rogerowensrealtor.bsky.social
rogerowensrealtor.bsky.social
rogerowensrealtor.bsky.social
@rogerowensrealtor.bsky.social
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Las Vegas area in Nevada Realtor. Roger is as passionate about Las Vegas living as he is about finding your unique home. Roger is the future of real estate, having created a streamlined, tech-savvy & personalized concierge experience for buyers & sellers
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The Pros of Buying a Home Warranty
Information is brought to you by For $600 or so a year, plus a service fee of around $75 every time you ask for repair, a home warranty can be an inexpensive way to have peace of mind as a new homeowner. Home warranties cover breakdowns in a home, from HVAC systems to appliances. A broken water heater can be repaired within hours, but if it can’t be fixed, a home warranty can pay for a new one to be installed. For homeowners with an older house, they may want more things covered than a newer home would need—such as older appliances—and will likely pay more for it. If you just bought new appliances and have a manufacturer’s warranty for a year or more, you won’t need this coverage. You may be able to exclude new appliances from a home warranty to cut down on costs. Things that can be covered by a home warranty include ductwork, electrical, plumbing, dishwashers, refrigerators, ovens, stoves, clothes washers and dryers, and water heaters. Things that are unlikely to be covered include expensive items such as septic tanks, wells, heating systems, pools, garage doors, windows and doors, sprinkler systems, pre-existing conditions, and walls. Coverage for such items may cost more. Roofs may also be exempt, though some home warranty companies sell plans to fix leaking roofs. Consider Cost A big factor in deciding if a home warranty is worth buying is cost. Basic coverage can start at about $300 and go up to $600 or more. Some home warranties charge for a service call, such as $75 or so, while others allow unlimited service calls. Contractors are screened and sent out by the company. To determine if a home warranty cost is worth it, start by learning how old your appliances and home systems are and if the original equipment manufacturer warranties still cover them. Find out what the expected lifespan of each item is to help you figure out if a home warranty is needed. Some home warranty companies require annual maintenance on appliances and home systems to keep the warranties valid. Some may ask how long you’ve had them. Don’t expect the home warranty company to pay for the annual maintenance of your appliances or home systems. Read the contract carefully to make sure that old appliances are covered in the home warranty. Some don’t cover old appliances, such as anything more than 10 years old. Any home, whether old, new or somewhere in between, will have things break sooner or later. Appliances and home systems only last so long. For $50 a month or so, a home warranty can provide peace of mind when things eventually fail. Brought to you by
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Protecting Yourself from Alarm System Scammers
Information is brought to you by If you have a sign in your front yard warning burglars that you have a home alarm system in place, you could be attracting a new breed of scammer. That’s the warning from the consumer watchdogs at Consumer Reports, who say scammers look for signs of existing installations, especially older-looking signs, then strike with one of two approaches: Fraudsters claiming to be remote access technicians from your security company tell you, they noticed glitches in your system and they want to repair it. You let them in and they tamper with your system so they can return and burglarize your house. Scammers claim your company has gone out of business and they’ve taken over their accounts. They “examine” your system and convince you to buy new equipment. They take your money and are never heard from again. The fact is that legitimate home security system companies never simply send a repairman unannounced to your door. Even if they telephone first, call them back to confirm. Similarly, if your monitoring company had gone out of business, you would have been notified by mail, not by telephone and certainly not by someone simply showing up. Security experts say you can protect against these scams by taking the following steps: Get references. Ask any salesperson for names of previous customers, especially in your neighborhood, whom you can check with for legitimacy. Do a background check. Demand information about the contractor’s license: the number, state of registration, etc. Check them out before taking any action. Get it in writing. Insist that estimates for service or equipment be in writing, specifying who will install it, how it will be maintained and the cost—and pay by credit card, not with cash. Read the contract. Ensure that everything you’ve agreed to is written into the contract. Check the small print for any monitoring fees or terms you did not agree to. Most importantly, remember that the FTC’s cooling-off rule gives you three business days to cancel the deal if you sign the contract at home. You do not have to give a reason and you can change your mind even if the equipment has already been installed. Brought to you by
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