Warranty cover

[RichS]

So I had pretty much decided not to bother with a warranty. I have no intention of selling the new build when it's complete so can't really see the need.

 

BUT, as you do, I got around to re-considering. A 10 year warranty + building control will cost me about £1600, building control only from my LABC will be about half that.

So I read Build-Zone's bumph and it states,

Why do I need a Structural Warranty?
Apart from the peace of mind you gain by having the Build-Zone Structural Warranty, most Lenders will probably require a warranty as part of the lending criteria.  Useful also if your circumstances change and you need to sell the property in the next 10 years you will find it likely that your prospective purchaser's Lender will require a structural warranty on the property before releasing any money.
Do not rely on an Architect's Certificate as this will only provide cover in the event of you are able to establish negligence by the architect, which will be covered under their Professional Indemnity Insurance but only for a period of 6 years and it will not cover workmanship or defective materials.  The Build-Zone Warranty applies for a period of 10 years and will respond straight away as a 'prime' policy and the insurers will then take on recovery action against those responsible.

Now what exactly does the highlighted bit mean???

Recovery action against those responsible??

As a "Self Builder",  ie, no main contractor, do you pay them £800 simply for them to come chasing you if things go tits up, therefore negating the whole point of having the warranty in the first place.

 

 

[Rossek9]

Interested to here the replies on this as its crossed my mind not to bother with warranty either.

 

We will have a sizeable mortgage once complete to don't want to be limited to certain lenders when we come to remortgage.

[joe90]

I also have decided against a warranty as it's my retirement home and plan on living more than ten years ?. Also I was informed that as a seller I could take out an indemnity insurance for far less than the cost of a warranty.

[ragg987]

The warranty tends to provide limited cover for building / roofing / structural elements. If you are putting those up yourself then it seems they might chase you to pay back on your claim, however if you are employing contractors to do these then it would make sense - foundations, timberframe, cladding and roofing, for instance.

 

I guess the grey area is if you employ casual labour only to (e.g.) build a brick wall and they work directly under your management, then who would they chase?

 

I went with the warranty in the end as we had a mortgage.

 

One thing I did notice is that the warranty provider started insisting (after inspections) that we had to have 3rd party 10 year warranties that covered labour and materials on some of the build. I argued that this was not made clear in their policy and they were material changes to the way we did our procurement "after the fact". They backed off. But it does leave me to question what would happen if I needed to call on the warranty.

[Mr Punter]

As a developer, I am responsible for the first 2 years, then the warranty provider gives cover.  They also cover if I go out of business in the 2 years.  All the warranties are insurance based.  They aim to reduce risk as much as possible and not to pay out.  If you need to sell, you could get a Professional Consultants Certificate for less than half the cost of a warranty.  Also look at independent building control.  Often cheaper that LA.

[Pete]

We have the same problem. I am going on a course to fit the standing seam roof myself, issued with a certificate on completion. However, I would need to have a separate guarantee for the roof to satisfy the warranty company! (This is the same course that a roofing company would go on to be able to fit this type of roof)

We have also decided not to have a warranty as we are not moving after we have built this house. 

The local building control where £900 pound cheaper compared to one of the quote's I received. He was very enthusiastic about our build, lives round the corner and when I said that the quote was very reasonable he replied that they have to be competitive nowadays

[PeterW]

The prime cover is for items such as windows, doors, roofing membranes etc that come with their own warranty.

 

For example if you have a window with a 10 year guarantee and at year 5 it fails, BuildZone will cover the replacement and pursue the manufacturer on your behalf. The reason being is that if the manufacturer repairing or replacing it causes damage  to other parts of the structure then it is up to you to sort this if you have gone direct, not BuildZone

 

And if you want their warranty, go direct to Sennocke as they are superb..! I can advise which broker to avoid ...

[hmpmarketing]

I have also not bothered with a warranty, as I plan to live there for over 10 years (if I last that long  ) and my housebuilder offers a 25 year structural warranty

[Gone West]

An interesting point that I have encountered with my warranty is that as my build has taken longer than the warranty issuer assumed it would they have told me if the completion certificate isn't issued this year they won't honour the warranty. It's something I am still considering as there was not a time limit mentioned in the documentation.

[MikeSharp01]

Hi Peter.

 

That is very interesting, as I understand it if its not in the 'small print' then they cannot enforce it, so I would write back to them and ask them to point out the point / condition they are referring to if a build overruns. Why would the length of time be an issue anyway unless it gets so long that the materials are starting to become time expired - perhaps that is where the problem is. I guess you do have the option of getting the certificate issued but is this tied up with the work of dismantling elsewhere on the site?

 

 

[RichS]

Thanks folks, all those replies have sent me back to where I started and saved me £800

[Gone West]

I don't think they have a leg to stand on but they are worried by the number of houses that are not weathertight for long periods of time and the resulting deterioration of the materials. I'll ask the BCO what the minimum is that is required to issue the completion certificate.

[divorcingjack]

I'm guessing that all those opting for no warranty are in the enviable position of not needing a mortgage upon completion? We are funding the build ourselves from savings and loans from family, but will need to take a mortgage out to repay them when the house is finished. Every mortgage company that I've spoken to (well, those that I could get any sense out of, anyway) would insist upon a 10 year warranty to issue a mortgage. 

[Barney12]

On 27/04/2017 at 17:50, Mr Punter said:

As a developer, I am responsible for the first 2 years, then the warranty provider gives cover.  They also cover if I go out of business in the 2 years.  All the warranties are insurance based.  They aim to reduce risk as much as possible and not to pay out.  If you need to sell, you could get a Professional Consultants Certificate for less than half the cost of a warranty.  Also look at independent building control.  Often cheaper that LA.

 

Just to assist others. I obtained 3 quotes from PCC providers (sourced via Google search). All were only a couple of hundred pounds cheaper than a full 10 year warranty from Sennocke (Build Zone).

 

After a huge amount of deliberation I have in the end gone with the 10 year warranty. We don't have any plans to sell anytime soon but nobody knows whats around the corner and for £2k I've (hopefully!) got the peace of mind that I or a buyer can mortgage the property in the future.