Skip to main content

Is Your Home Warranty Void??

Your home warranty will be VOID if you don't do this!!!

It is exciting when you get to buy your first new home, as it should be. You have saved and worked hard to have just the home you wanted, built with your own preferences and design elements, and you even have a Home Warranty to give you confidence that your new home is a quality product that will last you for decades.  But,what happens when you go to claim a problem with your home, and your claim gets denied because YOU voided your warranty?



Just as with most warranties, such as your car, there are requirements on BOTH sides of the warranty contract. This means there are a multitude of ways in which YOU could be voiding your warranty without even knowing it. Every builder's warranty has requirements that the homeowner must meet for the home to be covered. In most cases these are common sense maintenance practices that most homeowners do on a regular basis anyway, but these requirements vary from builder to builder.  The best case is to always thoroughly read your home warranty and make certain you are performing ALL of the regular maintenance required.

Just as important as doing the maintenance is also keeping good records of what was done.  This will ensure that when something does go wrong, you can adequately show that you have done your part.

Below is a list of components within a home that typically have some form of regular maintenance or, at a minimum, regular inspections of in order to maintain your warranty.  This is NOT by any means a complete list and we do NOT guarantee these will satisfy your warranty, but we CAN guarantee they are all necessary and required maintenance.  It is also important to remember that many of the components in your home are also important to the home functioning properly as a system.
If you gain nothing else by following the maintenance routines , you will improve the overall condition and longevity of your home.


In each new installment of the blog we will go through each of these components in greater detail, but as we will continue to say, you MUST check your own user manuals and warranty documentation to make sure you maintain your warranty.

Below is the list of components we will cover:

HVAC

  • Furnace
  • Air Conditioner
  • Condensate Pump
  • Whole Home Humidifier
Water Heaters


  • Tank
  • High Efficiency Tank-less

Washer/Dryer

Kitchen Appliances

  • Built in oven
  • Build in Cooktop
  • Ice maker for fridge
  • Built in Microwave
Roof Systems
  • roof valleys
  • Gutters
  • Downspouts
  • Flashing
Decks/Patios

Sump Pump

Landscaping
  • Trees
  • Bushes
  • Ground/Grading
  • Fences
Windows/Doors

We know this is quite a list, but home ownership comes with a fair amount of responsibility. The good thing is that with some regular maintenance, taking care of these things will help ensure that your home stays in good condition and remain an asset, not a liability.

Don't forget to subscribe so you are sure to get notification when the rest of this series of articles is published!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Overrun with chipmunks?

Overrun with chipmunks?  This Spring found us with a startlingly huge increase in chipmunks as it has for many this year. We have had amazing success considerably lowering their population with these simple, humane and environmentally friendly tactics: Clean up all areas around the home and gardens, eliminating their hiding places; leaves, sticks, rocks, etc. and trim plants/bushes away from the home perimeter. We had an old brick barbecue that had become a chipmunk ‘hotel’ so that was also removed. Use Cayenne or similar retardant (pureed garlic &/or hot pepper spray, coffee grounds-ask a local coffee shop for their grounds, etc.) to sprinkle/spray the areas after clean-up. Liquid retardants generally last longer than dry. We have had success with Plantskydd (a blood meal product) available in granular and liquid.  Plant flowers and herbs that are natural deterrents ; some examples are: Marigolds, Ageratum, Shasta, Yarrow, Black Eyed Susan, Phlox, Spider wort Sage, Or...

Home Inspections, and Real Estate Transactions During COVID-19

During these tumultuous times, we are looking for ways to keep moving forward while staying safe. In this blog we will discuss some of the steps to take if you are in the process of buying or selling a home during the COVID-19 outbreak. At the bottom of this post we will provide links to additional resources. Showings/Walk-t h roughs Sellers -   Put away personal belongings. Personal items such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, cups, dishes should all be put away in cupboards, or covered. Should a potential buyer come through and cough or touch these items they could become contaminated.  Wipe down hard surfaces before you leave, including counters, door handles, appliances and other features of your home potential buyers may be  examining . When you re-enter your home after the showing, simply walk through and wipe those surfaces again. Consider leaving nitrile or non latex gloves for guests to wear while the y  look at the home. These are extremel...

Safely Disposing of Prescription Drugs .... Things have changed!

GOT PILLS??? Even decades ago we knew that having  expired prescription drugs was a safety risk. When I was growing up, I was always taught to simply flush the pills down the toilet. Unfortunately, this is EXACTLY what we did! Years later we have learned that this method of disposal is not at all good for the environment. So the question now is, what is the proper way to dispose of expired or unused medication? The first, and preferred method is to find a location that accepts unused medication. There is a household drug take back map available that shows locations across the state. Follow this link to find one of the centers in your area.  Drug Take Back Map   Often times these are pharmacies or local police departments. When using these services, be sure to make sure they accept the type of medication you are going to bring. Some locations only have capacity to accept certain medications. If you do not have one of these facilities in your area, or c...