Builder objective:
Reduce conflicts with homeowners

Ownership Guide benefit:
Helps buyers realize the need for complete and regular maintenance evaluations

Customer testimonial:
"We believe it is important to help our homebuyers learn how to properly maintain their homes. To do this, we provide them with a written maintenance manual and the Ownership Guide^® CD. We are also starting to use a DVD audio-visual presentation during their new home orientation to share the benefits of using the CD for information."
John Vander Velde, Vice President of Operations, Shea Homes, Southern California Division

Ownership Guide benefit:
Reduce insurance premiums by as much as 20%

Customer testimonial:
"Nearly 90% of homeowner lawsuits against builders that involved actual damage could have been avoided if simple maintenance had been performed by the homeowner. Underwriters favor builders that supply their buyers with a good maintenance program and customer service. I have been able to reduce insurance premiums by as much as 20% for many of my over 250 builder clients who are using the Ownership Guide program."
Shelli Lucus-Kennedy, American Insurance Associates

Ownership Guide benefit:
Consolidates and enables access to important information

Customer testimonial:
"Everyone seems to be thrilled to use BuildSERV’s products. All we do is send them the documents that we want placed on their Ownership Guide CD-ROM and they do the rest. They create a customized maintenance guide for the homebuyers in each community. We are so grateful that it is an all inclusive tool that our buyers can refer to time and time again in a neat, friendly, and clean format."
Leslie Rios, Customer Service Manager, S & S Homes of the Central Coast

"The cost associated with after-completion expense can be very large. Every builder should focus on setting customer care expectations to minimize this risk. A home maintenance guide with advice and tips is clearly a way to address this issue."
Peter Orser, President, Quadrant Home

"We were spending $45 per home to produce our paper maintenance and warranty information manual. Substituting the Ownership Guide CD resulted in a net savings for us. It more than paid for itself."
Laurie Nyberg, Controller, Cambria Homes

"In more and more states, providing maintenance information to your homeowner allows the homebuilder an affirmative defense to defect claims if the defect is caused by the homeowner’s substantial failure to follow written maintenance recommendations. Many builders are now using the Ownership Guide to provide information to the buyer as required by state law. In our increasingly litigious society, particularly since homebuilders have become prime targets, anything that can be done for a reasonable expense to reduce exposure to lawsuits is a wise move."
Jan Rohila, Education & Membership Administrative Services Director, Building Industry Association of Washington