Is there such a thing? To a reasonable, well informed person there are no "perfectly constructed" homes. To
the unreasonable, misinformed person, the term causes a big headache in our industry.
Let's elaborate on the term "reasonable". Is it reasonable in a newly constructed home to expect there to be no drywall cracks throughout the walls? Yes. To expect that the doors don't hit the frame when closing? Indeed. To expect that the wood flooring isn't missing boards? Absolutely.
Now, is it unreasonable to expect the garage floor slab to not have any hairline cracks? Yes. To expect that there won't be a 1/16 inch gap between the baseboard and drywall? Indeed. To expect that there won't be any wood putty filling the nail holes in the trim? Absolutely.
Of course, there are many, many different styles of homes with different materials used by different trade contractors. However, the expectation of workmanship should stay consistent across the field.
New home construction is one of the last, truly man made products. For this reason, we should, and I must say most people do, expect that there is a certain margin of error in construction or what we consider "tolerances".
What I ask of agents is to study up on these tolerances so that you can set a proper expectation for your clients when purchasing a newly constructed home. Would I expect you to read it front to back and memorize every acceptable tolerance? Of course not. However, speaking from experience, there are still people out there expecting perfection in construction and a preliminary discussion prior to the "walk through" can help to produce a more seamless transaction for all parties involved.
A great resource for this information is the "Residential Construction Performance Guidelines" written by the NAHB Remodelors Councel and Business Management.
Recent blog posts:
Builders need a third party presence
Kidde recall dual sensor smoke alarms; can fail to warn of fire
Should a builder warranty be required by law?
Going green means spending green
Use and maintenance guidelines for homeowners
Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders
We've all heard about it. You should purchase a warranty or buy new construction because when "the toilet leaks
at 2am on Sunday morning, you'll be covered".
Well, it most definitely happens. Actually, the story goes more like "I got up to get a midnight snack and thought I was still dreaming when it was raining in my kitchen, my hardwood was saturated and when I finally found my builder's number, they didn't answer!"
Emergency warranty situations are not common, however, when they do occur prompt attention is required.
Builders have enough to worry about. They don't need the added stress of wondering how many of their, possibly hundreds, of closed homes are going to spring a leak or lose heat in the dead of winter.
Furthermore, homeowners deserve the peace of mind that if such a situation were to occur, they have a number that they can call 24/7/365 for immediate assistance.
Cascade Builder Services supplies this peace of mind.
Recent blog posts:
Builders need a third party presence
Kidde recall dual sensor smoke alarms; can fail to warn of fire
Should a builder warranty be required by law?
Going green means spending green
Use and maintenance guidelines for homeowners
Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders
Why is it that home builders have to take care of demands and requests that many other manufacturers do not? Generally, most builders try to control the warranty process themsleves after selling, building and delivering the home. Other manufacturers realized long ago that this process is not the best route to take.
When you look at a typical consumer's warranty expectations, it goes something like this:
1. Consumer buys a product, maybe a computer monitor or coffe maker.
2. They find a warranty card in the packaging, fill it out and send it to some third party, not the store it came from or the actual manufacturer.
Now, when that consumer buys something of higher value/cost the warranty is more like a book than a postcard and the book generally is thrown in a file cabinet or bottom kitchen drawer.
As we go into higher and higher priced items, it changes. Take for example automobile manufacturers. They realize the importance and value of 3rd party companies. Consumers accept that an insurance company must be in palce prior to delivery of the car. Although, insurnace can't be purchased from the manufacturer or the dealer, just a 3rd party.
Also, could you imagine if a consumer went to a body shop to have a ligitimate, covered repair done and requested to have countless other touch ups to be done as well. It happens all the time with builders. The builder goes back to correct a drywall crack and ends up spending hours and a bucket of paint on non-warrantable items.
Since a home is so expensive, generally the biggest investment of ones life, demands are high and expectations are higher. This is why a 3rd party presence is so crucial to builders.
Homeowners are increasingly hiring private home inspectors and attorneys during their buying process. There is no better time to have an unbiased, third party mitigator between the builder and homeowner. There is no need for builders to take unnecessary risk by attempting to perform warranty service in-house.
Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders
Name of Product: Kidde Model PI2000 Dual Sensor Smoke Alarms Units: About 94,000 Manufacturer: Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc., of Mebane, N.C. Hazard: An electrostatic discharge can damage the unit, causing it not to warn consumers of a fire. Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received two reported incidents of smoke alarm malfunctions involving electrostatic discharge during installation. No injuries have been reported. Description: This recall involves Kidde dual sensor smoke alarms model PI2000. The alarms can be identified by two buttons, “HUSH” and “PUSH AND HOLD TO TEST WEEKLY,” which are located on the front/center of the alarm. The model number and date code are on the back of the smoke alarm. Only date codes 2008 Aug.01 through 2009 May 04 are included in this recall. Sold at: Retail, department, and hardware stores and through electrical distributors nationwide from August 2008 through May 2009 for between $30 and $40. Manufactured in: China Remedy: Consumers should contact Kidde immediately to receive a free replacement smoke alarm. Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Kidde toll-free at (877) 524-2086 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.kidde.com Seattle Tacoma New Construction Third Party Warranty Management Administration for Home Builders.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
I worked for a third party warranty management company for many years 
before I started Cascade Builder Services. Here was their process:
1. Homeowners would mail or fax in their warranty request forms on paper.
2. We would take that paper to the warranty inspection and write notes on it and take it back to an office administrator for data entry into our system.
3. The office administrator would then create a work order on, yep, paper and fax it over to the appropriate trade contractor for completion and send out a warranty determiniation form to the homeowner on, you guessed it, paper.
4. Once the work was complete, we would print an updated report on paper and send it to the appropriate parties.
That doesn't even include the New Home Orientation paperwork and countless, needless other paperwork they used.
We've eliminated 99% of all this paper use. Our homeowners submit and track warranty claims through our website, trade contractors are updated through our trade network and our New Home Orientations are conducted with tablet PCs, all digital.
What have you done to "go green"?
Seattle Tacoma Third Party New Construction Warranty Management for Home Builders
Cascade Builder Services is a third party, new construction, warranty management company serving Seattle, Tacoma and all surrounding areas. We administer the builder's one-year limited warranty.
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