Should I buy a Warranty for the Well with the purchase of my new home?

This topic is one that is expressed to us all of the time.  I am never sure what to say!  The scenario goes something like this:  We just moved here and the home inspector said everything was good with the well.  Two weeks after we bought the home, the well pump failed and we called the warranty company and are still waiting for a contractor to show up.  The warranty company says that if you do not sign a contract with them, they will not pay for your service call.  This is when I try to be accommodating but firm by saying ” We expect to be paid by the one whom receives the service”.  We do not work for warranty companies normally.  Most warranty companies are clever con artists, and most likely are only paying half the normal service call rate.  We pay our staff good money, and expect to be paid for our quality services.  I have tried to work with Warranty companies before, but never could find common ground in order to sign a contract with them.  They have hired me on my terms, when they were in a pinch and had to have someone.  They try to control what is replaced, how much it will cost and hinder the necessary repairs in a timely manner.  Save the money you will spend on the Warranty and put it in savings.  Most likely you will not have as much headache as you would just dealing with the warranty people.

If you are a Real Estate salesman then you know your job is on the line.  Why sell a home warranty, when you know it is mostly a ripoff?  Help your seller and buyer by bringing in trade specific inspectors.  Got questions about a roof?  Call a roofer.  Got septic issues?  Call in a septic tank man.  Same for the well, call a professional well man.  When it comes to Big ticket items, it’s best to get a true professional’s opinion.  It is rare that one person could know everything about every system in a house.  Once the buyer knows what he is buying, if he still wants the warranty, let him buy it.  Just educate them on how that warranty works, and how many days or weeks he may be waiting on water because the warranty company told all of the good water well drillers in his area that they are all overpriced and that they will work for less than half, if they want to work for the warranty company (which is why the warranty customer is still waiting on a driller to show up and fix his well).

You should have a clear understanding of what you are purchasing.  If the home is 10 years old and so is the well, it may be fine for another 10 years, but it could have some maintenance issues that were not performed, and that may cause it to fail prematurely.  A good well inspection is what is really needed…BEFORE the house is purchased.  Only a certified water well driller can perform this inspection.  Your real estate sales agent can set it up, and usually an inspection report will come with a separate recommendation for upgrades or repair to existing.  I do this all the time for Real Estate companies…they love it when someone is willing to discuss what was previously unknown.  Just from looking at it, we can determine how old it is, who may have originally done the work, and what maintenance may or may not have been done.  Our company takes pictures and looks up information from state databases to determine as much info as we can.  We do all of this, including an estimate for upgrades, by email or fax the same day as the inspection.  If a water sample is needed, we will pull the sample with the correct bottle and allow the agent or buyer to take it to the laboratory.  For an extra fee we will deliver and pay the lab costs.

The picture that you see below is a snapshot of a home disaster that is waiting to happen.  The owner did not like our opinion.  The buyer did.  That home sold, but for far less than what they were asking.  They were trying to say, hey, it worked for 30 years this way, why won’t it work for 30 more?  It was a noisy setup.  The crawlspace was below near the wash room and kitchen.  You could hear it running from inside the home.  The piping was old and very suspect.  The crawlspace as you could see was wooden and subject to mold and mildew.  This may be what some folks put under their homes, but not under mine!  I certainly wouldn’t endorse this design either.  We wrote that report and the seller did not want to pay us.

It is at this moment, when the buyer meets the seller and a reputable drilling firm is involved, when we point out that the well needs to be sterilized every year.  Has it been done?  If not, then everything else is suspect.  Did the softener system receive salt as needed?  If there is no salt in it when the inspection is made, most likely not.  Has the tank pre-charge been checked annually? ” No, what is that?” is the usual response from the owner.

These issues are everyday encounters that occur.  I know that the average person just turns on the water and expects it to pour out, plentiful and of great quality.  When you own a well system, it is possible to expect great things, but miracles usually don’t happen.  Maintenance happens.  Owners who expected it to tend itself, or hope to skate by an inspection are usually mad when a real estate salesperson, representing the buyer calls for the inspection and it shows negative information.  They know that top dollar price isn’t going to happen…The cost difference could have paid for years of maintenance or repairs.  This is so true with the current real estate downturn, because it is a buyer’s market anyway.  ANY bad information could cost the sale.  I always try to turn a negative into a positive by giving fair quotes to upgrade the system for the buyer.  I prefer to do business with the buyer because he has reason to want to upgrade or properly maintain since he will be living there.

All of these relationships, buyer, seller, and real estate agents can be somewhat of a headache, but I look at it as future business, and trust that is earned.  I have learned that in dealing with any sale, email communication where the buyer, seller and agent are all copied in the same email is best.  I have a lot of real estate companies that deal with us for this very reason.  If you, or someone you know, are selling a home, and have a well system, call us for a well inspection today!  We may be able to save both the buyer and the seller some money!

 

Thanks

Jody Anderson