Editorial
Front Page - Friday, March 26, 2010
Home warranty specialist sells peace of mind
David Laprad
Teri Sisson is a home warranty specialist with Home Warranty of America. She spends her days teaching real estate agents about the value of a home warranty, serving in her community and taking care of her family.
- David Laprad
Chattanooga’s real estate community is made up of more than realtors estate agents and brokers. Called affiliates, these professionals provide a variety of services related to the real estate industry. One such specialist is Teri Sisson, who’s been turning more and more people on to the product she offers: home warranties.
“I teach real estate agents about the value of a home warranty,” she says. “The average consumer doesn’t know what a home warranty is. They confuse it with a home insurance policy.”
In short, a home warranty is a service contract that covers a home’s mechanical components, such as its wiring and plumbing. Whereas an insurance policy will cover the damage caused by a busted water heater, a warranty will cover the actual water heater.
Home warranties also cover the appliances contained within the walls of a home. “If your refrigerator does go down, I’ll repair it. If I can’t repair it, then I’ll replace it with a new unit,” Sisson says.
Sisson believes the peace of mind that comes with a home warranty is worth its cost, which averages between $340 and $650 for 13 months. “To me, a home warranty is a no-brainer.”
At least three of her customers would agree. It’s 9 a.m. on a Monday morning, and she’s already paid $2,600 in claims to these clients.
While this alone speaks volumes about the benefits of a home warranty, Sisson still spends a considerable amount of time talking with real estate agents in her territory, which stretches from Knoxville to Chattanooga, about the advantages of her product.
“I’ve done breakfast meetings and luncheons, but staying close to the professional associations and sponsoring their speakers or CE courses is more effective,” she says. “Once they realize I’m there to talk about the industry, and not just my company, they start listening.”
Before becoming a home warranty specialist in 2000, Sisson was in the mortgage banking business in Knoxville, working with builders between where she lived and Cleveland. At that time, the FHA required a 2-10 structural warranty for all new projects. Sisson provided the warranty for her builders, who in turn told other builders to call her about their FHA projects.
When the regional vice president of one of the medium-sized home warranty businesses, 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty, retired, a company official asked Sisson to have lunch with him. She said no, but he persisted. Eventually, Sisson agreed to meet with him, and while she went in with an eye on getting a better deal for her builders, she walked away with a job.
It’s a decision Sisson has never regretted, as the home warranty business has not only allowed her to help support her family, but has also enabled her to make a difference in the lives of other people. “I love what I do. When I have a pregnant woman getting ready to deliver a baby, and her Realtor calls me and says her air is out, I’ll either find a contractor to take care of her problem immediately or put her up in a hotel.
“My company allows me to get out in the community and be a hero. Our homes are a huge part of our lives, so to be connected with that makes me feel good. This job is about more than the paycheck.”
Sisson has worked for two of the largest companies in the home warranty business, but she prefers the smaller size of her current employer, Home Warranty of America, because she can stay better connected to her community. Specifically, she enjoys serving on committees at the Chattanooga Association of Realtors. Currently, Sisson is on the association’s Membership and Community Outreach committees.
“There’s always something to do that’s not about you,” she says. “So many people are hurting because of the adjustments they’ve had to make. It’s time for those of us with more resources to roll up our sleeves and show the world what Americans are made of. You’ll feel better at the end of the day.”
Sisson lives in a small Southeastern Tennessee town, where she and her husband have raised two daughters and are bringing up two more. During their down time, they like working together on their home and in their yard, especially as spring approaches.
“Horticulture is my passion,” she says. “We’re in the process of hauling in manure for the garden. In the spring, I’ve got to be in the dirt.”
Sisson holds out her hands, palms down, and extends her fingers, but there’s no evidence of her outdoor labors, as her fingernails are as clean as a whistle. There’s no doubting her word, though; her firm handshake, sturdy walk and frank manner of speech suggest an inner strength that comes from years of hard work.
Sisson is the oldest of seven children, including the four rough and tumble brothers with whom she grew up. Her father was a Navy man, so her family moved around a lot when she was young, mostly within Florida. Her husband had also been a military kid, so when they married, they decided to settle down in a “small Mayberry town” and raise their family.
“There were times when we sacrificed better paying jobs to be able to stay in that town, but we did it,” she says. Their commitment has paid off in ways neither of them expected. Their oldest twin, for example, recently thanked them for putting down roots, as she has friends who have been a part of her life since kindergarten. These relationships provide emotional support as she works in intelligence in the Marine Corps.
Given Sisson’s nomadic childhood, even her job makes poetic sense. She’s chosen a career centered around taking care of the place where she and her clients spend most of their time: their homes.
While there’s no such thing as a full-proof safety net, the product she provides does make that place more secure, which goes a long way toward producing peace of mind in a world where the average person can control so little of what happens beyond their walls.
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