Home Warranties: Your House's Secret Weapon

Selling your home doesn't need to be a stressful, drawn-out process. The secret weapon smart sellers are using to outperform their competition? Home warranties.

As a real estate professional who's helped countless clients navigate the selling process, I've seen firsthand how this simple tool creates multiple advantages. A home warranty gives your property an immediate edge over competing listings, as most sellers don't include this valuable protection. This advantage directly translates to faster sales and smoother transactions.

The real power of a home warranty becomes evident during the inspection phase. When buyers discover your home includes warranty protection, they're significantly more likely to proceed with the purchase even when minor issues arise. Instead of walking away or demanding steep price reductions, they gain confidence knowing that covered systems and appliances will be repaired or replaced for just a nominal service fee after closing.

I learned this lesson the hard way after purchasing a duplex without warranty protection. Just days after closing, the water heater failed catastrophically, leading to flooding and an unexpected $800 replacement expense. Had a warranty been in place, the entire situation would have been resolved with a simple $75 service call. This experience revolutionized my approach to real estate transactions – now every property I list includes a home warranty.

The financial aspects make this a no-brainer: you typically pay nothing until closing, the warranty remains a negotiable item if needed, and you gain valuable legal protection after the sale. First-time buyers especially appreciate this added security, often making stronger offers on homes with warranty protection.

Ready to sell your home faster and with fewer headaches? Make a home warranty your competitive advantage and watch buyers respond with enthusiasm and confidence!

Connect with Maria Quattrone:
Facebook: Maria Quattrone
Facebook Page: REMAX at Home Facebook
Facebook Page: Rise in Real Estate Facebook
LinkedIn: Maria Quattrone
YouTube: Maria Quattrone
Instagram: @maria_quattrone
TikTok: mariaquattronerealestate
Website: MQrealesate.com
Office number: 215- 607-3535

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What do I recommend that every seller uses to sell
your house faster?
Hi, it's Maria Patron, and whatsells a house faster?
So one of the things Irecommend to every single seller

(00:21):
that I work with is to use ahome warranty.
What are the benefits of usingthe home warranty?
Number one benefit gives thehouse a competitive advantage
over all other houses that areon the market.
Most houses don't include thehome warranty.

(00:45):
It also, because it gives you acompetitive advantage, it helps
you to sell the house muchfaster than the other inventory
that's on the market.
The third thing it does is itkeeps the deal together, because
when buyers know that they havea home warranty, they feel more

(01:06):
compelled to move forward withthat transaction, even if
there's things that come up inthe home inspection.
I have used this tool thousandsof times and it shocks me how
many sellers and agents don'tuse it.
And here's the beautiful thingYou're offering a home warranty.
How many sellers and agentsdon't use it?

(01:26):
And here's the beautiful thingYou're offering a home warranty.
You pay for it at closing andif somebody doesn't provide you
the asking price that is on theMLS, then it's negotiable.
You can negotiate it either inor out of the home.
That's entirely up to you.

(01:47):
All of the houses I've eversold, I always include a home
warranty in it because I knowfor a fact that it works.
It gives the buyers peace ofmind and after the sale which is
so important it gets rid of allthe possible headaches that
could happen after, because youjust go back.

(02:09):
The property has a homewarranty.
Okay, so this is one of thereasons why I decided that all
my sellers should have one.
In 2004, I bought a duplex and Iwas in the duplex.
I wasn't there for a week Ithink it was three days and the

(02:31):
hot water heater busted all overthe basement and I was pretty
flabbergasted, because beforethis I only owned a condo.
So now I have a duplex,four-story house and two water
heaters, two HVACs, et cetera,et cetera, and I have a busted
hot water heater in my unit Twodays, three days after closing

(02:57):
and guess what?
I didn't have a home warranty.
So there was nothing that Icould do except I had to buy a
new hot water heater.
Now, if I had a home warranty,I could have just called the
home warranty company, paid my$75, had them come out and
either they would repair orreplace that for the $75.

(03:18):
Meanwhile I had to spend Ithink it was $800, $700 to $800
to buy a new hot water heater.
And the last thing you want as aseller is your agent calling
you saying the hot water heater,the garbage disposal, whatever
broke on the house that theclients bought yesterday, and

(03:42):
they want $800.
And, believe me, this hashappened before, but not on our
watch, because we have the homewarranty.
And then if the person sellerdidn't do the home warranty, I

(04:06):
don't really know what to say,because I gave my recommendation
and if I'm giving arecommendation, it's something
that I would personally do.
I'm never giving arecommendation for anything that
I personally want to do with myown homes.
Okay, also, legal protectionafter the sale.
So there's many, many reasonsand the other one I would say is

(04:28):
the other possibility is youcould even get a better offer
than you would have if you didnot offer it.
So this is especially true withfirst-time buyers.
They love that home warranty.
It gives them peace of mind andI have firsthand experienced
this.
So my recommendation everyseller should use is a home

(04:52):
warranty when you're selling aresidential property, even up to
four units, you can still use ahome warranty.
So with that, everybody, makesure you get a home warranty.
And if you're a buyer, I'lltalk about that why you should
buy your own home warranty orask a seller to include the home
warranty in your sales contract.