Home Warranty Education

What Is A Home Warranty?

​​​​​​​What is a home warranty? Learn more with this article and infographic.

If you are a homeowner or currently shopping for a house, you may have heard the term "home warranty." What is a home warranty? In this article and printable infographic, we explain what a home warranty is, how the home warranty process works, and when you can purchase a home warranty for your home!

A Home Warranty isn't Home Insurance

First, let's clear up what a home warranty isn't. One of the largest misconceptions is the confusion that home warranties are the same thing as home insurance.  Home insurance and home warranties are not the same thing. Home insurance covers damage to your home's structure from natural disasters like floods and fires or theft. 
A home warranty, on the other hand, doesn't cover the entire structural foundation of your home, but instead, covers the systems and appliances that are within the house. These are systems like your internal electrical, plumbing, and the heating and cooling systems. Some appliances that may be covered are a fridge, dishwasher, oven, range or cooktop, or your washer and dryer. Different home warranty companies have different levels of coverage for all types of homeowners at different price points. Landmark customers can choose from a number of different home warranty plans that cover different combinations of these systems and appliances. Some plans let you choose which appliance warranties you want depending on what appliances you have in your home! 

​​​​​​​Learn what a home warranty is and when you can purchase one for your home with this infographic.

Learn what a home warranty is and when you can purchase one for your home with this infographic.

When Can You Purchase a Home Warranty for Your House? 

When can a homeowner purchase a home warranty for their house? A home warranty can be put on any home at any time. Usually, a home warranty is included on a home that is involved in a real estate transaction. However, homeowners can purchase a home warranty for a home they moved into years ago! Home warranties range between $300-$600 dollars a year, depending on the level of coverage and where the home is located. 
If the home is not involved in a real estate transaction and has been owned for over 30 days, homeowners have to wait for 30 days before coverage begins. (This is not the case for real estate transactions.)  If a home warranty is included in the sale of a home, coverage begins the day of closing. Homeowners who are selling their homes can get free listing coverage as well, which can potentially sell a home faster and for more money. 
Homeowners must wait 30 days for coverage because the systems and appliances in a home must be in working order before the effective date of the contract. Usually when a home is involved in a real estate transaction, failures are fixed before closing, so coverage is effective immediately. 

What is the Home Warranty Process?

Once the coverage begins, the home warranty process begins when something in a home has failed. A homeowner will call the home warranty company and see if the appliance or home system that has failed is covered with their home warranty plan. If the problem is covered under the contract, Landmark Home Warranty will send out a contractor to diagnose the problem. 
 Landmark Home Warranty will have a contractor schedule an appointment with you, the homeowner within 24 hours. If there aren't contractors in your area or there is a delay, the home warranty company may authorize you to get your own contractor. Do not get your own contractor without prior authorization, though. A contractor who isn't through Landmark may not be able to get the same deals on parts and labor, which can cost you significantly more. 
A homeowner will pay the service call fee when opening a claim, or when the contractor arrives at the home for diagnosis. This fee is for diagnosis only! Even if the home warranty company will not cover the repair or replacement, the homeowner must pay the contractor for their time to come out and determine the cause of the failure. This service call fee is generally between $60 -$100.
The contractor will diagnose the problem with your failed system or appliance, call the home warranty company and get authorization to make the repair or replacement. The home warranty company has to authorize the repair, to make sure that the repair or replacement is indeed covered in the contract. 
Obviously, there are some stipulations with this deal. The homeowners have to maintain their appliances and home systems! If the homeowner's appliances haven't been maintained as per the manufacturer's suggestions, the home warranty company may not cover the item. Landmark Home Warranty tries to educate our homeowners on what they need to be doing for maintenance, so they can get the most out of their home warranties with our resources.

Once the repair is made, the work is under warranty for another 30 days! That way, if there was something wrong with the repair made, or the problem was bigger than initially thought, the homeowner doesn't have to pay another service call fee.

Why is a home warranty beneficial?

Home warranties save homeowners a lot of money, and they help homes sell faster and for more money.  If a home warranty is put on a home with older home systems and appliances, they can save homeowners  big. Everything in your home has a lifespan. For example, an AC unit has a 15-year life expectancy. If you purchased a home warranty and your ac unit went out within that year, you'd only be paying around $450 to get it replaced, versus the $4,000 to $6,000 it would cost without a home warranty.  Learn more about the value a home warranty provides for Landmark customers here. 

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Learn what a home warranty is and when you can purchase one for your home with this infographic.

Home Warranty Education

Everything you need to know about what a home warranty is, how it works and what it covers. Real estate professionals: use these articles to help your clients!

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