Homeowners and prospectives alike might be wondering if that Home Warranty that’s “thrown in” with the purchase of a home is really going to be worth anything. The hot water heater looked and inspected good, right? Will I actually be able to make a claim with this company? Like any other matter in life, these warranties are handled by humans prone to error or rudeness. And regarding all that fine print you’ll never read; the devil is in the details. As someone who’s actually been pleasantly surprised by the service and value of my Home Warranty, I thought I’d chime in with my experience.
Despite our self-described ‘handiness’ and Do-It-Yourself attitudes, my wife and I were glad to hear that the 1920 house we were considering making our home came with a Home Warranty. While not necessarily a deal maker or breaker, that (seemingly) small measure of assurance was attractive while we considered making our largest investment and home from a near century old 2 1/2 story in Lawrence. Over the last few years our warranty has saved us a substantial amount of money on repair and replacement and has been surprisingly easy to use.
Our first problem came quick and hard: no hot water. We knew the water heater was on it’s last legs when we purchased so we weren’t too surprised when after a slow decline, we could only squeeze in a two-minute shower before the water ran cold. We called the company, 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, and had the local contractor, Ace Plumbing, out the next day. The service technician quickly surmised that the unit was at the end of it’s life and needed to be replaced. After a couple phone calls on his part and ours, we got the ball rolling and had a new water heater in by the end of the day. After the $45 deductible, and disposal fee of $50 we had hot water again. We were neither happy nor surprised by this fee but after just renewing the warranty, we were already on top so to speak.
Another issue was simply a broken faucet for the garden hose out back. My wife was working in the yard, watering plants when she could suddenly hear from outside, a gushing sound in the basement. Old homes are not for the faint of heart! She was able to shut off the main water valve for the house and the repair was again made the same day, this time with no additional fees. Ace Plumbing again, made the repair.
Our slow-draining shower in the master bath was a nagging headache that we’d tried to fix on our own, only to find ourselves ill-equipped to deal with a drum-trap and clean out. We could have bought a couple tools and done a little reading but sometimes your time is worth more. Ace Plumbing again responded quickly. No surprise fees.
If you ever have to make more than a few claims on a warranty, you’ll likely notice you’re really dealing with two companies. In our case it has been 2-10 HBW and Ace Plumbing. Luckily, they’ve both been easy to work with and provide the service they advertise. Were that not the case with either company, I’d be singing a different tune, but we’ve been lucky. Such was the case when our garage door quit working a few weeks back. A couple calls and $45 later, the worn wheel was replaced and the owner even reprogrammed the keypad with a new code for us as a courtesy. Raynor Garage Doors of Kansas City had us parking in the garage again in a matter of three days.
We’ve made a handful of other claims in the past few years with similar results. Our 1920 home has had other problems here and there but we like to call that “character”. If you’re listing your home for sale, your real estate agent may very well suggest a company to you, but you’d do well to shop around before selecting a warranty company to include coverage on your home, if only for the buyer’s sake. If you’re on the buying side and especially if your family is considering an older home, you may find great value and peace of mind in a home warranty.
- N. Paradis
nparadis@chiefpropertieskc.com
***This is not paid advertising or a guarantee of any kind. ***
This is not a get rich quick scheme. This is not a business model that works for every service professional. Most need to be a cog in the wheel and don’t want to be committed to the diversified responsibility of providing total quality services. Those need not apply or subscribe to our brokerage opportunity. This is very much a strategy of establish yourself as trustworthy, work with honesty & integrity, provide quality services and your success will be built on the right foundations of business. It is old-fashioned.
Having our hands in all things real estate lends itself to some amazing opportunities. There are no hidden agendas or motivations here, it is a plain and simply equation as follows:
It is understood universally that real estate is in the buyer’s hands right now. The powers that be are infusing incentives to spur on the market for those in the upper crust of credit worthiness and dipping somewhat in the uncertain world of lack luster borrowers to defibrillate the all but dead market. Spring bloomed a bit late in the Kansas City housing market and now properties are starting to sell. With great hesitation we take listings with fear that our reputations of being sultans of sales be tarnished with listings that last longer than 30-60 days with little to no activity.
As someone who always thinks of the best possible comeback or response well after the conversation has ended, I was thrilled with this actual conversation the first time I came to a new real estate market (I was the Buyer). To find that the norm was to pay fees that not too many could explain was criminal. The consumer is inundated with paperwork right before signing a series of pages that tie them to a large debt for the next 15-30 years. The buyers are thinking about $100k + worth of forthcoming debt and not the $150.00 covertly inserted with an ambiguous phrase like “broker fee”. Shame on all those brokers who take advantage of their clients in this way.
(Photo taken before Rehab)
Nathan Paradis 
The financing for our rehab project was sorted out prior to closing (
In the spirit of another 
Working with the city planning & permits department can be an intimidating venture. I started my first construction project in quite possibly the most difficult city to get plans & permits approved in…..Santa Barbara, California. From there I ventured into almost every city within incorporated Los Angeles to meet each unappreciated city planner accordingly. Most departments took 4-6 weeks to get plans approved and permits issued, some much longer. To get answers over the phone was near impossible and the fees that you paid for the services rendered where always a huge expense. Coming from this environment to Kansas City, Missouri to continue developing I was informed by long time locals that you simply “don’t want to deal with the city here” (in reference to obtaining permits) and feared my impending need for their assistance.
departments. All this was accomplished over the phone and within 3-4 hours. Amazing.
Well God bless you if you provide excellent customer service and still charge less….It sounds like the agents would just be making less money for the same amount of work