Home Warranty programs on Rentals

[Kurt Trombetti]

I was having a discussion about home warranty programs with a realtor friend. The landlord would pay for the home warranty and if something breaks the tenant would be responsible for paying the deductible.  Does anyone have any experience with this type of arrangement. 

[Christine Kankowski]

I've seen it but tenants get very annoyed with the wait times of home warranties.  ALso, if the HW co comes out and the item is not covered, the tenants still has to pay the copay of $60-75.  Lots of stuff is not covered, so it needs to be very clear to the tenant PRIOR to them calling, so they dont waste their time and money on non-covered itemts.   Also, HW co, only cover some repairs, and not FULL repairs.

For example- water heater leaks all over. :HW covered removal and install of new water heater.  they do Not cover drywall repair , code upgrades, additional damage. etc.   Sometimes it is cheaper overall and awlays quicker to NOT use a HW company.  THisis from years of experience and a lot of feedback from annoyed owners and tenant.