EP #22: Home Warranties Good Or Bad - Home Tech Donna Ferrero Tells All

Listen in as Donna Ferrao explains to us why a good home warranty is a great idea.  Why Home Tech stands out from the others.  You want a trusted company that has been around for 40 years.  Listen in and learn more.

Office:  800-800-8356  EXT. 208
Cell:  239-565-2818
 
http://[e-mail]
To learn more:
https://barefootbungalowrealty.com/

Barefoot Bungalow Realty & Property Management
9200 Bonita Beach Rd SE, Suite 100
Bonita Springs, FL 34135
[phone]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the live your best life barefoot podcast

(00:02):
with your host, Mary Mouritsenand the team at Barefoot
Bungalow Realty.
So

Speaker 2 (00:08):
I'm so excited for our guest today.
We have Donna Ferreo with HomeTech Warranties.
Hi, Donna.
How are

Speaker 3 (00:15):
You?
Good morning, ladies.
I'm doing great.
How are you?
We're

Speaker 4 (00:19):
Great.
Really good.
It's good to have you on, it'sgood to talk to you.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Good to talk to you too.

Speaker 4 (00:25):
So tell us a little bit about Home Tech.

Speaker 3 (00:29):
So I'm so happy to be working for this company.
We are local to SouthwestFlorida and we have been for 40
years.
We're celebrating this year 40years, which is great.
We work a v ery differently tosome of the national home
warranties that some, somepeople are used to.

(00:52):
We, because we're local, we hireonly local employees and we are
an employee owned company.
When we do our serviceagreement.
We actually have the techniciansworking here at Home Tech, and

(01:13):
many of them are employeeowners.
So when you have your homeinsured with us for the
appliances and the airconditioning, when you call us,
you're actually calling here toour office.
Not someplace far, far away.
We, act u ally dispatch atechnician right from our office

(01:35):
and, on a ir conditioning andrefrigerators, we'll, we're
gonna send someone on the sameday to do a repair, and that
includes weekends and holidaysbecause we know everything
breaks Sunday night at eighto'clock

Speaker 4 (01:51):
every time.
Exactly.
Well, I was excited to have youon our podcast because I think a
lot of our, community, and Iknow I was guilty of this lumps,
all of the, home warranties inthe same bundle and you guys are
so very different.

(02:11):
You've illustrated a couple ofthose ways that you're different
with being locally based beingemployee o wned.
And I wanna highlight that onecomponent that you, o f y our o
wn employees, which is a hugedifference.

(02:27):
Can you share a little bit about why that is different?

Speaker 3 (02:32):
Okay.
So, I'm a 20 year resident toFlorida and I have seen, and
experience my own issues withtrying to reputable
subcontractors to do work in myown home.
So because we're employee ownedall of our employees that work

(02:54):
here, they have a little moreskin in the game.
They're gonna go a littlefurther, a little extra mile,
and it makes a huge difference.
Most of the national companies,they don't have their own
technicians.
They work on a subcontractorbasis.
So sometimes it might take oneor two days for them to assign a

(03:20):
subcontractor to make it to yourhome.
And in July and August, whenyour air conditioner is broken,
one or two days is, is notacceptable.

Speaker 4 (03:33):
Yeah.
It makes a huge difference inyour life.
Yeah.
You have to go live with mom fora while or something.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
Or a hotel yeah.

Speaker 4 (03:41):
Or even your oven goes out the day before
Thanksgiving.

Speaker 3 (03:44):
What do you do every time?
Every time.
Every time.

Speaker 4 (03:47):
Yep.
Yep.
Well, I want a little backed upa little bit and tell us about
yourself and what brought you tohome tech?

Speaker 3 (04:00):
So, I'm originally from new Orleans, a real true
Cajun person, not just t hespice you put on chicken.

Speaker 4 (04:10):
Awesome.

Speaker 3 (04:12):
I lived in Boston for eight winters and, that was
enough and I couldn't, I neededthe warm weather again i n my
soul.
So my husband and I moved here20 years ago.
And, w e a re so happy to livehere.
I've pretty much been in salesmost of my career.

(04:36):
And, I knew the owner of HomeTech a nd I tried to get in here
for two years and finally theopportunity came up and I was so
excited because I just l ove theemployee ownership model.
It's, it's so different than anyother type of situation that

(04:58):
I've worked in.
People just care a little more.
I t it's, it's reallyinteresting to see that

Speaker 4 (05:05):
I'd say have their own skin in the game.
Yes.
You know?

Speaker 3 (05:07):
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's, it's very differentculture.
Everyone just cares a littlemore.

Speaker 4 (05:14):
That's amazing.
It is amazing.
So tell us about what tips youmight have.
Our listeners are that arelistening right now.
I know that most of us own homesand have things that we might be
able to do preventatively or,beyond obviously we should get a

(05:36):
home warranty, but beyond that,what are some tips you have that
would help our homeowners in, their h ome life situation of
preparing for these emergenciesor avoiding'e m?

Speaker 3 (05:51):
So the most important thing, or the most important
feature in our homes in Floridais the air conditioning.
It's the, it's the biggestticket item.
And you wanna make sure that itruns as long as it can.
The life expectancy is, youknow, 8, 9, 10, 12, maybe years,

(06:13):
in Florida because it runsalmost 365 days a year,

Speaker 4 (06:18):
That's we, we really do use it almost year round.
Yeah,

Speaker 3 (06:21):
I know.
So a lot of people who move herefrom o ut o f states i n, i n
colder climates, they, maybe upnorth their AC might live 20
years b ecause it's not beingoperated as long as that it is
here.
So the most important thing isto make sure those filters get,
r eplaced monthly, a nd have theannual cleaning check done

(06:47):
because it is Florida and, youknow, mold and things grow into
the lines and that can back up,a nd it needs to be cleaned,
super, super are su p er important.

Speaker 4 (07:00):
So cleaning and filters, I have a little tip on
the filter.
Every time I make my mortgagepayment, I change my filter.

Speaker 3 (07:09):
That's a great one.

Speaker 4 (07:10):
That's a really good tip.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So that I make, that's a greatone.
That's how I make sure I get itdone.
Cuz those would keep months rollaround quicker than you think
they do.
Yeah.
That

Speaker 3 (07:23):
I'm down really yucky .

Speaker 4 (07:25):
Yes.
Yes.
Especially in the summer whenit's running 24 7.

Speaker 3 (07:31):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
That's a great tip.
Hey, so Donna, do you have anygood tips for personal?
Like what you like to do here inSouthwest Florida,

Speaker 3 (07:44):
Be outside as much as possible.
There's so many beautiful placesthat you just need to get out
and see, especially now in the,in the winter when the weather
is just glorious,

Speaker 2 (08:00):
What's your favorite place to go?

Speaker 3 (08:03):
Probably the beach.

Speaker 2 (08:05):
I do say that that's everybody's favorite place here
in Southwest Florida.
The

Speaker 3 (08:09):
Beach.
Yeah.
I, you know, I really love theNaples botanical gardens.
That is really a beautiful placeto walk in the morning and you
can bring your dog in morning onSunday.

Speaker 4 (08:22):
Oh, that is a good tip.
Only on Sundays.

Speaker 3 (08:26):
Sunday morning is the only day you can bring a dog.

Speaker 4 (08:29):
That's a great tip.
That is a really good tip.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah.
And downtown Fort Myers is verydog friendly as well.
You can, walk your dog around.
There's a lot of, therestaurants have outdoor seating
that you can bring your pet,which is great.

Speaker 4 (08:43):
very good.
That is great.
Okay.
And then I'd like you to leaveus.
Do you have a favorite story?
Home t ech story?

Speaker 3 (08:54):
My favorite.
My favorite home tech story isthe story that happens a lot.
I wish that I would've put thehome tech on my home when I
spoke to you last month becausemy sub zero stopped working

(09:15):
today.

Speaker 4 (09:15):
Mm-hmm y ep.
That's probably a c ommon onefor you.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah, it, it is.
You know, and I mean, personallymy, my refrigerator, the ice
maker broke, it was not twoyears old and the ice maker
repair was$550.
Wow.
Ouch.

Speaker 4 (09:36):
That's a big ouch.
Yes.
So how do people get ahold ofyou to get pricing for these
warranties home warranties?

Speaker 3 (09:44):
So they can call me at home tech or right on my cell
phone,[phone] text call,whatever makes you happy.

Speaker 4 (10:00):
And we've priced out a few homes and you're really
quick.
So all, all they need to do isget you their address and you
have a quote really quickly andabsolutely take care.
Good care of'em.
That's really nice.
Well thank you Donna, for comingon.
We really appreciate it.
And we appreciate you having,having you as part of our

(10:22):
trusted vendors,

Speaker 3 (10:25):
Looking forward to a great new year with you girls.

Speaker 4 (10:28):
Definitely.
Exactly.
And as always, if any of you,our listeners have somebody or
something you'd like us to talkabout out, let us know you can
reach us on our website,BarefootBungalowHomes.com or on

(10:48):
Facebook at Barefoot BungalowHomes.
Or you can call us(239) 350-5535.
Thank you so much for listeningtoday and as always remember to
Live Your Best Life Barefoot.

(11:04):
Thank you for listening to the Live Your Best Life Barefoot
podcast, sponsored b y BarefootBungalow Realty to learn more
about Barefoot Bungalow Realty,go t o
www.barefootbungalowrealty.comor call 239-350-5535.