The 2 year home warranty applies to the home’s mechanical and electrical systems. The heating, air conditioning, plumbing, receptacles, lighting and control systems should be operating according to as-constructed specifications. If not, then the owner may be able to file a claim with the warranty insurance provider.
We had recently completed 2-year home warranty inspection, on short notice, as the 2-year anniversary date was about to expire. The location was in Ambleside, one of our personal favorite areas in West Van as our kids grew up here. Warranty inspections take time, 4.5 hours in this case, with an actively involved client for the duration, which in our opinion is absolutely essential. The inspection was completed successfully with the discovery of a number of items that could be reasonably claimed.
If you are considering a warranty inspection, here’s what you need to know well in advance:
- Book your inspection for at least 6 weeks in advance of the end of warranty date.
- Have your new home warranty documents available.
- Know your policy number.
- Know your milestone anniversary dates.
- Read your policy for inclusions, exclusions and how to submit a claim.
- View your policy provider’s website.
- View the BC Consumer Protection website for useful information.
- The homeowner is an active participant for the duration of the warranty inspection.
- We also go through a checklist of issues that requires a “yes-no” reply from the homeowner.
- Be prepared as the homeowner, to have an itemized list of issues that you know about, and discuss your concerns with the inspector during his time on site.
- If there are items that have affected your utility costs, have those bills (water, hydro, gas) available for review.
In this particular case, as time was short (less than two weeks) until the anniversary date, we worked together with the client to draft the claims and emailed the list to the insurance company by the end of the inspection.