After graduating from West Point and completing his service as an Army officer and engineer, Todd Hetherington was “recruited” into real estate. “I hung my real estate license in 1988 and had a retired Army Colonel take me under his wing at his company,” recalls Hetherington, who sold five houses within his first month in the business, with commissions doubling what he was making as an Army captain.
Today, as CEO of CENTURY 21 New Millennium in Alexandria, Virginia, Hetherington continues to maintain a tradition of protecting those he serves by educating every client he and his nearly 900 agents represent on the value of the home warranty.
During the past few years, when anxious buyers were ready to sign on the dotted line while often waiving a home inspection, Hetherington says that obtaining a home warranty was practically a no-brainer. And for 20-plus years, HSA Home Warranty has been the choice of many of the firm’s clients because in his opinion they represent the gold standard.
With the cost of homes continuing to escalate and his primary client base consisting of younger buyers and those serving in the military, Hetherington can’t say enough about the importance of ensuring that both their investment and future streams of income are protected.
“My military clients are typically buying a home on a VA program with no money down, and they are typically cash deficient, so if something were to go wrong in the house, I want to be sure they can have the protection they need for their home systems and appliances,” says Hetherington.
From a REALTOR® standpoint, Hetherington says the last thing he wants to see is a new buyer calling in to say that their dishwasher or dryer is broken.
“I like nothing more than telling those callers who have an HSA warranty that I’ll give you the 800 number to call, file a service request, and HSA will send out a contractor to diagnose the issue and get you up and running again,” explains Hetherington, who insists that agents build a home warranty into their listing presentations for pre-owned homes and brand-new construction as well.
Much of this stems from Hetherington’s own experience with a newly built residence. “I had a home built, had an HSA warranty on it and the builder had gone bankrupt, so when the water heater started malfunctioning about 18 months in, I couldn’t turn to the builder,” says Hetherington. “If it weren’t for that HSA warranty, I would have been out of luck.”
Today, CENTURY 21 New Millennium agents include warranties on nearly one out of every four homes sold every year. Hetherington says that he appreciates the fact that HSA has remained affordable, even as the cost of materials and appliances has escalated.
Drilling down even further, Hetherington believes that his newer clients appreciate the user-friendliness of HSA’s web and mobile tools, while his older clients value the one-on-one service they receive when they call in with a question or service request.
“There’s a level of comfort that comes with an HSA home warranty,” concludes Hetherington, “and I think that’s worth its weight in gold.”
For more information, please visit www.onlinehsa.com.
