Buyer Tip: Let's Get It Straight - They're Not All Created Equal(ly)!

A Home Warranty is different from Homeowners' insurance.

• While a Home Warranty provides coverage for items in a home that routinely need servicing (for example, air conditioning, ductwork, plumbing, appliances) -- Homeowners' Insurance provides coverage in the event of damage to a home (for example, fire damage).

• Many sellers provide a Home Warranty for their buyers. In the event that your seller doesn't, I'd recommend that you buy one yourself. It's worth the extra few hundred spent at closing to have some peace of mind. If your air conditioning breaks down in mid August, it won't break you to pay a $75 deductible to have it fixed or replaced.

• If you're like the majority of homebuyers and you are financing your home (ie. you didn't hit the Lotto so you're not paying in cash), your lender will require that you obtain Homeowners' Insurance. Start with your car insurance provider since you're likely to get a better rate for getting car and home from the same outfit, but you'd be doing yourself an injustice if you didn't shop around and get a few more quotes. The rates vary so widely, it's hard to tell you what you'll hear from each insurer.

• Back to Home Warranties -- all home warranties are not created equally, so make sure you check the fine print. I'd be more than happy to help you out with that; feel free to drop me a quick line. Also keep in mind that for the purposes of this post, a home warranty refers to warranties for previously owned homes and DOES NOT provide coverage for structural damage to your house. It is different from the structural warranty many homeowners get with their new homes, protecting them from any construction errors (for example, faulty beams, ceilings, walls, roof).

Of course, I could go on and on (and I have been known to...) but I wanted to outline the basic differences between a Home Warranty and Homeowners' Insurance. They are not the same.

For more information on this and any other real estate-related matter, do not hesitate to drop me a line or give me a call; I'm happy to shed a little light wherever I can.

Now, go buy a house!