Some households keep a home in one place for part of the year and a different home for the rest. They may move between a northern house and a southern one, or keep a city apartment on weekdays and a house elsewhere on weekends. A service contract is written around a specific unit at a specific address, so a household that moves between homes has to check that the paper matches where each unit actually sits.
Name every address the contract touches
Read the property description in the contract. Many contracts attach to the address listed at enrollment. If the household keeps equipment at several addresses, ask whether each home needs its own contract, whether a single contract can list both, and what happens to the unit at the address that is empty. Do not assume that a single enrollment covers another property just because both belong to the same household.
Check the rules for each state
The rules that apply usually follow the state where the contract is sold and the state where the property sits, and those states can differ. The state pages on this site print the statute or program that regulates service contracts in each state, and they say whether a roster is published. Read the page for every state where a unit sits, and do not carry one state's rules over to another.
Plan for the months the home sits closed
A unit that sits idle for part of the year still needs care, and many contracts state conditions for equipment that is shut down or unoccupied. Ask what the contract expects during a seasonal closing: whether a shutdown counts as a lapse, whether the equipment must be drained, left running, or inspected, and who must be told before the household leaves. Write the answers beside the address they apply to.
Ask whether the contract travels with the household
Ask whether the contract can follow the household to a new address or whether it stays with the property. A contract tied to the house may not follow the people who live in it, and a contract tied to the household may not reach equipment left behind. Get the transfer language in writing before you enroll either home.
A roster listing is not a quality rating. It shows only that a provider appears on a list. Compare the paper, not the list.