Buying a new home is an exciting time. It can also be a stressful one. Luckily, you have a warranty that can help give you some peace of mind.
You can also count on Tarion for support. Our job is to educate new home buyers like you and ensure that you receive the warranty coverage from your builder that you’re entitled to by law.
To that effect, we are continually looking to develop tools to help you better understand and make use of your warranty. Here are three tools every new home buyer should take advantage of:
The Learning Hub
The first thing you’ll want to do when you buy your new home is learn more about the warranty coverage that comes along with it. Our new Learning Hub is a perfect place to start.
In the Learning Hub you’ll find warranty coverage brochures for both freehold homes and condominiums that will detail the different roles and responsibilities of homeowners, builders and Tarion.
You can also access online modules where you can learn, at your own pace and leisure, important information about your home, the warranty process, and the overall homeowner journey that will help you make informed decisions about your home going forward.
Home Explorer
Now imagine you’ve just moved into your new home and, much to your dismay, you’ve discovered your garage door will only partially open and there is a scratch on your bedroom window. Before contacting your builder, you want to make sure they’re covered under the builder’s warranty.
Home Explorer will help you do just that. The visual and interactive depiction of Tarion’s Construction Performance Guidelines (CPG) allows you to browse a simulated home or condominium, area-by-area and room-by-room so you can navigate to information about potential defects in your home. By using Home Explorer, you’ll be able to quickly find out whether an item in your home is or isn’t covered under warranty.
MyHome
MyHome is Tarion’s online service for homeowners and will help ensure you stay on top of your warranty. So, you should sign up for MyHome as soon as you move in.
Timing is extremely important and missing a deadline could mean losing out on warranty coverage. With MyHome, you can set it up so that you will receive email alerts for important dates and timelines.
Within your MyHome account you’ll also find standard warranty claim forms for every warranty period. These online forms feature helpful drop downs that make it easy to detail your warranty items. Furthermore, you don’t need to complete and submit your form in one sitting – if you prefer to keep a running list of items as you encounter them, you can add them to your form and save it for future submission.
What if you have an item that requires additional documentation to be included or you want to provide a photo of an item? You can upload these safely and securely through MyHome.
And when you do finally click the “submit” button on your warranty form, it goes directly to Tarion and your builder simultaneously – saving you some extra work.