Building your own green home, using a modular design, does not mean you have to sacrifice the security of knowing your home can be warranteed against structural defects. If you think that that because modular homes are assembled in a factory that this means that the builder can then no longer offer a building warranty, you would be wrong. In fact, modular homes can be built to same IRC and local building codes and also come with these three warrantees for structural defect coverage: Structural Warranty, Workmanship Warranty, and a Systems Warranty.
New Home Assurances with the Right Warranty
New homes that come with a warranty from the builder will put your mind at ease. When you buy an existing home, you have to hope the inspector found anything amiss before you sign the closing documents. If they miss it, it’s up to you to pay to make it right. With a warranty, you may have closed on the home, but you will still be able to go back to the builder if anything should happen within the time frame when your warranty is still active – sometimes up to nine years later!
New Construction Structural Warranty – This is a 10-year insurance-backed warranty that covers the load-bearing walls and partitions, beams and girders, the footings and foundation, and much, much more. If your home should suffer a structural defect in any of the components covered in your Structural Warranty that make your home unsafe or unsanitary to live in before the 10-year term is over, you have a way to address the situation without being on the hook for the entire fix.
Workmanship Warranty – While this warranty only lasts for the one year after you close on the home, it will protect you from defects in the materials or workmanship after the workers have long since left the job site. Sometimes, it can take a bit of time for defects to come to light, and this is one way to have a trial period without having to take on all the liability for the workmanship that might not be exactly as you expected.
Systems Warranty – No one wants to replace a first after just having moved into a new home. The Systems Warranty provides two years of protection on the electrical, mechanical, and distribution systems of your new home. If you have problems with the duct work or plumbing, within the first two years, you are covered.
Warrantees are especially useful for modular homes. They help buyers understand that modular homes offer the same protections as stick-built homes and are built to conform to the same standards, the only difference being that 90 percent of the work is done off-site. Despite this, they are considered new home construction and can come with some very specific warrantees that offer structural defect coverage to put the buyer’s mind at ease.
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