If you want to move into a new home, you have a couple of alternatives. You can buy an existing one. To accomplish this, you will go house hunting in your region and look for anything suitable that fits all your needs and that you can afford.
You can also build a new house. To do this, you must find some vacant land suitable for building, or you can knock down an existing structure and build on that same land.
If you build a house rather than buy an existing one, you might want to look into a home builder warranty. We’ll talk about those right now so you can understand this concept. We’ll also discuss a few things you want to see from your warranty.
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What is a Home Builder Warranty?
You get one of these with a remodeling job or when you build a new home. It covers things that are permanent with your new home, such as electrical work, plumbing, and concrete floors.
Home builder warranties give you peace of mind. Many times, newly built homes come with builder warranties, and they amount to service contracts.
Now, let’s go over some home builder warranty features you’ll want to see when you get one.
The Length
When the company that builds your house installs the foundation, walls, etc., they should do so correctly. You assume they’re competent, and that’s why you hired them. You would expect the house’s fundamental elements will stand for many years.
You should look at the warranty’s length when you get it. Typically, you want at least ten years on your warranty for elements like plumbing, electrical work, and the foundation.
In some cases, you might get a longer warranty, but ten years is standard. If something goes wrong with the elements the warranty covers during the time stipulated, you can contact the building company, and they can fix it.
A Reliable Insurance Company
The company you hire to build the house’s fundamental features should partner with a reliable, well-known insurance company, not some fly-by-night outfit. Ideally, you’ll know about the insurance company the builders chose.
If you hear that the company partnered with Geico or a similarly large, national insurance company, you should feel good about that. If you have never heard of the company they use, and you see poor reviews when you look them up online, that should give you pause.
What It Covers
These warranties generally cover several features standard. We’ve mentioned the concrete foundation, plumbing, and electrical work. Your warranty should cover any issues that come up involving the materials the company used. It should cover all of your central in-home systems.
It should also cover the workmanship and any additional structural home elements that would generally last you for as long as the house stands. If the warranty neglects anything, that’s an issue.
Clear Language
Sometimes, if you read a warranty, you’ll run into some legalese or confusing terminology. You don’t want to see that from the home builder warranty you get.
You should see clear language that tells you exactly what the warranty covers and what it doesn’t. You shouldn’t have to guess or navigate terminology that seems confusing.
If you don’t understand anything in the contract, or if you notice anything missing that you want, ask the company about it. You want clarification before you accept the warranty and start living in your new house.
Transferability
Let’s say you sell the house within the ten years the warranty stipulates, or longer if the warranty comes with a longer length. You should see language indicating that you can transfer the warranty to the next homeowner.
This comes standard with many contracts you get with homes. If you hire a company to install a new roof and then you move, you should be able to transfer the warranty on it. This is the same.
You can pass the warranty to the next homeowner, and they might see that as a selling point. You can probably get someone to buy your home more readily if you want to move on from it while the warranty still applies.
If you see all of these features when you get your new home builder warranty, you can move in with confidence. You can feel sure the ductwork, wiring, plumbing, and similar elements won’t give you any problems for the first several years you live there. If they do, just contact the building company for repairs.
