If you're considering getting a Columbia SC home warranty, you might want to think again.
You may have bought your share of home warranties—service contracts that promise to cover appliances and other items that break down in your home—whether they were a Columbia SC home warranty, or one you purchased in another area. The fact is, you probably should not have. A recent complaint consumer officials in New Jersey filed against one home warranty company illustrates why.
Reasons to Avoid a Columbia SC Home Warranty
The New Jersey complaint says that far too often, warranty claims are denied because the company says the problem was pre-existing. Or, the claim is denied because the consumer can't prove that a broken item was properly maintained.
In this particular case, New Jersey officials say this Home Warranty Company "repeatedly made it difficult if not impossible for consumers to realize the benefits of their so-called warranties," the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs said in a statement announcing the complaint, which was filed in state superior court.
The state said the company, which sold coverage in at least 25 states, including selling many Columbia SC home warranty agreements, denied claims even when technicians said covered products had been property maintained or that a problem wasn't pre-existing or caused by a lack of maintenance. For some claims, the state said, the company demanded that customers provide years of maintenance records.
While the coverage required the company to replace products that couldn't be repaired, the state said the company offered consumers cash "buyouts" for hundreds of dollars less than it would cost to replace the item. And in some cases, local technicians dispatched to handle claims refused to respond, saying the company failed to pay them for their previous service.
In a statement, Choice Home Warranty said that it denies the allegations and will "vigorously" defend itself against them. The company also said it has paid "tens of millions of dollars" in claims for repairs and replacements and that the consumers who complained represent are small fraction of its customers.
According to Consumer Reports, Choice Home Warranty has an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau because of 957 complaints, the time it took the company to resolve the issues, and the New Jersey complaint.
Even the best service contracts typically aren't worth the cost. One suggestion Consumer Reports makes is, put your money in the bank instead and save up. A couple of years worth of Columbia SC home warranty premiums may be enough to pay for a repair when it's needed.
Fewer and fewer Columbia SC homes are being bought and paid for with all cash. The same trend is holding up nationally as well.
Cash home sales fell to 35.5 percent of the market nationwide in December 2014 compared to 38.5 percent in December 2013, according to new numbers released by CoreLogic.
A high rate of Columbia SC homes being paid for with cash are often thought to indicate investors are playing a larger role in real estate purchases, as they usually have more cash available than traditional home buyers, who more typically utilize mortgage loans.
The year-over-year numbers for cash sales have fallen every month since January 2013, making December 2014 the 24th consecutive month of year-over-year declines in the share of cash sales. The peak came in January 2011, when cash sales made up 46.5 of home sales.
Who's Buying the Most Columbia SC Homes?
While the number of Columbia SC homes being bought with cash is continually dropping, a new study by the National Association of Realtors on generational trends found millennials represented the largest share of recent buyers of Columbia SC homes.
It is the second year in a row the study found those aged 34 and younger did the most home buying — 32 percent of the total in the United States.
Generation X, those aged 35 to 49, were the second largest group, at 27 percent.
Get more information about news that may affect buying Columbia SC homes in our section on Columbia SC Real Estate News to your right under Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.
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The Columbia SC housing market is finally showing signs of recovery, in large part because young adults are finding jobs, but some obstacles persist. Even with talk of the job market turning around, there are still over 9 million people unemployed. This leads to more young adults either struggling to find jobs, or taking part-time jobs with less pay. Either situation makes it much harder to save up for buying homes in the Columbia SC housing market. Mike Aubrey, host of the HGTV show “Power Broker” joined “CBS This Morning" recently to explain more…
More millennials are expected to become Columbia SC home buyers this year, and they might have a wish list of features that set them apart from previous generations of house hunters. We have assembled a list of features that The Federal Savings Bank has also noted as being desired by Columbia SC home buyers, especially among millennials:
Features Millennial Columbia SC Home Buyers Demand
Separate laundry room. According to the National Association of Home Builders on January 26th, the No. 1 feature millennials demand is a separate laundry room. Many first-time Columbia SC home buyers said they would pass on houses that did not have this room.
Several storage areas. Another must-have is plenty of storage, including a walk-in pantry and garage storage. This could give millennials more room to hold and organize their belongings after spending time renting in apartments or living with their parents.
Energy-efficient technology and equipment. A separate report back in October 2014 by the National Association of Realtors found millennials are also demanding technology that is sustainable or energy-efficient. These include LED lighting as well as heating and cooling systems that save energy.
Simple and open spaces. While older generations liked the look of crown molding and other details, millennial Columbia SC home buyers are not so much interested in these design elements, according to NAR. Instead, they prefer open spaces in houses to spread out.
Overall, millennials will look for homes that fit in their budgets, which could mean smaller houses, according to NAHB.
Although millennials will likely seek out less pricier homes, they are less likely to favor houses made with inexpensive materials.
Get more information about how first time Columbia SC home buyers, whether millennials or not, can get started with the home buying process in our section on Columbia SC Home Buying Tips to your right under Columbia SC Real Estate Categories.
We post daily tips and news for Columbia SC home buyers at Twitter, and also on our Facebook Page. We'd love you to check us out there too.
Home ownership rates have hit the lowest level in 20 years as the Columbia SC housing market continues to struggle following the financial crisis.
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Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker examines a proposal from President Barack Obama to incentivize the Columbia SC housing market…
Can Obama's 3% solution awaken enough first time homebuyers to revive the Columbia SC housing market, or will the low down payment plan backfire and cause another housing crisis like we've just emerged from? Time will tell, and we'll keep a sharp eye on the Columbia SC housing market for you right here at our site. Bookmark us now and come back often.
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