Whether you’re buying or selling a home, you are busy with appointments, paperwork, and deadlines. The last thing you want is for any surprises to get in the way of completing everything in a timely manner. Fortunately, there are things that can be done to make both buying and selling a home a little more predictable and less stressful. One thing that can be done, for example, is making sure a home warranty is part of your real estate transaction.
Why a home warranty? Because it helps to protect the budgets of people involved in the real estate transaction from the unexpected costs of repairs and replacements. Here’s how it works:
Home Warranties Protect Your Home and Your Budget
A Home Warranty is a renewable, one-year service contract that helps to protect your budget against the high cost of unexpected covered repairs or replacements of a home’s systems and appliances. A home warranty typically covers:
- water heaters
- electrical systems
- air conditioning and heating systems
- appliances (i.e., the oven, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and refrigerator)
- and much more
It’s this type of coverage that makes the home warranty so valuable and so important. System or appliance failures will happen at some point. With a home warranty, you have a plan for when it does. Some could even experience issues that cause a home to fail an important inspection.
If that failure happens during a sale, it could be to your detriment, no matter which side of the sale you’re on. But a home warranty can help protect your budget from expensive repairs and replacements during the sales process, keeping you on track to buy or sell the property you’re interested in.
Home Warranties Protect You When You’re Buying a Home
If you’re buying a home, looking for homes covered by a home warranty can be very beneficial, providing you and your budget with peace of mind as you begin moving into a new house. After all, systems and appliances all experience wear and tear – what if something breaks after you’ve already finished closing on your dream home?
No one should have to worry about surprise repairs after they’ve purchased a new home. Fortunately, a home warranty for buyers offers the budget protection needed to purchase a home confidently. Should normal wear and tear lead to an unexpected covered system or appliance failure, a warranty may provide a repair or replacement – helping you as the buyer to keep your budget on track.
Home Warranties Protect You When You’re Selling a House
As a seller, you can protect your home while it’s on the market when you commit to purchase the warranty for the buyer. This is important because as long as you are the owner of a house, you remain responsible for its maintenance. And the failure of an appliance or system could easily occur while your house is on the market, potentially interfering with the sales process.
Fortunately, a home warranty will help you budget for these issues and ensure that should they arise, you’re financially prepared to address them. Another benefit is that homes with warranties can be more appealing to buyers because of the protection and peace of mind that they offer to the buyer after closing.
Talk to Howard Hanna Real Estate Services About a Home Warranty
At Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, our goal is to give you the best coverage and help you at every stage of home ownership. That’s why our one-stop shopping offerings include real estate services, mortgage services, title and escrow services, and insurance services. In addition to our in-house services, our home warranty service provider, HSA Home Warranty, helps us provide you with the peace of mind needed to prepare to sell your current home or purchase a new one.
Remember, whether the home is older or newly built, and whether you are the seller or buyer, wear and tear can lead to system or appliance failures at any time and interfere with your plans for a home. If you’re ready to discuss your home warranty options as you prepare to list or buy this season, contact us today!
