High risk homeowners

Precisely one year ago Cristybella and I signed the papers, transferred the money and breathed a huge sigh of relief as we closed the purchase transaction for our house. It had been a harrowingly stressful experience, but it came to pass.

Twelve days later, demolition began and on October 30th, we officially moved.

A lot of activity has transpired. Much of the activity fueled by our desire to transform our home into a living space that is congruous with our style and rhythm of life. But a fair amount of activity has arisen unexpectedly.

The old adage, it’s always something, is a familiar tune for most homeowners. Let’s review the list of repairs in the past 12 months, shall we?

• Oven
• Garbage disposal
• Garage door opener
• Furnace
• Lawn sprinklers
• Garbage disposal (again)
• Pool pump
• Electrical circuit
• Pool filter
• Washing machine
• Plumbing.

Impressive list. Everything except the lawn sprinklers was covered under the home warranty contract we decided to purchase prior to moving into the house. American Home Shield was happy to sign us up. We were mighty glad to have a single number to call each time something went awry. It’s stressful enough when something breaks, but not knowing who to call seems to amplify the anxiety. We have been thankful for our AHS home warranty.

About 30 days ago, someone in the AHS sales department called me to ask if I was planning to renew. They cleverly noticed that my 1-year agreement was about to expire and offered to sign me up for another year.

That was convenient. I’m all about convenience.

Then today, 1 day into the 2nd year of AHS home warranty coverage, we received a letter notifying us that AHS had reviewed our service history and had opted to reconsider coverage for our account. In other words, they dumped us.

We clearly make too many service calls and our track record has not been in AHS’s favor financially.

Of course, we certainly didn’t plan for these items in our house to break down all in the same year. Our existence would have been far more tranquil without the breaks, the leaks, the inconvenience. But then again, isn’t that why people purchase home warranties? Sort of the major medical coverage equivalent for our houses.

So tomorrow, during business hours, we will sort this thing out with AHS. If they have canceled our agreement, there’s still that minor question about charging us for the 2nd year. Hmm.

I wonder if we are considered high-risk homeowners?