Freedom Home Warranty Review (2020)

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Red Brick House with Two Story Bay Window
Freedom Home Warranty is now part of Old Republic Home Protection. Here’s what you need to know. | Photo Credit: Shutterstock ©  Susan Law Cain

When a system or appliance fails, homeowners find themselves swamped with multiple tasks like finding a repairman, diagnosing the problem and figuring out how to pay the bill. Investing in a home warranty allows a company to take care of this process for you.

Freedom Home Warranty ended its services in March 2020 and was officially acquired by Old Republic Home Protection (ORHP) on May 15, 2020. Our team has done extensive research on the best home warranty companies, and below, we’ll explain what Freedom Home Warranty offered, what customers can expect from their new provider and why we think you should consider American Home Shield as an alternate provider. 

To get a free quote from American Home Shield, call 844-529-9298 or enter your ZIP code to start the online form. 

In This Article:

Today’s Homeowner works with an independent reviews team to create evidence-based research that helps our readers make informed decisions. The reviews are always independent. For transparency, we may be compensated if you purchase through a link.

Freedom Home

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3 Hidden Electrical Fire Hazards in Your Home

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house-on-fire
Electrical fires are the No. 3 cause of residential blazes — and most of them can be prevented. (DepositPhotos)

Electronic appliances, equipment and wiring keep our homes lit, cool and connected. But these same luxuries can create hazards and cause electrical fires, serious injuries and property damage.

Fires caused by electrical failure or malfunction are the third leading cause of accidental home structure fires, ranked just behind heating equipment and cooking-related blazes.

This should concern every homeowner because 79% of these fires spread beyond the source, claiming not just rooms, but entire homes and even neighbors’ homes.

The good news is most electrical fires are preventable — as long as you know what to look for and then do something about it.

Here are three hidden causes of electrical fires and how to prevent them.

Electrical outlet with a plug on fire
A smoky outlet is a sure sign of electrical malfunction. The solution is an arc-fault circuit interrupter.(©jivimages, Adobe Stock Photos)

1. Pinched Wires

An electrical cord on the floor may conflict with your home décor, but running it under a rug just removes one problem and creates another one.

People will walk on the hidden cord, causing it to bend and pinch. This

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Scary Halloween Graveyard

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It’s virtually impossible not to embrace Halloween when you scroll through this season’s Halloween decor on HomeDepot.com. Without even leaving my living room, I was able to dream up the spookiest, most eerie Halloween scene ever. Filled with skeletons, gravediggers and so much more. The theme of our Halloween this year is a graveyard. The springboard was Wally the Gravedigger and the playhouse my son and I built together. We have plans to transform it into a haunted moonlight tomb. Think we can do it? Keep reading to find out!

Wally the 6-Foot Gravedigger

Scary Halloween Graveyard

Scary Halloween Graveyard

Wally is 6 ft tall, waves his lantern in the air and actually moves his mouth as he regales you with his eerie words. I don’t know that you can see in photos, but the details are pretty absurd, even his hat has little sweat stains on it! Once we had Wally set up, the rest of the scene kind of fell into place.

Scary Halloween Graveyard

Scary Halloween Graveyard

Wally’s faithful skeleton dog sits at his feet surveying the scene. If he sees anything awry, his eyes glow fiery red and he’ll let out a bark! He’s also fully posable so set him up anyway you like.

Making the

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Closet and Office Makeover on a Budget

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If your “Work from Home” space needs a refresh, check out this stylish closet and office makeover from Lauren Price of Lauren Elyce. She used some of her favorite pieces from The Home Depot to revamp and organize her space. Find out how she did it all on a budget below.

Closet and Office Makeover on a Budget

Lauren here from the lifestyle blog LaurenElyce.com to share how I transformed my boho office into a more grown up and sophisticated space.

The Before

Truth be told, I’ve been wanting to give my little office/closet a makeover for a while now. This was the first room we fully completed when we moved in a little over two years ago so it was about time for a mini refresh. Nothing major, but this space needed a new vibe.

Being bunkered down at home the past few months was the push I needed to finally take the plunge and make some changes.

The Edit

I knew I wanted to drift away from the darker furniture pieces and boho accents and do more of a chic, modern vibe. This meant lighter furniture, cleaner textures and sprinkles of feminine inspired pieces.

The first piece

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Creating A Ghostly Graveyard For Halloween

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This is my second year participating in The Home Depot’s Halloween Style Challenge. I was beyond excited when I was asked to participate again this year! Last year, I did a Pirate Themed Halloween. So, I couldn’t wait to hear what my theme would be this year.

Design Ideas

First up, I always try to design my space and get all of my ideas going. This year my theme for the Halloween Style Challenge was “cemetery,” so I started brainstorming right away. I participated in this year’s virtual Halloween showcase to see The Home Depot’s decor options. Once I saw all of the products that were coming out, my ideas really started to fall in order. My front yard has a white picket fence that I knew would be perfect for a cemetery space. So, I started with that and ran with it.

Let’s Do Some Shopping

Creating A Ghostly Graveyard For Halloween

This year shopping looked so different. Instead of in-store shopping, I did most of my ordering and selecting online. A few items really stood out to me this year. My kids wanted to help and selected all of their favorite items to make our space so spooky and fun.

Creating A Ghostly Graveyard For Halloween

We ended up

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5 Hardscape Ideas to Make Your Backyard Beautiful

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Covered paver patio
(©Ozgur Coskun, Adobe Stock Photos)

Landscaping makes your home’s exterior more attractive, but it also requires a lot of maintenance. If you feel overwhelmed by the upkeep, you may be focusing too much attention on softscape and not enough on hardscape ideas.

Lush backyard with stone path and retaining wall filled with plants and bushes
(DepositPhotos)

The Elements of Landscaping

Front-yard landscaping adds curb appeal that makes a great first impression and adds resale value. Backyard landscaping makes a home feel functional and luxurious.

If you design your landscape with the care and time it deserves, it will be attractive and low-maintenance. That means you’ll need to bring both softscape and hardscape ideas to the drawing board! But first, here’s a quick vocabulary lesson. 

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines hardscape as “structures (such as fountains, benches or gazebos) that are incorporated into a landscape.” Softscape, on the other hand, is “vegetation (such as shrubs and flowers) that is incorporated into a landscape.”

If you have too much hardscape, the exterior will be easier to maintain, but it will look cold, lifeless and uninviting. If you have too much softscape, it could be beautiful at first, but a pain to keep up.

The goal is to balance softscape and hardscape; you’ll want enough hardscape to make

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