We handle work orders day in and day for our properties and most of the time the repairs are fairly simple. And most times owners will ask if they should keep a home warranty for more extensive repairs including those that include plumbing and HVAC? We always say it depends.

First, you have to evaluate how old the home is and the major mechanical components such as the a/c system, water heater, appliances, etc. If these items are less than 5 to 10 years of age, then we are going to recommend no. Even if they are older than that, the answer may still be no.

The biggest reason we say that you may not want to use a warranty is the cost. In most cases, owners will feel that the $500 to $700 they spend annually will help offset any major repair costs and they are safe. The truth is that many times, the warranty is going to still charge a deductible of $65 or more to file a claim and then they will not cover most of the expense for permits, modifications if required to make a repair and freon. And because we have no control over the contractors selected, we often are dealing with companies that don't deliver the best service.

Recently, we went 3 contractors trying to get an a/c serviced in August in Texas!. After a week we just opted to go ahead and bring in our contractor to get the job done and done right. The warranty vendor was going to charge $80 per pound for freon after the warranty company contributed just $10 per pound. Plus they had office hours of Monday through Friday from 8am to 3:30pm. That is not much of a service oriented company.

In the end, you may still end up paying just as much through the warranty and have more issues. In our experience, skip the warranty and save the deductible and the annual premium.