Secure Home Warranty is a company that has shifted with the market with regard to home warranties. Originally, most home warranties were essentially service contracts, designed to provide short-term coverage for repair or replacement of major systems and appliances. Home warranties are pitched by relying on the fears of a large repair bill. The number of systems in your house that you couldn’t fix yourself has multiplied over time. If nothing else a warranty claims to offer people the “peace of mind” that if a system breaks you can get it repaired or replaced without having to bear the financial burden in the moment. But the number of exceptions, loopholes, conditions and limitations make it seem unlikely that a warranty from Secure Home is a good investment.
Focusing on Purveyors of Homes
When large property management corporations offer a warranty as part of the purchase of a new home, it makes the investment seem safer, since all big replacement and repair bills are theoretically covered through the first year of ownership. The daunting task of buying your first home is riddled with decisions that require some degree of expertise in areas that most buyers don’t feel confident in their judgement. Secure Home’s warranty is described by their website as a fine purchase to property managers, home builders and real estate agents. Their appeal is to the purveyors of homes, not the eventual buyer.
Remember that the Service Agreement is the Only Contract
The actual language of the service agreement is the only binding part of a contract between the buyer and the warrantor. The claims on the website of “coverage” are not binding, however, the limitations, exclusions, conditions and caps on coverage that are detailed in the terms and conditions of the services contract are binding. The fact that the warranty would seem more valuable to a new homeowner is understandable, since they are very rarely privy to the details. The number of other contracts and details to absorb at a closing make it very unlikely that the details of the home warranty that are only available in the very legal-ese service agreement will even be reviewed before purchase.