Home Warranty Recommendations? - TexasBowhunter.com Community Discussion Forums

kumathebear · 05-04-2022, 09:31 AM

Anyone have a Company you have experience with that is "Decent?"

We had been with American Home Shield for several years but recently switched to AHW (Amazon owned) with terrible service on the 1st claim with Fridge problems. We still have had no contact from a tech after 48+ hours of filing the repair request.

Appreciate any recommendations based on your experiences. Oh, did a search and the OP's are not recent.

Mayhem · 05-04-2022, 09:34 AM

I think home warranty is a scam. Other than the 1 year I’ve had with each home I’ve bought I’ve never had a home warranty.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Top Of Texas · 05-04-2022, 10:00 AM

American Home Shield has been great for us! House built in 1930's.

In 20 years, have replaced:
2 water heaters
Stovetop
Oven

And repaired:
AC/Heat multiple times
Plumbing leak plus rough in
I think the sewer line under house

Respond quick and have sent knowledgeable and experienced workers.

If they didn't make money it wouldn't be a service. We figure we come out about even, but it eliminates that huge upfront cost of some work when surprised by an emergency.

Patton · 05-04-2022, 10:06 AM

Skip the home warranty and go with a company like PreFix (if they are in your market).

gingib · 05-04-2022, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayhem

I think home warranty is a scam. Other than the 1 year I’ve had with each home I’ve bought I’ve never had a home warranty.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

x2

chadt1234 · 05-04-2022, 10:25 AM

We have had American Home Shield since move in 12 years ago. They have easily paid out more than I have put in. All depends on the house and what's in it. The previous owner put in a very pricy 36" fridge. It needs something done every couple of years. I'm out a few hundred and according to the techs, the parts cost way more than that.

HogHunter34 · 05-04-2022, 10:33 AM

I’ve personally never had good experience using them for my personal home or rentals with both AHS & I can’t recall the other one. They don’t respond quick, can’t use just any service provider & you have to get approval of service before doing any service.
I never renew them

Mary · 05-04-2022, 10:34 AM

American Home Shield is not recommended by me. It came with our home purchase... and I went without AC upstairs (my office area) for 6 weeks in the heat of the summer. In addition, we needed an oven repair and that took over 3 months with no progress. I finally told them to get lost and bought a new oven. I refused to renew when the year was up....it was not worth the headaches for me.

Maybe it is just my area (north of Houston) and the companies they hire to work repairs, but they were just horrible at doing what they claim to do.

And...their call center is in the Philippines with roosters in the mix on about every call ... drove me crazy. LOL

It you have FB....do a search on American Home Shield. It will make your mind up for you.

M16 · 05-04-2022, 10:45 AM

Take the amount of money you would have wasted on a home warranty and put it in a savings account.

Randy · 05-04-2022, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M16

Take the amount of money you would have wasted on a home warranty and put it in a savings account.

Exactly, build you a reserve for replacement account like commercial property.

Stickslinger92 · 05-04-2022, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patton

Skip the home warranty and go with a company like PreFix (if they are in your market).

Seems like PreFix is $40 a month so $480 a year. I was considering getting a warranty with Choice Home Warranty, it looks to be about $510 a year. With PreFix costing $40 per hour for repairs and also being charged the price of items to replace I feel like PreFix would end up costing more.

What are the pros of PreFix over a home warranty?

bowhntrmatt · 05-04-2022, 11:26 AM

My home warranty recommendation: don't do it.

Save your pennies and hire quality contractors that do work in a timely manner when things break. HW will almost always send the least qualified, slowest, undertrained, underpaid trades out to do the work. They are in the business of collecting premiums, not paying claims.

Kelmat · 05-04-2022, 12:27 PM

When I did residential AC work we worked for American Home Shield for a little while. They didn't want to replace equipment- just patch it. We decided that the only way to be profitable working for them was to up sale the home owner on other items and we refused to do that to our customer base so we stopped working for them.

hot_rod_eddie · 05-04-2022, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mary

American Home Shield is not recommended by me. It came with our home purchase... and I went without AC upstairs (my office area) for 6 weeks in the heat of the summer. In addition, we needed an oven repair and that took over 3 months with no progress. I finally told them to get lost and bought a new oven. I refused to renew when the year was up....it was not worth the headaches for me.

Maybe it is just my area (north of Houston) and the companies they hire to work repairs, but they were just horrible at doing what they claim to do.

And...their call center is in the Philippines with roosters in the mix on about every call ... drove me crazy. LOL

It you have FB....do a search on American Home Shield. It will make your mind up for you.

Agree - I dropped American Homeshield the first time I tried to use them and got the run around. Called and kept getting transfered to overseas locations. I was so POed. Called "sales" and got a lady in Arizona. Poor lady got an earful that day.

I think a home warranty is valid depending on situations such as home age, cash flow, your skill level etc. Home warranty for my home in Pasadena was only about $650 a year with a pool. We were foster parents so the house had to be inspected to a different level. Found a leaking gas pipe (that wasn't even in use at the time). So a week into moving in 'Republic Home Warranty' paid for a new gas line. Later had a dishwasher go bad. No issues getting it replaced.
I don't have a home warranty now, but I live in a newer house, have better cash flow, and can fix most things that go wrong.

PROLINE19 · 05-04-2022, 12:54 PM

American Home Sheild are crooks

TexaRican · 05-04-2022, 01:18 PM

I'm 2 weeks shy of 1 year on this house. The AHS warranty the seller bought us came in handy for sure. Brand new oven went into overheat lockdown and the way it's installed it is very hard to get open when that happens. The guy from appliances and more spent hours out here working on it and stated they are losing money big time on these new ovens over their deal with AHS. Only cost me $75. Had him come back when the brand new dishwasher failed. Finally, had a plumber come out and replace the lower heating element on a 20 year old water heater. That is kicking the can down the road a bit but again, $75 versus $450 for a replacement plus labor. AHS wants $675 to renew and I'm very tempted. One AC unit I replaced when we moved in but the upstairs is 12 years old now....
No complaints with AHS.

Being in Granbury, you probably get Appliances and More regardless. Keep in mind that supply chain disruption on appliance parts or even AC parts is very real right now. We did have to wait several weeks for a new circuit board on the dishwasher.

GarrettH · 05-04-2022, 01:28 PM

My 2 pennies.... 3 years in Real Estate and not 1 family that I have served has been happy with the HW's It is, for the majority of people, a waste of money and they are now an in contract negotiation tool that usually just is a $600 donation from sellers. Not saying they don't have their purpose but I don't have great experience.

rolylane6 · 05-04-2022, 01:41 PM

My only experience with AHS was selling our last house. When we listed with the agent it was an "inclusive" part of the contract that I was unaware of at the time. The A/C went out a week after we listed it. I called my normal A/C guy and he said we needed a new unit at tune of 6k. I called the realtor to let them know we needed to stop showing the house for awhile til I could put together the funds to replace it. She asked if I called AHS and told me about the contract. I called them. Of course, AHS only replaced the compressor but it got it running and cool again and we were able to sell the house without a huge investment. It worked for us in that situation but I don't think I would use it as an overall strategy for home repair in the home I live in. I think it's mainly a bandaid for most things.

Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

no bait · 05-04-2022, 01:57 PM

sears home warranty has worked for me. like anything else got to spend some time on the phone for claims if you want them to cover everything as stated.

Seatruckn · 05-04-2022, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayhem

I think home warranty is a scam. Other than the 1 year I’ve had with each home I’ve bought I’ve never had a home warranty.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This. Over time I found that mine wouldn’t even cover costs of items that were used as direct selling points, such as a Freon recharge. We used it our first year to have the house rekeyed. After that it was pretty useless.

tpack · 05-04-2022, 03:09 PM

Nope. I’ll just insure myself. Not going to put up with the BS when something breaks. I’d rather pay more and use someone of my choice that I know and trust.

gingib · 05-04-2022, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M16

Take the amount of money you would have wasted on a home warranty and put it in a savings account.

Or invest it at easy 6-8% returns!!!!!

20 years that adds up quick

Big Lee · 05-04-2022, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M16

Take the amount of money you would have wasted on a home warranty and put it in a savings account.

Amen

Big Lee · 05-04-2022, 03:21 PM

I suggest saving the money in an account as well. I do not like having someone else controlling who works inside my home.

kumathebear · 05-04-2022, 06:06 PM

Great comments all! For the record, we have had both good and frustrating experience with AHS, but this "inaccurate" Amazon company takes the cake!! I finally got a "supervisor" to admit they are NOT an Amazon company and after another day of NO results, cancelled the contract as amiable as I could today. Then they told us we would be charged a $30 cancellation fee and it was stated in the contract, which I missed initially! I told their "supervisor" at least I would save a lot of $$ per month for the WORST customer service I have ever experienced cancelling!!

By the way, we do have our retirement savings we add to as much as possible, but a big ticket item hurts with us both retired and the busted, leaking tankless heater some idiot put in the attic has costs us a lot in repairs today including ceiling, etc. from water damage.

Still not sure what we are going to do but really worried about the "big expense" items like AC/Heating as our home is 10+ years old, etc. Thanks again and anymore experiences are welcomed.

Benno · 05-04-2022, 08:29 PM

Best advice I can give you is whatever price you’re quoted, send me half the quote in cash with a thank you note for saving you half the money. When we bought our house 9yrs ago it came with AHS. Coil went out, they would cover the coil but not all the extras the company said they were required to do. I could have replaced 2 coils for what the extras added up to.

I’ll pm you my address or you can Venmo, which ever you prefer.

Patton · 05-05-2022, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stickslinger92

Seems like PreFix is $40 a month so $480 a year. I was considering getting a warranty with Choice Home Warranty, it looks to be about $510 a year. With PreFix costing $40 per hour for repairs and also being charged the price of items to replace I feel like PreFix would end up costing more.

What are the pros of PreFix over a home warranty?

Like many others expressed, a home warranty company is only as good as the contractors/vendors they partner with. Many times I hear my clients say that their home warranty won’t cover X problem that just occurred, and I hear the appreciation expressed from my clients with PreFix (especially those who have also had a home warranty in the past).

TheWidowMaker · 05-05-2022, 07:24 AM

I had Old Republic (i think that's the name) nothing bad to say about my experience. I was always contacted the next day by a contractor and issues were quickly resolved. Replaced my A/C, garbage disposal, and garage door motor in my previous house.

locolobo · 05-05-2022, 12:24 PM

I had a policy with Sears a few years back that covered th major appliances in the house, Water heater, dish washer, AC/Heat, fridge, freezer... It actually paid for itself. And had Sears service personnel doin the repairs. Relatively timely and decent service. Eventually had newer appliances So I dropped the coverage. Now that they are getting older I called Sears back. They will insure separate appliances but now, they also offer whole home warranties.. I didn't go get it but with their past track record (for me) That would be the one I would look at seriously.

sharkhunter · 05-05-2022, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mayhem

I think home warranty is a scam. Other than the 1 year I’ve had with each home I’ve bought I’ve never had a home warranty.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

X1000 set up a home emergency fund and have x amount put in the account out of every paycheck. Create your own home
Warranty.

txbowhunter14 · 05-06-2022, 10:32 AM

Iv’e had decent experiences with Old Republic. Had bad experience with American Home Shield. AC went out in August and they were going to take 5 days before they could come out to check it.

Welding Teach · 05-06-2022, 10:49 AM

https://www.homewarranty.com/

We use Fidelity, we have used them for our A/C and Dishwasher.

A/C Tech said they are one of the best about replacing stuff if the tech calls for it.

dishwasher repair guy was little off, and it didn't help I was recovering from a surgery when he had to come out.

Overall we have been happy with the service.

BrianL · 05-06-2022, 11:24 AM

Main thing with HW is they will repair, but almost never replace anything. Sometimes repairing a 20 year old HVAC is costing you more in the long run than replacing with a much higher efficiency unit. They are OK for patchwork, but with parts as limited as they are today, I wouldn't be surprised if repair wait times might be months long.

05-04-2022, 09:31 AM	#1
kumathebear Pope & Young Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Granbury Hunt In: Coke County and Beyond	Home Warranty Recommendations? Anyone have a Company you have experience with that is "Decent?" We had been with American Home Shield for several years but recently switched to AHW (Amazon owned) with terrible service on the 1st claim with Fridge problems. We still have had no contact from a tech after 48+ hours of filing the repair request. Appreciate any recommendations based on your experiences. Oh, did a search and the OP's are not recent.

05-04-2022, 01:18 PM	#16
TexaRican Pope & Young Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Granbury	I'm 2 weeks shy of 1 year on this house. The AHS warranty the seller bought us came in handy for sure. Brand new oven went into overheat lockdown and the way it's installed it is very hard to get open when that happens. The guy from appliances and more spent hours out here working on it and stated they are losing money big time on these new ovens over their deal with AHS. Only cost me $75. Had him come back when the brand new dishwasher failed. Finally, had a plumber come out and replace the lower heating element on a 20 year old water heater. That is kicking the can down the road a bit but again, $75 versus $450 for a replacement plus labor. AHS wants $675 to renew and I'm very tempted. One AC unit I replaced when we moved in but the upstairs is 12 years old now.... No complaints with AHS. Being in Granbury, you probably get Appliances and More regardless. Keep in mind that supply chain disruption on appliance parts or even AC parts is very real right now. We did have to wait several weeks for a new circuit board on the dishwasher. Last edited by TexaRican; 05-04-2022 at 01:21 PM.

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05-04-2022, 09:34 AM	#2
Mayhem Pope & Young Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: porter, tx Hunt In: crockett, county	I think home warranty is a scam. Other than the 1 year I’ve had with each home I’ve bought I’ve never had a home warranty. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

05-04-2022, 10:00 AM	#3
Top Of Texas Ten Point Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Texas Panhandle Hunt In: Panhandle	American Home Shield has been great for us! House built in 1930's. In 20 years, have replaced: 2 water heaters Stovetop Oven And repaired: AC/Heat multiple times Plumbing leak plus rough in I think the sewer line under house Respond quick and have sent knowledgeable and experienced workers. If they didn't make money it wouldn't be a service. We figure we come out about even, but it eliminates that huge upfront cost of some work when surprised by an emergency.

05-04-2022, 10:06 AM	#4
Patton Pope & Young Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Austin Hunt In: Edwards, Hays, Caldwell	Skip the home warranty and go with a company like PreFix (if they are in your market).

05-04-2022, 10:25 AM	#6
chadt1234 Six Point Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Tomball, TX	We have had American Home Shield since move in 12 years ago. They have easily paid out more than I have put in. All depends on the house and what's in it. The previous owner put in a very pricy 36" fridge. It needs something done every couple of years. I'm out a few hundred and according to the techs, the parts cost way more than that.

05-04-2022, 10:33 AM	#7
HogHunter34 Ten Point Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Troup, TX Hunt In: Anderson County	I’ve personally never had good experience using them for my personal home or rentals with both AHS & I can’t recall the other one. They don’t respond quick, can’t use just any service provider & you have to get approval of service before doing any service. I never renew them

05-04-2022, 10:34 AM	#8
Mary Administrator Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Kingwood	American Home Shield is not recommended by me. It came with our home purchase... and I went without AC upstairs (my office area) for 6 weeks in the heat of the summer. In addition, we needed an oven repair and that took over 3 months with no progress. I finally told them to get lost and bought a new oven. I refused to renew when the year was up....it was not worth the headaches for me. Maybe it is just my area (north of Houston) and the companies they hire to work repairs, but they were just horrible at doing what they claim to do. And...their call center is in the Philippines with roosters in the mix on about every call ... drove me crazy. LOL It you have FB....do a search on American Home Shield. It will make your mind up for you.

05-04-2022, 10:45 AM	#9
M16 Pope & Young Join Date: Dec 2009 Hunt In: Colorado, LaSalle, Counties	Take the amount of money you would have wasted on a home warranty and put it in a savings account.

05-04-2022, 11:26 AM	#12
bowhntrmatt Pope & Young Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Wimberley Hunt In: Comstock	My home warranty recommendation: don't do it. Save your pennies and hire quality contractors that do work in a timely manner when things break. HW will almost always send the least qualified, slowest, undertrained, underpaid trades out to do the work. They are in the business of collecting premiums, not paying claims.

05-04-2022, 12:27 PM	#13
Kelmat Six Point Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Spring Hunt In: Shelby county	When I did residential AC work we worked for American Home Shield for a little while. They didn't want to replace equipment- just patch it. We decided that the only way to be profitable working for them was to up sale the home owner on other items and we refused to do that to our customer base so we stopped working for them.

05-04-2022, 12:54 PM	#15
PROLINE19 Six Point Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: HEATH TEXAS Hunt In: Jones county	American Home Sheild are crooks

05-04-2022, 01:28 PM	#17
GarrettH Ten Point Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cypress Hunt In: Bandera	My 2 pennies.... 3 years in Real Estate and not 1 family that I have served has been happy with the HW's It is, for the majority of people, a waste of money and they are now an in contract negotiation tool that usually just is a $600 donation from sellers. Not saying they don't have their purpose but I don't have great experience.

05-04-2022, 01:41 PM	#18
rolylane6 Ten Point Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: North Texas Hunt In: Wise county	My only experience with AHS was selling our last house. When we listed with the agent it was an "inclusive" part of the contract that I was unaware of at the time. The A/C went out a week after we listed it. I called my normal A/C guy and he said we needed a new unit at tune of 6k. I called the realtor to let them know we needed to stop showing the house for awhile til I could put together the funds to replace it. She asked if I called AHS and told me about the contract. I called them. Of course, AHS only replaced the compressor but it got it running and cool again and we were able to sell the house without a huge investment. It worked for us in that situation but I don't think I would use it as an overall strategy for home repair in the home I live in. I think it's mainly a bandaid for most things. Sent from my SM-N970U using Tapatalk

05-04-2022, 01:57 PM	#19
no bait Eight Point Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: RGV Hunt In: deep south Texas	sears home warranty has worked for me. like anything else got to spend some time on the phone for claims if you want them to cover everything as stated.

05-04-2022, 03:09 PM	#21
tpack Ten Point Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Stephenville Hunt In: Erath	Nope. I’ll just insure myself. Not going to put up with the BS when something breaks. I’d rather pay more and use someone of my choice that I know and trust.

05-04-2022, 03:21 PM	#24
Big Lee Ten Point Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: TX Hunt In: Central Texas	I suggest saving the money in an account as well. I do not like having someone else controlling who works inside my home.

05-04-2022, 06:06 PM	#25
kumathebear Pope & Young Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Granbury Hunt In: Coke County and Beyond	Great comments all! For the record, we have had both good and frustrating experience with AHS, but this "inaccurate" Amazon company takes the cake!! I finally got a "supervisor" to admit they are NOT an Amazon company and after another day of NO results, cancelled the contract as amiable as I could today. Then they told us we would be charged a $30 cancellation fee and it was stated in the contract, which I missed initially! I told their "supervisor" at least I would save a lot of $$ per month for the WORST customer service I have ever experienced cancelling!! By the way, we do have our retirement savings we add to as much as possible, but a big ticket item hurts with us both retired and the busted, leaking tankless heater some idiot put in the attic has costs us a lot in repairs today including ceiling, etc. from water damage. Still not sure what we are going to do but really worried about the "big expense" items like AC/Heating as our home is 10+ years old, etc. Thanks again and anymore experiences are welcomed.

05-04-2022, 08:29 PM	#26
Benno Eight Point Join Date: Oct 2011	Best advice I can give you is whatever price you’re quoted, send me half the quote in cash with a thank you note for saving you half the money. When we bought our house 9yrs ago it came with AHS. Coil went out, they would cover the coil but not all the extras the company said they were required to do. I could have replaced 2 coils for what the extras added up to. I’ll pm you my address or you can Venmo, which ever you prefer.

05-05-2022, 07:24 AM	#28
TheWidowMaker Ten Point Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Longview, Texas Hunt In: Anywhere	I had Old Republic (i think that's the name) nothing bad to say about my experience. I was always contacted the next day by a contractor and issues were quickly resolved. Replaced my A/C, garbage disposal, and garage door motor in my previous house.

05-05-2022, 12:24 PM	#29
locolobo Ten Point Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Brazoria county Hunt In: Somewhere in TX	I had a policy with Sears a few years back that covered th major appliances in the house, Water heater, dish washer, AC/Heat, fridge, freezer... It actually paid for itself. And had Sears service personnel doin the repairs. Relatively timely and decent service. Eventually had newer appliances So I dropped the coverage. Now that they are getting older I called Sears back. They will insure separate appliances but now, they also offer whole home warranties.. I didn't go get it but with their past track record (for me) That would be the one I would look at seriously.

05-06-2022, 10:32 AM	#31
txbowhunter14 Four Point Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Katy, TX Hunt In: Caldwell County	Iv’e had decent experiences with Old Republic. Had bad experience with American Home Shield. AC went out in August and they were going to take 5 days before they could come out to check it.

05-06-2022, 10:49 AM	#32
Welding Teach Six Point Join Date: Nov 2018 Location: Crosby Tx	https://www.homewarranty.com/ We use Fidelity, we have used them for our A/C and Dishwasher. A/C Tech said they are one of the best about replacing stuff if the tech calls for it. dishwasher repair guy was little off, and it didn't help I was recovering from a surgery when he had to come out. Overall we have been happy with the service.

05-06-2022, 11:24 AM	#33
BrianL Pope & Young Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Paris Hunt In: Lamar and Dickens	Main thing with HW is they will repair, but almost never replace anything. Sometimes repairing a 20 year old HVAC is costing you more in the long run than replacing with a much higher efficiency unit. They are OK for patchwork, but with parts as limited as they are today, I wouldn't be surprised if repair wait times might be months long.