Updated Jan 10, 2023
Updated Jan 10, 2023
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When selling your home, half the battle is anticipating any potential issues within the property that might pop up before closing. Without a home warranty, things like faulty electrical wiring or HVAC system defects uncovered by the home inspection may dissuade prospective buyers, impact your home’s resale value, or both.
A home warranty equips sellers with limited-time, comprehensive coverage for breakdowns affecting built-in appliances and systems while their home is on the market. Finding the best home warranty company to protect your property will help you finance issues that might pop up while your home is on the market or under contract.
Why Trust House Method
House Method’s Experts collected and analyzed 2000+ critical data points to identify what makes a great home warranty company in the eye of the consumer. Our reviews team used this data to assess over 60 home warranty providers for coverage extent, annual cost, and national availability to provide unbiased reviews so homeowners can confidently navigate key decisions about their homes.
Our in-house research team compiled a list of 60+ leading home warranty companies with specialized coverage options for sellers and pulled five providers that we felt offered the most robust real estate-specific features. The following home warranty carriers showcased competitive product pricing, multi-month contract terms, bonus complimentary services for real estate professionals, and more.
Choice Home Warranty (CHW) is the best overall home warranty for sellers. With over 14 years of market experience, CHW offers unique real estate plan options designed to help sellers protect themselves against breakdowns that may occur during the selling period. Choice has two base plan options available to sellers, each offering different levels of combined coverage for a mix of household appliances and systems. Most standard items are covered under a $3,000 per-item annual payout limit.
All home warranties issued through Choice are 100% transferable. If you decide to use your policy as an incentive during the closing process, Choice will allow the service agreement to be transferred to the new homeowners for free.
Choice Home Warranty is not available in WA.
Fill out this form or call 929-400-6164 to get a free quote from Choice Home Warranty.
Read our full Choice Home Warranty review for more.
With some of the most cost-effective coverage options in the industry, Select Home Warranty (SHW) is a great option for sellers on a budget. Sellers who sign up through Select will automatically receive $150 their premium plus free roof leak coverage and two months of bonus coverage. SHW will also cover appliances and systems regardless of age, making it an ideal provider for anyone in the process of selling an older home. After closing, Select will help you transfer the home warranty to the next homeowner for $0.
Select Home Warranty is not available in WA, NV, WY, or NM.
For a free quote from Select Home Warranty, fill out this online form or call 888-370-3953.
Read our full Select Home Warranty review for more details.
American Home Shield (AHS) is our top provider recommendation for home sellers searching for customizable home warranty coverage during the sales process. AHS distributes its real estate coverage under three specialty plan types: ShieldEssential, ShieldPlus, and ShieldComplete. Sellers are free to choose from any of the base plans to purchase for the home buyer. The listed property will only be covered by the AHS Seller Coverage Option while on the market, which includes all essential home systems itemized in ShieldEssential. The Seller Coverage Option is limited to a 6-month contract term but may be renewed for up to 18 months. All repairs and replacements are capped at $2,000 during the listing period.
American Home Shield is not available in Alaska.
For a free quote from American Home Shield, fill out this online form or call 888-365-2839.
To learn more about AHS, visit our American Home Shield review.
Offering the quickest home protection processes available across all leading providers, The Home Service Club (HSC) guarantees proactive, professional solutions for any breakdowns that occur while your home is up for sale. Above all else, HSC offers free listing coverage for sellers as part of its Re-Pro residential real estate plans. All new HSC customers can access their policy benefits in just ten days, compared to the 30-day waiting period required industry-wide. The Home Service Club also promises a claims response time of 24 hours to ensure repair needs won’t prolong your property’s time on the market.
To get a free quote from The Home Service Club, fill out this online form or call 800-842-9334.
Continue reading about HSC in our complete The Home Service Club review.
Boasting an A rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and an average score of 4.7 out of five stars from current policyholders, Liberty Home Guard (LHG) is the most trustworthy home warranty provider in the category. Sellers have access to all three of Liberty Home Guard’s standard plan options: Appliance Guard, Systems Guard, and Total Home Guard. After closing, the policy can be transferred to the new owners for a small fee. LHG also offers the most exhaustive spread of add-on coverage in the industry. Some can be especially useful ahead of open houses and showings, including services like carpet cleaning, window washing, pest control, and power washing.
Liberty Home Guard is not available in WA or WI.
To get a free quote from Liberty Home Guard, fill out this online form or call 866-451-2281.
Continue reading about LHG in our Liberty Home Guard review.
A seller’s home warranty is a limited-time service agreement, usually only lasting for the duration of the home’s time on the market, that works to financially protect the seller against any appliance or system failures that might occur during the home sales process.
Sellers can also secure effective property protection from standard home warranty plans and transfer that policy to the new homeowner after closing. Remember that most home warranty companies instate an initial waiting period of around 30 days before your coverage benefits go into effect. If you opt to protect the home you’re selling with a traditional home warranty plan, sign up at least one month before the property is listed.
Though you’re more likely to hear about the benefits of a home warranty for homeowners or buyers, coverage for sellers is just as important. The window of time between listing your home for sale and a signed deal comes with a bit of financial risk for most homeowners. Should any issues be discovered during the home inspection, sellers can either opt to make the repair out of pocket or reduce their asking price to reflect fair value relative to the home’s condition.
With a home warranty in place, however, sellers can properly budget for any potential repair costs with newfound peace of mind that their finances won’t be jeopardized by issues discovered after closing.
Here are a few other added perks that make a home warranty a worthwhile investment for sellers:
A seller’s home warranty covers their property’s major appliances and systems during the active listing period, offering financial protection if an item breaks down due to normal wear and tear while it’s on the market.
Though inclusions and exclusions will vary depending on your plan and service provider, most home warranties for sellers will cover:
Appliances | Systems | Add-ons |
· Refrigerators · Built-in microwaves · Ovens/Stoves/Cooktops · Dishwashers · Clothes Washers · Clothes Dryers | · Electrical · Air conditioning · Heating · Ductwork · Plumbing · Water heaters | · Limited roof leaks · Pools and spas · Septic tank pumping · Septic systems · Well pumps · Sump pumps · Standalone freezers · Second refrigerators |
Most leading home warranty companies offer limited coverage to sellers for free, under the condition that you purchase a service contract on the buyer’s behalf. After closing, your home warranty provider will transfer the policy under the new homeowner’s name. A seller-specific policy typically won’t require you to pay for a set premium until after closing.
A standard home warranty costs between $45 and $60 per month or $480 to $780 per year. You’ll also be responsible for an out-of-pocket payment called a service call fee due each time you open a new service request. Some companies may charge a nominal fee when transferring the policy to the buyer’s name.
Here’s a rundown of how sellers can use a home warranty to protect the property they’re selling, from pre-listing to post-sale:
Sellers need a home warranty to protect their home while the property is for sale. In addition, potential buyers enjoy knowing that a home is protected and can stay covered by a home warranty when the property transfers. A home warranty for sellers can make the selling process easier and without issue. A home warranty can be especially wise for older appliances and systems no longer covered by their original manufacturer’s warranty.
A seller does not need to provide a home warranty. However, it is a benefit that could make a significant difference for a seller. Buyers like to know that a home is adequately protected against the repair and replacement costs of home system and appliance issues. The home warranty for sellers ends up providing peace of mind for both the buyer and the seller.
A seller’s home warranty will cover the systems and appliances in a home for sale. The seller’s home warranty protects the seller’s budget; however, it can also help ensure that a property sale occurs without issue.
Some home sellers will not need a home warranty for all that long. Sometimes a home warranty will be transferred to the buyer within a matter of months. When you look at the overall cost of the seller’s home warranty, you will see that it is well worth the price. Considering the overall costs of a home warranty and the large numbers involved in a home sale transaction, the warranty is a minimal expense with lots of value.
Hopefully, you now feel more confident in your abilities to choose a home warranty for your home for sale. Selling a home is a stressful and time-consuming experience. However, with a home warranty in place, you won’t have to worry about any issues that could come up with appliances or systems in the home. Choice Home Warranty is the best home warranty for sellers. With the experience in the industry, the quick response times, and the ability of this plan to quickly complete a repair, Choice Home Warranty is a very smart and reliable plan in the home warranty industry.
At House Method, transparency and trust are our most important values for the reader.
To create this rating system, our team spent hours researching over 60 companies, analyzing 2500+ key data points, getting the thoughts and opinions of 1000+ homeowners, and speaking to home warranty company representatives directly. We also dug into the fine print on each company’s service agreement to ensure no detail was left out.
We developed an objective home warranty review and rating methodology to score each home warranty company based on several criteria. We used a five-point scale with a point index ranging from 0.00 to 1.00. The minimum awardable value is 0.0, whereas 1.00 is the maximum. These numeric points are translated into star ratings, using whole star increments between one and five.
Here is a quick breakdown of our five core scoring categories:
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