How a Home Warranty Can Save You Time and Money as a Homeowner
With my homeowner anniversary rapidly approaching, I (Celeste, retired Open House Austin team member & homeowner client) have been spending some time reflecting on the past year on all the challenges I’ve faced and what I’ve learned so far, living in my 720 square foot homestead.
I am so grateful for the opportunity this house has given me to build my wealth, entertain my friends and family, and play in the backyard with my dog.
On the flipside, I also have to be honest about the amount of time I spent worrying about any unexpected issues popping up and how I would fare handling them.
If you read my blog post at the six-month mark, you may remember that my confidence in tackling home repair and improvement projects was… low.
Sure, I can use the drill my agent Alan gifted me at closing to change out cabinet hardware and hang art but when it comes to actually tackling an issue like a toilet that isn’t flushing, I am still in need of more help than the saints of YouTube can provide me. Enter the home warranty.
Keep in mind, the following are numbers from our local Austin agent team. We also work with clients all over the nation - and we can connect you with a realtor who shares our values in your area if you’re looking to buy!
What is a Home Warranty?
A home warranty is a policy that helps cover the cost of maintaining and repairing household systems and appliances. It differs from a home insurance policy, which is required by your mortgage lender, and covers the loss of your home and property in the event of a fire, flood or other natural disaster.
New construction homes typically come with a one-year home warranty as part of the purchase, but when you buy an older, resale home you can purchase one for yourself anytime after closing. It is not a requirement like home insurance is, but it can bring a lot of peace of mind when it comes to the upkeep of a property.
I have a policy for my primary residence only, but I have heard from many of my friends who also have home warranty coverage for their investment rental properties for the same time and money saving benefits.
Choosing the Right Warranty
At the recommendation of our community of homeowners, I researched my options and chose to get a one-year home warranty policy with Super, and my experience has certainly lived up to the name.
I was very fortunate to snag a home with newer appliances and systems in good condition, but a few things have popped up that I am grateful to have an easy solution for.
Here’s what I get for about $600 per year:
Easy to Request service - I can login to my Super account online or on the mobile app to schedule services and make claims.
Access to Certified Super service techs - Their network of highly rated techs who show up on time, explain the work they are doing and don’t try to upsell on the job site is so helpful.
Affordable monthly & annual subscription plans tailored to my needs. I referred to my home inspection report to help me decide what I wanted covered or not.
My first experience using this home warranty policy was to address my bathroom vanity light fixture which worked just fine during the inspection and my final walkthrough but later revealed itself to be faulty.
I’m good about turning lights off when I leave a room, so I didn’t notice it at first, but after 15-20 minutes of being on, the lights would start to flicker until I turned off the light and waited a few minutes to “reset” it. Not a huge inconvenience and something I could easily ignore until I found myself more than once halfway through a shower when the rave-like strobe lights would begin. Not so fun.
Anything electrical, especially in a wet bathroom, makes me wary so I knew I wanted to reach out to an expert for help addressing it. I went to my home warranty online account dashboard and submitted a service request in just a few minutes.
Within the week, I had an appointment with a certified and pre-vetted electrician to come out and take a look. No time wasted looking at Google reviews, comparing prices, and calling to make an appointment. Just a couple of clicks and my work was done. How easy is that?
On the day of my appointment, my assigned tech showed up (on time!) and got right to work. He didn’t mind my curious self lurking in the bathroom door and even explained what he was doing as he went along so I could build up my knowledge as well. In less than an hour, my light was fixed, I paid the flat $75 fee online, and got to check it off my list.
I’ve used my home warranty Super subscription several times in the last year for things like having my A/C system prepared for winter and getting my gutters cleaned, all with the same ease as the first time.
Investing in the maintenance of my home for a flat rate fee has made me feel like a homeowner superstar. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve made a few mistakes in my first year as a homeowner (like trying to remove the floor to ceiling mirror in my guest room off my wall by myself), but I truly believe that subscribing to Super is one of the best decisions I’ve made.
If you are interested in checking out Super for a home warranty of your own, use this link for $100 off!