New Home Warranties....Beware!
Your house develops cracks in the brick walls, the interior walls, ceilings, floor tiles, etc. yet, according to the warranty company representatives, their company is not responsible for repairing your new home. You can't believe your new home can develop so many cracks so quickly, yet your Homebuilder says "the cracks aren't big enough; we are not required to repair them".
New Home Warranties....Beware!
By Mark Eberwine
Nov 09, 2009
How many of you have made the mistake of relying on your 'New Home Warranty' for peace-of-mind when you made the decision to purchase a new home?
For those of you who have already bought a home and have tried to file a claim for a structural defect, you know what I'm talking about.
Your house develops cracks in the brick walls, the interior walls, ceilings, floor tiles, etc. yet, according to the warranty company representatives, their company is not responsible for repairing your new home.
You can't believe your new home can develop so many cracks so quickly, yet your Homebuilder says "the cracks aren't big enough; we are not required to repair them".
In the alternative, the builder patches the walls, ceilings, and floors until such time that your initial workmanship warranty expires. Then, after the workmanship period has expired, states "You need to contact the Home Warranty Company".
For those of you who haven't yet fallen victim to the homebuilder storyline "You don't need to worry about structural problems, we build a quality home and if for some unforeseen reason you have problems, there is a 10 year structural warranty on this house", BEWARE.
If you are considering buying a new home, ask for the exact copy of the Home Warranty papers, before you sign any contract committing you to the purchase of that home. Carefully read the warranty and have your attorney read the warranty.
If you or your attorney get a warm and fuzzy feeling while reading the warranty, read it again and consider hiring another attorney.
Make a list of the caveats and disclaimers; make a list of the impractical thresholds that the warranty company has set. Work with your attorney to 'correct' these items so that they are more reflective of that which is needed to protect you instead of the Home Warranty Company.
Present these changes to your builder and ask them to provide you with a Home Warranty that provides you with better protection.
Your builder may tell you that the Home Warranty can't be altered. Of course it can. There is nothing that precludes the builder from delivering a Warranty that offers you more protection.
This is a buyer's market. Take advantage of this great time to buy a house. Do your homework. Make sure the neighborhood in which your builder is building isn't full of repossessed homes or rental properties where the homeowners couldn't sell their home.
Hire an experienced Home Inspector, there are plenty of San Antonio Home Inspectors that can help reduce your risk of buying a house full of defects.
As a reminder, many of the defects found in pre-owned houses were there from the moment the house was built.
Don't be the next victim.
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