What agents need to know about warranties to protect their buyers.
Agents, how familiar are you with what contracts say about warranties and repairs? There is some very important information you need to know about this to help your clients, and I’ve been getting a lot of questions about this stuff lately, so I am here today to clear things up.
The paragraph titled “Completion of repairs and treatments” in our 1-4 contract talks about the transfer of warranties. It says that, at the seller’s expense, you must arrange for the transfer of any transferable warranties concerning the repairs and treatments that the buyer asks for at closing. The key here is that this doesn’t include warranties done years ago; it only includes warranties for anything related to the repairs being done in the transaction.
“Make sure to follow up with your buyer about all warranties.”
When buyers move into a house, they need to get warranties figured out right away before there’s a problem and they need it. Therefore, if there’s a warranty that’s not related to the repairs, the buyer needs to take care of that. At closing, you should give information to your buyer and make sure to follow up with them.
If you’re representing a buyer, make sure they get warranties transferred before it’s not the seller’s responsibility anymore. This needs to be handled on the HUD statement if there are any payments to be made. Overall, just make sure to follow up with your buyer about all warranties related to the repairs and those that are not.
If you have any questions about this, don’t hesitate to reach out. Contract language can be confusing, so I am here to clear things up for you. You can call or email me, and I will be happy to help you.
