Stucco Warranties. Are they really worth it?
As you probably know, we provide stucco inspection services throughout Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.
In recent years, some companies have begun offering renewable stucco moisture warranties either after they perform repairs to the stucco or on homes that have had repairs already made by a third party contractor.
Although there are a few that offer limited benefits, some are outright scams in my opinion. Although I won't name the companies, I will describe how this process works and why I believe our alternative is better for you.
Who would take on the responsibilty for the performance of someone else's stucco home?
The answer is really simple. . .
Think of any warranty that you have, whether on your car or water heater or furnace. The people putting the warranty on the item have done all the studies and they know that the likelihood of that item failing during the term of the warranty is slim to none. It is a numbers game kind of like Vegas. The house always wins.
1. Warranty from someone who has performed repairs to the stucco.
This is someone who knows that if properly maintained, the likelihood of a major problem with the stucco is pretty slim. The key words being "properly maintained". You can bet that there is verbage in their warranty that requires you to properly maintain the stucco and its interactions with other materials, ie: windows, sealant, etc. If you don't, they will not be responsible if a failure occurs. They also usually only warranty the items that they repaired so if you only need a few things to be corrected, you will either have to refresh everything or not get a complete warranty. These warranties are trypically a few hundred dollars per year to renew but require a periodic inspection with any deficiencies found corrected by you.
2. A Third Party Warranty Company.
These bother me more than the others because there is language in their "warranty" that states that they are not responsible for repairs to any structural items damaged by the failure of a covered repair. SO WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PAYING FOR! Your biggest worry is that water will get behind the stucco and damage your home. If all they do is refresh the sealant that failed, it isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Most folks don't read the fine print and all the brochures and paperwork look beautiful. These warranties are often marketed through repair contractors or thru real estate sales with the buyer not even seeing the document until closing. They are also very expensive per year. As with the other, a periodic inspection is required to renew the "warranty" with any deficiencies (wood rot, deficient sealant) to be corrected by you for the privelege of keeping their warranty in force.
Notice that having it inspected periodically is common to both appoaches.
I believe that the best option for you is to just have your stucco inspected every 12-15 months by an inspector that you trust who also provides instructions as to how repairs are to be made. Perform the small repairs that may come up and keep the stucco performing. Use the money that you would have spent on worthless or misleading warranties on other things.
This is similar to keeping maintenance records on your car which helps at sales time.
I hope this has been helpful and if you would like to get more information about the inspections, just call us.