Dallas-Fort Worth Real Estate Investor Club

Home Warranty Companies

  • 28 Aug 2015 5:14 PM
    Message # 3500589
    Folks,


    Could you please let me know the best home warranty companies recommended for landlords in the DFW area, if at all it is a good idea to use them.

    thanks,

    Sanjay

    Last modified: 28 Aug 2015 5:14 PM | Sanjay V
  • 10 Sep 2015 4:54 PM
    Reply # 3519593 on 3500589

     Hi sanjay
    I use Home Warranty of America (HWA) the rep I use is Howard Zimmerman 214 417 9805. And yes it is always a good idea to have Home Warranty. You can give me a call if you need more info 972 513 3493  

  • 10 Sep 2015 6:00 PM
    Reply # 3519661 on 3500589
    Deleted user

    Pass!  Instead put the money you would spend into a savings account strictly for repairs.  I own a residential service company and have had several landlords contact me to do repairs because item was not covered by warranty and price quoted by huge corp. owned contractor was way out of line.  You would still be obligated to pay $85 service charge.  I recommend finding an honest and reliable handyman in order to take care of your homes. 

  • 11 Sep 2015 8:05 PM
    Reply # 3521619 on 3500589

    Having been in the business 15 years I have tried several things i.e. doing the work myself, requiring the residents to do the work for a discount, to trying practically every Home Warranty co available.  They all have pros and cons and a wide variety of pricing.  As Rocky eluded to, even with a home warranty co in place, they don't always cover the items you need repaired and thought were covered so read the coverage plan closely.  Many times they WONT cover it because someone previously attempted a repair not authorized which means you wasted your money and Rocky's suggestion is a good one of saving the money for repairs and hiring a good handyman service such as his or others.  So, my suggestion is inspect or have the home inspected to know what your dealing with.  If it's been butchered up, maybe very very very old you may not want to have a Home Warranty, as compared to a 10-15 year old well maintained home with original appliances, water heater and air conditioner.  That's the type of house I tend to cover now verses the junker.  I am currently using Choice Home Warranty and have for many years because they offer a discount of the annual feel and the service fee for multiple properties which helps save alot of money.  Hope this helps.

    Rocky, I'd like to hear more about your home services business please.  What you do, don't do, areas covered and POC please.

    Tim Cook

    housebuyer@IBuyNorthTexasHomes.com


  • 13 Sep 2015 7:08 PM
    Reply # 3524915 on 3500589

    I've used a couple of warranty services. I agree with Rocky. They try to find a reason to not cover the item (previous owner didn't maintain item, I didn't get a home inspection before using the warranty, etc). I only use warrantys if the seller pays for it when I buy a house. Then I don't renew. I try to keep a couple of months of rent in a savings account to pay for any unexpected repairs.

  • 13 Sep 2015 8:05 PM
    Reply # 3524964 on 3500589
    Robin Carriger (Administrator)

    I'm usually "all in" or "totally out" on just about everything in my life.  However, on this rare topic, I'm a little mixed.  I generally agree with Rocky, but we have a couple of home warranties on houses we own that have very old, expensive to replace A/C units.  If a unit goes out, we expect the home warranty company to nickel and dime us as previously stated in this thread, but we still think we might save some money when they finally admit it needs to be replaced.  The flaw in my plan is that the A/C units sometimes hang on for longer than we thought, so we lose money paying the home warranty company and then end up replacing the A/C anyway, so... for me, this is a tough call.

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