A home warranty is a service contract that is meant to protect the buyer by covering the cost of repairs or replacements of certain items in a household. A house is an expensive investment, and no one wants unexpected repair costs popping up shortly after move-in. A warranty can provide peace of mind. For existing homes, a home warranty would cover the cost of repair or replacement of major kitchen appliances, electrical, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems. A warranty is different from homeowner’s insurance, which often reimburses accidental damage to your home and belongings, like in instances of fire or theft. A warranty, on the other hand, is meant to cover systems or appliances that fail due to age and standard wear and tear and have no out of pocket cost.
Luckily, in new home construction, many builders offer home warranties included with the cost of the home. In NH, a one year home warranty is required for new construction homes. Homes are man-made products, which means that some level of imperfection is inevitable. While your new home should certainly look great and work well, there is always a chance that some problem may arise after move-in. Whether something was installed improperly or simply malfunctions or breaks, these types of issues would be covered by the one year home warranty.
Different builders handle warranties in a variety of ways, so it’s important to discuss what your warranty covers and how it works up front. For instance, some will address each warranty item as needed, and others use an 11-month model where you will keep a list of anything that comes up until the 11th month, and then they will come in and fix everything at once. You’ll also want to ask who to call if you have an emergent or non-emergent issue, and what the expected turnaround time for those would be. Understanding your builder’s warranty will set your expectations and make the process easier for everyone.
If you’re interested in buying a new construction home, check out all of our new home communities now or find an experienced REALTOR® to help guide you through the process.
