Not including a home warranty with every home sale transaction is our greatest competition and may end up being one of your biggest threats. If home system and appliance breakdowns catch new homeowners off-guard, they may expect you—their agent—to cover the repair and replacement costs.

How to Mitigate Risk in Real Estate

There are documented cases where homeowners faced significant home system and appliance repair costs shortly after moving in—costs that may have been covered under a home warranty. The buyers successfully sued their REALTOR® for several thousand dollars.

Including a home warranty with your listing can be an effective risk management tool for you. Simply having a home warranty in place may discourage litigation and can help prove that you did your due diligence by protecting your client.

Mitigate your risk by sharing the benefits of a home warranty with your buyer. Ask the seller to purchase the home warranty for the buyer or consider paying for it as a closing gift.* If they decline, have them sign the Acceptance or Waiver of Coverage in our home warranty brochure and save it in your files for future protection.

Harness the Power of Concessions: Negotiate Home Warranty Inclusion

Recent reports indicate that over 35% of home sellers gave concessions to homebuyers at the end of 2023. This gives you the unique opportunity to sharpen your negotiation skills when representing your clients. Sure, it’s hard work, but that’s how great agents are made! Any agent can do 90% of the work when closing a deal, but those who overcome the final 10% gain the greatest success!

Including a home warranty with your listings can help you earn more business while also mitigating your risk. Keep your lead in the race to provide your clients with the best care possible! Include an Old Republic home warranty with every transaction.

*Except where prohibited by law.