Always ask for a Home Warranty when selling or buying a home.

Always ask for a Home Warranty when selling or buying a home.

I helped some buyer clients finalize the process of purchasing a new home this week. Five days prior to closing, I received a call from my client requesting a sewer inspection. Of course, it was the sewer inspector that had told my client he needed an inspection at a social gathering the weekend before.

Now… I am not sure how common this is in other parts of the country but it is a rare occurrence in homes built after 1950 here in the greater Seattle area which includes Renton and Newcastle Washington.

Now don’t get me wrong… there is nothing wrong with getting the inspection, in fact, it is a good idea to know as much about a home as possible before closing. My point is that it should have been done before our contingencies expired and because the home was newer and sewer inspections are not common, we did not automatically think to have one setup and scheduled.

I agreed to request permission from the listing agent to setup a time to access the property to conduct the sewer inspection. I also explained to my client that we were outside of all inspection contingencies.

Not surprisingly, the listing agent turned down our request. I pushed the issue and he finally agreed to entertain the idea if the sewer inspector would call him to explain what he was going to do and how long it would take.

I called the sewer inspector my client wanted to use and he refused to call the listing agent because he didn’t feel he should have to explain what he does for a living. As you can see, this situation seemed to be escalating into a downhill spiral.

Once the sewer inspector refused to call the listing agent to explain what he was going to do, I was pretty sure we were not going to be able to get permission from the listing agent to get the job done.

Instead of calling my client back with what he would have considered to be bad news and no solution, a home warranty covered my back.

At the beginning of the transaction, we asked the sellers to provide a home warranty. They didn’t see the value so I agreed to pay for one out of my own commission. The cost was about $350.

A home warranty pays for repair or replacement of any covered home system or appliance, regardless of make or model that breaks down due to normal wear and tear. This typically includes the home’s air conditioning, heating, plumbing, electrical, water heater and major appliances such as range/oven/cook-top, dishwasher, garbage disposal, etc.

Because we had a home warranty (as well as home owners insurance), any unforeseen problem with the sewer line could be resolved after closing without significant expense to my buyer. It eased the fears my client had picked up after speaking with his sewer inspector friend and allowed us to put the issue of getting an inspection put to bed so that we could proceed to closing without any unresolved issues.

Getting to the closing table results in a win-win scenario for both buyer and seller. Whoever pays for the inspection benefits regardless of who ends up living in the home after all of the papers are signed.

When it’s my listing, I ask my sellers to purchase a home warranty to make their home more appealing to buyers and to help protect the covered systems and appliances during the listing period.

When it’s my buyers, I recommend that they purchase a home warranty during closing to protect their new investment.

If nobody is willing to purchase it, I pay for it to lessen liability, discourage downward price negotiation, help keep deals together and reduce post-sale issues.

Some of the home warranty companies you might consider are:
American Home Shield www.ahsservice.com
Fidelity National Home Warranty www.homewarranty.com
2-10 Home Warranty www.2-10.com


David Edwards
REALTOR®
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound
425-890-8045
E-Mail: david@davidjedwards.com
Website: http://www.davidjedwards.com
Blogsite: http://www.davidjedwards.com/renton-info-blog.asp

David J Edwards is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Renton and Newcastle Washington.