Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Jan 09, 2012 1:08 pm Hi all I'm just wondering if people think the structural warranty/guarantee term is a sign of the quality of the house? The terms in Perth vary from 10 years to lifetime - do you think it is right to assume the the builder offering a lifetime warranty is going to build a home to a better standard than one offering a 10 year warranty? Our custom Gemmill Home in Bedfordale WA Build thread:https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53788 Timeline on page 1 Re: Structural warranty - does longer terms mean higher qual 2Jan 09, 2012 1:18 pm If you feel that way their marketing has got you in . Most rely on the fact that you forget, you sell, you move, you wont ring them when something goes wrong and if you do they'll have some clause that gets you out as fair wear and tear or a problem you caused. I'd be looking at previous built houses, word of mouth, testimonials, reviews, real life feedback, stock numbers, awards from industry bodies etc etc. Warranty alone I dont think has anything to do with how well its built. Re: Structural warranty - does longer terms mean higher qual 3Jan 09, 2012 1:30 pm soakedblonde Hi all I'm just wondering if people think the structural warranty/guarantee term is a sign of the quality of the house? The terms in Perth vary from 10 years to lifetime - do you think it is right to assume the the builder offering a lifetime warranty is going to build a home to a better standard than one offering a 10 year warranty? Perhaps a more relevant question would be: If a house has major structural issues or serious defects, are they likely to become obvious within 10 years? Obviously a company offering more than 10 years is making a risk judgement that the additional risk of offering > 10 years and having to pay for repairs is outweighed by the reward potential of buyers choosing them based partly on the additional warranty as a positive over other builders. Of course by choosing a builder offering more than 10 years you are also making a judgement call that the particular builder will actually still exist as a legal entity in 10 years. It's probably a positive but I wouldn't pay much of a premium to get a longer warranty than 10 years. Seems like mostly marketing. Re: Structural warranty - does longer terms mean higher qual 4Jan 09, 2012 1:41 pm Thanks for your replies livewildcard - it is not the marketing that has got me in, more the reviews and word of mouth. I am struggling to find a positive review on the builders offering shorter terms, whereas the feedback is much more positive on the one that offers a lifetime warranty. When I started looking into the differences between the builders, it was the structural warranty that stood out. Veefy - out of the few builders I have been comparing, the ones charging the premium are the ones offering a lower terms Our custom Gemmill Home in Bedfordale WA Build thread:https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53788 Timeline on page 1 Re: Structural warranty - does longer terms mean higher qual 5Jan 10, 2012 12:13 am Just another note.... It may not seem like it on the surface, but "lifetime" is actually subjective. Perhaps in building it is different, but I know that in consumer goods lifetime can mean a few things. It can mean the lifetime of that particular product/model - eg. If that company stops making that model/product, they may not have to honour their warranty.... That's why you will sometimes find in the warranty information that they will repair or replace your product with the same or equivalent product. Lifetime can mean the life of a "natural person".... So subjective, don't you think. And I suppose the one I'd be a little concerned about, is having "lifetime" mean the expected life of the house!! Not that I think that would exist. But I would do a search to find the small print on what "lifetime" actually means to the building companies offering such warranties. Re: Structural warranty - does longer terms mean higher qual 6Jan 10, 2012 12:50 am livewildcard Most rely on the fact that you forget, you sell, you move, you wont ring them when something goes wrong and if you do they'll have some clause that gets you out as fair wear and tear or a problem you caused. This is absolutely right. The builders who offer a 25 year or lifetime structural warranty don't believe their homes are any better than the builders offering the minimum 7 years, it is all about marketing. Most of the builders I have worked for have weighed it up and gone with the 25 year + option, simply because it brings in more sales, no matter what their standard of building is. Their way of thinking is, how many homes will actually have a structural issue after 7 years, and how many homes will still have the same owner in 7 years time, and how many of those owners will actually contact us if a structural issue comes up (and there are many clauses getting them out of it after the 7 year minimum anyway). Given the extremely small proportion of clients that live in their homes for 7 years that will have a structural problem and will contact the builder, it is a small cost for the builder compared to the amount of extra business they get. So if you have found that the builders with better reviews have a longer warranty, it's a bonus, but only a coincidence Re: Structural warranty - does longer terms mean higher qual 7Jan 10, 2012 8:55 am You will also find that the extended warranty period offered by the builder is only useful while the builder is still in business. Personally I would be paying for independent inspections during the build at critical stages (ie frame stage, pre plaster etc) to ensure that the build is done properly and to building standards. I would not discount a builder just because they do not offer longer structural warranties. House - Lockup completed 23rd December 2011 - Painters are in!!! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=37261&start=0&hilit=Blaxland interesting situation what happened after builder issued final invoice? did you list as defect or not does the building surveyor have any responsibility? ie. issuing… 13 46866 I believe that liquidated damaged should be amount of actual loss to the owner from the delays. The issue in all of this is building industry lobbying and contributing to… 5 3416 |