How a Home Warranty Can Help You Sell

While you're sending out a good word about your house, put forward an offer that will definitely make buyers think twice about crossing your home off their list of favorites by throwing in house warranty to calm their nerves. You certainly don't want them worried about unexpected updating and repair costs before they even close the deal with you. Peace of mind will surely tip the scales for you if they're choosing among houses with the same features and which sell in the same price range. It's not a new idea – sellers have already started to make home warranties part of their offers. In fact, industry experts say it's almost standard in some markets, and it's a bandwagon you won't regret jumping on.

The Need for a Home Warranty

If you're having a tough time marketing your house, or your area isn't exactly a go-to for home hunters, an offer of assurance that you'll take care of low-cost repairs for their first year can give you an edge over other homes for sale. Otherwise, your house just might be a turn-off when compared to houses that come with home warranties from their vendors.

You should take into consideration that buyers aren't too keen on shelling out a bit more for repairs when they've just bought a house and moved in. With a home warranty that would cost you a few hundred dollars – and them about $30 to $75, depending on the policy – you offer them the convenience of settling into their new home without bring troubled by any more financial headaches.

Your listing agent should be able to help you with threshing out the details of the warranty. But if his or her services don't include providing a warranty, ask for suggestions and look around for companies that do. You can save yourself trouble by purchasing a home warranty from an insurance company while your home is on the market, and then transferring it to the buyer when the sale is carried out. You should be warned, though, that preexisting conditions that are known to the seller aren't covered by some home warranties. These actually require that the defects are unknown to the parties at closing.

The Need for Home Inspection

Getting a home warranty, however, doesn't save the buyer from having a home inspection done before he or she signs the contract, nor does it spare you from making necessary repairs before listing your home on the market. Fix that leak or that doorknob and repaint your walls to stage your home, and give buyers enough reasons to buy your house, anyway, with or without the home warranty. Buyers, on the other hand, must still get an inspection done by a qualified inspection specialist, and they bear the expenses for this. You have to fix up the problems that are caught before you proceed with the sale.

Though the warranty you'll provide won't by itself sell your home, it will raise your chances when it's time for potential home buyers to weigh their choices. Industry experts say that a buyer should ask for a home warranty, anyway, even if the seller has not offered it yet.