BUILDER Limited Warranty Guidelines
While we strive to build a defect-free home, we are realistic enough to know that with repeated use, any item in the home may fail to perform as it should. When this occurs, we will make necessary corrections so the item meets our warranty guidelines, which come from the Home Builders & Remodelers of CNY Standards of Performance.
This manual is not a substitute for your warranty!
Review your warranty by clicking the link at the top of the page, or the button at the bottom of the page.
Corrective Actions – In addition to the information contained in the limited warranty itself, this manual includes details about the criteria we will use to evaluate concerns you report. The purpose is to let you know what our warranty commitment is for the typical concerns that can come up in a new home. The manual describes the corrective action we will take in a many common situations.
We Sometimes Break Our Own Rules–In Your Favor – Our criteria for qualifying warranty repairs are based on typical industry practices in our region, and our materials and workmanship meet or exceed those practices. Please note that we reserve the right, at our discretion, to exceed these guidelines if individual circumstances make that appropriate, without being obligated to exceed all guidelines to a similar degree or for other homeowners whose circumstances are different.
We Sometimes Say No – With a product as complex as a home, different viewpoints regarding which tasks are homeowner maintenance responsibilities and which are BUILDER warranty responsibilities are possible. If you request warranty service on a homeowner maintenance item, we will explain to you the steps you should take to care for the item. We are available to answer your home-care questions during and after your warranty period. Providing normal maintenance for your home is your responsibility.
Review of Warranty Book – You received the Home Builders & Remodelers of CNY Standards of Performance book when you signed your contract. Please read through the information in the book, as well as the service procedures and guidelines discussed in this manual. If you have any questions, please contact our office.
Providing warranty service for a new home is more complicated than for other products. When you purchased your home, you actually purchased hundreds of items and the work of dozens of independent trade contractors. With so many details and people involved, an organized system is essential.
Our warranty service system is designed based on your written claim of non-emergency items. This provides you with the maximum protection and allows us to operate efficiently, thereby providing faster service to all homeowners. Emergency reports are the only service requests we accept by phone. Please put all non-emergency service requests in writing. Warranty Claim Form
You are welcome to mail, fax, e-mail, or drop off your claim requests in person at our office. Keep a copy for your records. This written system permits BUILDER personnel to focus their time producing results for you and following up. Experience has taught us that accuracy and efficiency suffer when we work outside this system and sacrifice careful documentation.
We plan two standard warranty contacts with you. The first is 30 days after your closing and the second is at or about one year after closing. We also have emergency response procedures. Service for your appliances is handled differently and is described in detail in the A-Z Guide.
For your convenience and in order for our service program to operate at maximum efficiency, we will contact you to set a meeting with our operations manager (at your house) approximately 30 days after closing. This allows you sufficient time to become settled in your new home and to use many of your home’s components repeatedly. As you notice items that may need attention, jot them down to go over during the meeting. Please be aware many cosmetic items are not covered if not listed on the Final Walk Thru form.
Near the beginning of the twelfth month of your homeownership, you will receive a letter from our warranty manager to remind you to fill out your one year warranty request form, which can be printed from the appendix section. We will also be happy to discuss any maintenance questions you may have at that time. This is also the best time for you to request the “one-time” repairs we offer on several components, such as drywall.
While emergency warranty situations are rare, when they occur, prompt response is essential. Begin by checking the items that you can. Troubleshooting tips appear in this manual for several of your home’s components:
- Air conditioning
- Electrical
- Heat system
- Plumbing
- Roof leak
- Water heater
Please refer to the individual categories to review these tips; you will find them at the end of the corresponding sections. Use the navigation buttons in the A-Z Operating Guide section to locate categories as needed. Often the appropriate action by you can solve a problem immediately or mitigate the situation until a technician arrives.
If your review of the troubleshooting tips fails to solve the problem, during business hours, call BUILDER’s office at XXX-XXXX, and we will contract the appropriate contractor for you.
After hours, or on weekends or holidays, call the necessary trade contractor or utility company directly. Their phone numbers are listed on the Contractor Phone Numbers sheet, which is found in the colored folder at the back of this manual. We suggest that you place the Contractor Phone Numbers sheet inside a kitchen cabinet or near your phone.
Our trade contractors or local utility companies provide emergency responses to the following conditions:
- Total loss of heat when the outside temperature is below 50 degrees. ( name & number )Total loss of electricity. ( name & number )
- Total loss of water. ( name & number )
- Plumbing leak that requires the entire water supply to be shut off. ( name & number )
- Gas leak. (National Grid 1-800-892-2345)
Note that if a service (gas, electricity, water) is out in an entire area, attention from the local utility company is needed. Trade contractors are unable to help with such outages.
Air Conditioning – Understandably, if your air conditioner is not working, you want it fixed pronto. In a typical scenario, many other homeowners will discover they too need service on their air conditioners on the same hot day that you do. The trades who address these needs generally respond to calls on a first come, first served basis. If your call for service comes during this time period, you may wait several hours or days for a technician to arrive. For this reason, we recommend that you operate your air conditioner as soon as warm temperatures begin. In this way, if service is needed, you can avoid the rush and get a more satisfactory response.
Appliance Warranties – The manufacturers of appliances have asked to work directly with homeowners if any repairs are needed for their products. Customer service phone numbers are listed in the use and care materials for each appliance. Be prepared to provide the model and serial number of the item and the closing date on your home. For your convenience, we have included an Appliance Service information sheet in this manual.
Appliance warranties are generally for one year; refer to the literature provided by the manufacturer for complete information. Remember to mail in any registration cards you receive with manufacturer materials. Being in the manufacturer’s system assures that in the event of a recall the company can contact you and arrange to provide the needed correction.
Roof Leak – While we agree with homeowners that a roof leak is indeed an emergency, the reality is that repairs cannot safely or effectively be performed while the roof is wet or has a snow load. During business hours, contact our office with the information, take appropriate steps to mitigate damage, and we will follow up when conditions make repairs possible. (See Roof for more details.)
Other Warranty Service
If you wish to initiate non-emergency warranty service between the standard 30-day and one year walk through, you are welcome to do so by sending an e-mail. All non-emergency items will be added to our database for completion at your one year anniversary.
We schedule appointments for miscellaneous requests on a first come, first served basis between the standard appointments. As a result, service on non-emergency requests may take a bit longer to address.
Warranty Claim Processing Procedures
When we process a warranty service request, our trade contractors may contact you for an inspection appointment. Warranty inspection appointments are available Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We may inspect the items listed in your written request to confirm warranty coverage and/or determine appropriate action. Generally, reported items fall into one of four categories:
- Trade contractor item (A work order will be sent to appropriate contractor)
- In-house item (Our staff will schedule a time to address this)
- Courtesy item (We may take care of an owner maintenance issue for you)
- Homeowner maintenance item
If a trade contractor or an in-house employee is required to perform repairs or a courtesy item, we issue a warranty work order describing the situation to be addressed. If the item is home owner maintenance, we will review the maintenance steps with you and offer whatever informational assistance we can. Occasionally the inspection step is unnecessary. In that case, we issue the needed work orders and notify you that we have done so.
Help Us to Serve You – We can provide service faster and more accurately if we have all the necessary information. With your warranty request, please include:
- Your name, address, and the phone numbers where you can be reached during business hours.
- Article and page number from the Warranty book.
- A complete description of the problem is best. For example, “guest bath—cold water line leaks under sink,” rather than a generic entry such as “plumbing problem.”
- Information about your availability or the best days or times to reach you. For instance, if calling you at work is acceptable, let us know. Otherwise, we will use your home phone number. If you are usually home on Thursday, mention that.
Many homeowners ask whether evening and weekend appointment times are available. BUILDER understands the desire for appointments outside normal business hours. We recognize the trend to services being available “24/7” in many businesses. However, in investigating how such appointments could be arranged, we discovered many factors that make extended service hours impractical.
- A significant portion of repairs require daylight for proper execution. This applies to drywall, paint, and exterior work of almost any type.
- We also found that most of the independent trade contractors who helped us build your home—many of whom operate as small companies—were unable to work all week and also be available for extended hours. Therefore, the few repairs that could be performed in off-hours failed to eliminate the need for repair appointments during normal hours.
- Administrative staff and supervisors would need to be available to answer questions. Having some personnel work extended hours meant being short staffed during normal business hours.
- When we calculated the impact on wages and salaries for adding more personnel or compensating existing personnel for working non-traditional hours, we found that this affected overhead, and consequently the prices for our homes.
We are still looking for a workable long-term answer to this recognized dilemma. Meanwhile, our warranty hours will be as follows:
- Administrative staff: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
- Inspection appointments: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
- Work appointments: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Evening and weekend appointments are reserved for emergency situations. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation with these policies.
Exterior Items – Exterior items can usually be inspected and repaired without a homeowner present, provided access is available (for instance, no locked gate). In some cases, we may not need to contact you prior to visiting. If you prefer to meet with us and discuss the items in question, we are happy to arrange an appointment to do that.
Your Belongings – In all work that we perform for our homeowners we are concerned that their personal belongings be protected. When warranty work is needed in your home, we ask that you remove vulnerable items or items that might make performing the repair difficult. Heritage Homes and trade personnel will reschedule the repair appointment rather than risk damaging your belongings.
Protecting the Work Area – We expect all personnel who work in your home to arrive with appropriate materials to cover the work area, protecting it from damage and catching the dust or scraps from the work being performed. Similarly, all personnel should clean up the work area, removing whatever excess materials they brought in.
Signatures on Work Orders – Signing a work order acknowledges that a technician worked in your home on the date shown and with regard to the items listed. It does not negate any of your rights under the warranty nor does it release us from any confirmed warranty obligation. If you prefer not to sign the work order, the technician will make a note on the work order, sign the work order and return it to us for our records.
Completion Time – Regular review of outstanding work orders is part of our office routine. Checking with trades and homeowners alike, we strive to identify the cause for delays and get all warranty work completed within an appropriate and reasonable amount of time.
We intend to complete warranty work orders within 30 days of the inspection unless you are unavailable for access. If a back-ordered part or similar circumstance causes a delay, we will let you know. Likewise, when weather conditions prevent the timely completion of exterior items, we track those items and follow up to ensure that they are addressed when conditions are right. This can mean a wait of several months.
Missed Appointments – Good communication is one key to successful completion of warranty items. We strive to keep homeowners informed and to protect them from inconvenience. One of our challenges in this regard is when unexpected events sometimes result in missed appointments.
If a BUILDER employee or contractor will be late, he or she should contact you as soon as the delay is recognized. If you must miss an appointment, we appreciate being alerted as soon as you realize your schedule has changed.
