Do home warranties cover condos? You bet they do. Purchasing your first condominium is an exciting time. You get to achieve the dream of owning a home but without the upkeep and hassle that comes with a house. A condo home warranty, sometimes called condo warranty insurance or condominium insurance, consists of warranty coverage specifically intended to serve the needs of condo owners. Just as house dwellers must consider the gaps between their homeowners insurance, their appliance manufacturers’ basic warranties, and the additional coverage and peace of mind that comes with a home protection plan, condo owners need to fully understand where their condominium association’s master policy ends and their own liability begins. Like a house, your condo includes a wide variety of complicated systems and appliances on which you rely daily. From electricity to water, heating and cooling to plumbing, and appliances and beyond, if you’re not super handy with a wrench, you’ll sleep better knowing you have a plan in place for when any of your key systems and appliances require maintenance.
The condo home warranty, defined.
What is a condo warranty anyway? Similar to appliance warranties purchased by homeowners, condo warranties provide major-appliance and home-systems repair coverage for condominium owners. Manufacturers’ warranties on home appliances typically don’t last more than a year or two, and condo insurance policies rarely cover them at all. Home warranty companies such as Cinch Home Services help homeowners cover that gap in coverage, whether they live in houses, townhomes or condos. The sad truth is that at one time or another, most appliances and systems will fail and need service, wherever you live, and unless a warranty covers yours, you’re going to be responsible for the full cost of the repair or replacement. If you like the idea of setting aside small amounts of money over time to cover eventualities like these, a condo home warranty is a great choice. It allows you to stay within your monthly budget rather than be on the hook for a significant out-of-pocket expense when a system or appliance breakdown surprises you. This way, you can relax with a single call, knowing that a qualified team of experienced professionals is ready to take care of these problems for you.
Costs can be unpredictable.
Are home warranties worth the cost? If you don’t like expensive surprises and prefer to stay within your budget, the answer is yes. Sure, living in a condo usually means paying fees, and you might expect those fees to cover just about any problems you might have, but this simply is not the case. Your condo fees likely contribute to maintaining the building itself, the upkeep of the grounds, and areas where people gather that everyone relies on, like public restrooms and elevators. But your own individual living space within the building is usually up to you. You purchased it, and it’s your responsibility to maintain it. Suppose you need a new oven or a part for your washing machine. In that case, it’s on you to figure out how to make it happen and pay for it — unless you have a home warranty that offers financial protection when the inevitable breakdowns and incidents happen. When you’re covered, you can make a single call and rest easy knowing the professionals are on it and that you’ll never pay the total retail cost of the repair or replacement again. Coverage varies from plan to plan and from company to company, so it’s worth your time to do a little research into what’s available and what makes the best sense for your needs, both now and in the coming years. Condo warranty coverage may include just about every system and appliance you can imagine, from HVAC systems to smoke detectors. A complete home protection plan from Cinch Home Services covers these appliances and systems for repair and replacement. You can make service requests online or over the phone, 24/7.
Condo warranties can lower your overall costs.
Are you worrying about condo warranty cost options? You shouldn’t. By definition, condo warranties are designed to protect you from the extreme expenses you’d be responsible for without coverage. Condo warranties offer a force field of ongoing protection. This renders you immune to not only the unexpected costs of service, parts, and the replacement of expensive appliances and even entire systems within your home, but also the baseline, initial costs of regular retail service calls. A good condo warranty offers full coverage that protects you from those expensive surprises, as well as more expensive, routine maintenance charges. You’ll save more money over time, especially if you plan to stay in your home for years.
Help protect your housing budget.
Your balanced, monthly budget relies on predictable expenditures you can control, or at least costs you can estimate fairly accurately. For those who qualify (through reliable payment history) and who like to keep their monthly expenses predictable, utility companies offer something called “levelized billing,” which provides a more predictable monthly bill, despite seasonal fluctuations in heating and cooling costs. A condo home warranty offers a similar benefit in that it protects the condo owner from unpredictable fluctuations in monthly expenditures related to appliances and systems within the condominium. Instead of being vulnerable to those large fluctuations in costs due to service, repairs, parts and replacements, condo owners rely on a warranty to keep their liability low. That way, they’re protected when these inevitable problems arise, and they can stay within their monthly housing budget. Whether you pay your condo warranty monthly, quarterly or annually, your costs are predictable, and your coverage can offer significant peace of mind.
If you’d like to read more about what a home warranty is or what a home warranty covers, Cinch Home Services offers plenty of excellent, free content covering many valuable topics around the home. If you’re still debating whether home warranties are worth it, there’s even more on our blog for you to consider. After you’ve made your way through all the articles that seem important to you and you feel ready to take the next step, we make it easy to get a free quote on your condo home warranty.
The information in this article is intended to provide guidance on the proper maintenance and care of systems and appliances in the home. Not all of the topics mentioned are covered by our home warranty or maintenance plans. Please review your home warranty contract carefully to understand your coverage.