Today’s topic is all about homeowners and protecting yourself against those hefty repair bills. New homeowners have a lot of considerations when it comes to the appliances in the new home. There are three aspects that need to be accounted for.
Common Breakdowns and Repairs
One is appliance repair. If something breaks down, how are you going to get it fixed? The second being appliance maintenance, which is keeping those appliances in good order and running. The third consideration is replacement.
Affordable Plans
Both of the larger utility companies in Minnesota offer affordable plans that give you a way to account for all those three phases of appliance repair and maintenance.
Xcel Energy has the HomeSmart program, which for between $20 and $40 and $45 a month usually, you can cover between four and eight appliances in your home for repairs. That way if something breaks, you call them. They send out the repairman and that’s all you have to pay for, whatever the monthly rate is for the plan that you signed up for.
Maintenance services for preventive maintenance, they also have a plan for that which is less than $20 a month as well. There are replacement plans you can get with Xcel Energy for less than $20 a month, that if you have their repair plan, you can add that as an additional coverage.
Each plan is very convenient in that they come on your regular monthly statement and they don’t have to be brand new appliances in order to be covered.
With CenterPoint Energy, their program is called the Home Service Plus Plan. Repair plans also cover the appliances that you have, for fixing issues. They have maintenance services where they come out and service them once a year to keep them in good working order and they also have replacement plans for appliances that are covered by your repair plan. Additionally, they will bill it on your regular monthly bill so there’s no separate bill to account for and the appliances do not have to be brand new in order to be added to that coverage.
Either of these plans give you a way to have a fixed and dependable amount to account for in your budget, so that you don’t end up with the unexpected expenses that can throw a budget out of whack. If you have any other questions concerning these, send us an email at [email protected].