Picture this. You are winding down at home after spending a fantastic night at a dinner party with friends, where you spent at least an hour discussing, of all things, how much they love the great features that came with their new Nest thermostat. No matter how hard you try, you keep glancing at the thermostat that came with your brand new home. And you think to yourself, “I love this place…but I wish my thermostat knew when I would be home and plan accordingly.” Plus, it’s a brand new home! It should have the newest smart home tech – after all, your friends home was built when you were still in high school, and it is as smart as a home could be!
So you make the call to the company who upgraded your friends home, and they’ll be by later this week to install your own Nest. But…could this small upgrade actually void your home warranty?
Potentially, yes!
In this scenario, if you as a homeowner installed a new thermostat, or hired a different home service professional to do the work, then it would likely void your HVAC home warranty from the home builder.
Almost every new home builder today offers a great home warranty to help you ensure that you get the most out of the life of your home. Unfortunately, sometimes the small print gets the best of all of us and we can find ourselves in sticky situations. You see, a home builder works with specific contractors and has relationships that help them manage the quality of your home building process. When a homeowner hires a 3rd party contractor who may not be approved by your builder, they could potentially void the warranty because the builder has lost the ability to ensure the quality of work meets their standards.
So what should we as homeowners do?
First, ensure you truly understand the ins and outs of your warranty. Read the fine print. Are there any stipulations in the warranty that require specific work be completed by a licensed (and pre-approved) contractor?
Second, if you have questions, call your builder and ask. Your home builder is in the business of ensuring you love your home, and they want you to understand how to ensure it lasts a lifetime. If the work must be completed by a specific contractor, they can answer these questions and connect you with the right people to get the job done. Could it be more expensive than using your friends contractor? Potentially, but quality work could prevent costly repairs and a voided warranty.
Lastly, HomeKey can help! HomeKey keeps all your warranty information, maintenance records, and other critical information you’ll need to manage your home all in one convenient place.