, I had contractors lined up. I'm not alone in this where I live,
either. My point is that I didn't want to be limited in my choice of
contractors, especially when that choice included people who did
sub-par work.

"KLS" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 03:18:16 GMT, "jthread" wrote:

"KLS" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:03:32 GMT, "jthread" wrote:

But, you don't have to use the repair services they send. You can
request
other repair services. But they have to have a contract with AHS. BTW:
they
have a lot of companies under contract.

And none of the companies that were available to me at the time I was
investigating this were acceptable because they had very mixed
reviews. Of course they liked AHS because AHS paid, but did their
customers feel the same way? I think not, and I say this from the
position of having a "stable" of contractors for very specific fields
who are so good at what they do that they don't need to contract out
with companies like AHS. These are the contractors I want working on
my house, not people who would take an AHS or a Home Depot or a Lowe's
installation contract, no insult to them since they need work as well.
I realize that some locales may be much more limited in the
availability of the kind of contractors I value, but I'm all set where
I live.

I don't really understand your point. You have contractors already lined
up?
I don't think many people do.

Yes, I had contractors lined up. I'm not alone in this where I live,
either. My point is that I didn't want to be limited in my choice of
contractors, especially when that choice included people who did
sub-par work.

I'm new to the Central TX area. I kind of at the mercy of some of the
contractors. I check them out the best I can. If they didn't fix something
right I'd sure get them back out here until they did.

If I was in your position I wouldn't use AHS either.

Jim