Over the past month 2 of my clients (buyers) have had their air conditioners break within the first 10 days they have owned their new homes! Obviously this is the absolute worst timing for such a problem. Being in the midst of a move and triple digit temps is bad enough. Failing A/C in this situation would make it unbearable. Luckily, both were protected by 1 year Buyer’s Protection Group (BPG) Home Warranties. Because of this, rather than paying more than $1000 for a new unit, they only had to pay the $30 discounted deductible we negotiated with BPG and the sellers at the time we went under contract. In each case we got the seller to cover the cost of the 1 Year BPG warranty out of their proceeds at closing. The average cost for a 1 Year Home Protection Plan, regardless of company, is between $400 and $600. The variance in price depends on the type of dwelling and coverage needed on the property. If your particular issue is covered you only need to pay the deductible and one of their preferred contractors will fix the problem for you at no extra cost beyond the deductible.
A special situation arose out of this problem for one of my buyers that I wanted to write about for future reference. My buyers initially called me and told me their air conditioning wasn’t working and I told them to call BPG’s claim number to report the problem. They did so and one of BPG’s contractors came out to diagnose the problem. After looking it over he informed them that the problem would cost $700 to fix and it would not be covered because the problem was due to lack of maintenance. The quandary here is that these people had only lived in the house for 10 days and we were being lead to believe that the lack of maintenance over the course of 10 days had ruined a piece of equipment that costs $700. Obviously, it would have taken longer than 10 days for the problem to cause the damage the way the contractor described. My buyer was confused and growing increasingly irritated with situation when he called me and explained the recent developments. This was a completely rehabbed town home in McKinley Heights and we both thought that he deserved better. In the meantime he paid the $700 to have the problem fixed so it didn’t get unbearably hot in his new home.
To further complicate things another arm of BPG’s company that handles building inspections performed the inspection for the buyer prior to closing. This means that if there were a problem a month ago that BPG’s inspector would have caught it. If they missed it they would have to cover the claim. In the end that is exactly what happened. I contacted my office’s BPG rep, Beale Luebben, and she smoothed the situation right out.
I explained the situation and she understood right away that if it wasn’t found on the inspection report that it would have to be covered. She contacted my buyer right away to get a copy of his invoice and reimbursed him promptly. She basically saved the day and restored my client’s faith in me that I was doing all that I could to protect them during the purchase of their new home.
This situation gave me the opportunity to demonstrate that I continue to provide service after the sale by stepping in righting a situation that was getting out of hand quickly. I’m happy to help my clients anytime before or after closing whether it be helping them deal with a vendor or referring a contractor.
This also made me feel really good about using BPG for my warranties and inspections. I always try to get coverage for my buyers when negotiating a deal. This will also be helpful story to tell sellers when helping them to decide whether or not to offer coverage to a buyer as part of the marketing of their home. Seller coverage is free by the way. I will continue to recommend BPG’s services to my clients because I thought Beale and the rest of company showed a lot character in dealing with this situation. Thanks so much Beale!
Luckily , my other set of buyers in Benton Park have not had the same hangup with the contractor. For the record, they bought a home in Benton Park that was rehabbed within in the last 8 years. These are 2 prime examples of why a buyer should always make sure a home protection plan is purchased at closing. It doesn’t matter if the property is in great shape or is a brand new rehab. Problems can arise with any house within the first year. Making such a large purchase can drastically alter someone’s budget for months or years afterwards. If an air conditioner or some other system/appliance breaks down its much easier to pay the $30 deductible than coming up with hundreds or thousands of dollars out of pocket, especially if the budget is tight.