As most of you know, I have a new construction back ground, that ’s how I got into real estate actually, was through new construction. I still sell a lot of new construction, and I always get this question: How does the warranty work. Good question! Here is the simple answer, however the builder says it works. This is because there is no real standard, boiler plate warranty for new construction because each company handles it differently. It ’s not like retail, If you buy a new house and you “try it on” you cannot return it because it makes your butt look big! It ’s yours, you bought it, you cannot return it. Most builders provide a 1 year warranty for defective workmanship and materials. Sometimes, they have written warranty that is several pages long. Other times, just a 1 or 2 page document.
Whichever it is, make sure the warranty has these things:
1) appliances: Who is responsible for the appliances? The new owner is. Send in those warranty cards or use the QR code that they use now and register those appliances. This is important because if you don ’t, the date you took ownership of the home is different than the day the builder purchased the appliances. You want your full one year warranty.
2) Time Frame: What does it say about time frame. Does the builder have 30 days to complete the work, 60 or 90 days? Pay attention to the time frame. If you see cracks in the sheetrock, that ’s not an emergency and the builder may ask you to wait until the last month of the warranty so that the house has time to settle, and fix all the cracks at once. But if the roof is leaking, that ’s an emergency and the builder needs to know right 621 S Knik-Goose Bay Road Wasilla, AK 99654 Cover Story: New Construction Warranties Page 2: … new const warranties cont.? Page 3: November Fun Foto’s Make an appointment! Page 4: My co-workers, Debbie and Linda Page 5: Monica Barton - Canopy Mortgage Cora Cares for her Community, Family Promise Mat Su Page 6 and 7: Pended/For Sale… Floor plan changes Page 8: Christmas coloring Page Page 9 : Trivia that will make you giggle Page 10: cont. My co-workers Debbie and Linda Page 11 I love T-Shirts! The Extra Mile, Words of Advice Remember—if you find a typo - let me know, you could win a prize! Worth like maybe—ummm, ice cream! If you would like to message with your name unsubscribe, just send a and address to [email protected] or text to (907)841-8840 We are sorry to see you go but please keep our information should you have any real estate questions in the future! November And December Issue! Page 1 away. Chances are, the builder will call his roofer and get someone out there asap. If it’s a cabinet drawer that has broken, this is not an emergency and typically the cabinet company will need to order a new drawer. So this one could take 60 days to get done. I hope you can see that somethings are an inconvenience, but not an emergency. 3) Emergency repairs: let’s just go to this one! Anything that has to do with water leaking or water where is should not be, electric arching or not working or smelling smoke is an emergency. Others are subtle but important and are considered emergent. Doors not latching, ice damming on the roof, windows not shutting and of course heating systems that are not working. Even if it’s just the garage heater, it’s still critical that you get someone out there to fix it because of other components in your garage that should not freeze. Some builders will give you the names of the contractor or supplier that did the work and then you can call them directly—this is a time saver and prevents miscommunication.
4) End of Warranty: So you are getting to the end of the 12 month warranty period and several things still are not done. You can get an extension on that warranty if both the buyer and the builder are in agreement. It could be that a particular contractor isn’t available to make a repair and the builder needs to wait until he/she get’s back. Get an extension to your warranty in writing. Many builders have a warranty meeting at the beginning of the contract so that you can understand what is covered and what is not. Several things are the responsibility of the new homeowner and they want you to know exactly what those things are so you are not surprised that it’s not covered under the warranty. Remember warranty is for DEFECTIVE materials or workmanship not maintenance.
Now go build a new house! And let me help you...it’s fun!