Buying a 1980s fixer-upper

[Sadret Eidar]

My wife and I just closed on our first house (yay!), but the HVAC and water heater are definitely original to the build. Our real estate agent is pushing us to get a home protection plan to cover breakdowns for the first year. I’ve heard mixed things—some people say they deny every claim, others say it saved them thousands. Is it a scam, or a smart safety net for old systems?

[Dideed]

As an agent, I usually gift these to buyers for peace of mind, but I tell them to read the fine print. They usually have a “service call fee” of $75-$100 every time a tech comes out. If you have a lot of old appliances, it can pay off, but for minor repairs, it’s cheaper to hire a local handyman directly.

[Combeand]

I had a protection plan on my rental property specifically because I was terrified of the 20-year-old furnace dying in the middle of winter. When the blower motor finally seized up last January, the dispatch process was slower than I expected. I couldn’t choose my own technician, which was frustrating. I spent a lot of time reading feedback on sites like https://select-home-warranty.pissedconsumer.com/review.html to see if my experience with long wait times for parts was typical. It seems like the biggest issue is always the delay in approving the replacement versus just a patch job. In the end, they did pay for the repair, but we were cold for three days while waiting for the authorization.

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